Marine mammals and Good Environmental Status: Science, Policy and Society; Challenges and Opportunities

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive has become the key instrument for marine conservation in European seas. We review its implementation, focusing on cetacean biodiversity, using the examples of Spain and the Regional Seas Convention, OSPAR. The MSFD has been widely criticised for legal vagueness, lack of coordination, uncertainty about funding, and poor governance; its future role within EU Integrated Maritime Policy remains unclear. Nevertheless, the first stages of the process have run broadly to schedule: current status, environmental objectives and indicators have been described and the design of monitoring programmes is in progress, drawing on experience with other environmental legislation. The MSFD is now entering its critical phase, with lack of funding for monitoring, limited scope for management interventions, and uncertainty about how conservation objectives will be reconciled with the needs of other marine and maritime sectors, being among the main concerns. Clarity in governance, about the roles of the EU, Member States, Regional Seas Conventions and stakeholders, is needed to ensure success. However, even if (as seems likely) good environmental status cannot be achieved by 2020, significant steps will have been taken to place environmental sustainability centre-stage in the development of Integrated Maritime Policy for EU seas.Postprin

Anal and oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in HIV-infected subjects in northern Italy: a longitudinal cohort study among men who have sex with men

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A study including 166 subjects was performed to investigate the frequency and persistence over a 6-month interval of concurrent oral and anal Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected men who have sex with men (MSM).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with no previously documented HPV-related anogenital lesion/disease were recruited to participate in a longitudinal study. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect HPV from oral and anal swabs and to detect Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV-8) DNA in saliva on 2 separate specimen series, one collected at baseline and the other collected 6 months later. A multivariate logistic analysis was performed using anal HPV infection as the dependent variable versus a set of covariates: age, HIV plasma viral load, CD4+ count, hepatitis B virus (HBV) serology, hepatitis C virus (HCV) serology, syphilis serology and HHV-8 viral shedding. A stepwise elimination of covariates with a p-value > 0.1 was performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prevalence of HPV did not vary significantly between the baseline and the follow-up, either in the oral (20.1 and 21.3%, respectively) or the anal specimens (88.6 and 86.3%). The prevalence of high-risk (HR) genotypes among the HPV-positive specimens was similar in the oral and anal infections (mean values 24.3% and 20.9%). Among 68 patients with either a HR, low-risk (LR) or undetermined genotype at baseline, 75% had persistent HPV and the persistence rates were 71.4% in HR infections and 76.7% in LR infections. There was a lack of genotype concordance between oral and anal HPV samples. The prevalence of HR HPV in anus appeared to be higher in the younger patients, peaking (> 25%) in the 43-50 years age group. A decrease of the high level of anal prevalence of all genotypes of HPV in the patients > 50 years was evident. HHV-8 oral shedding was positively related to HPV anal infection (p = 0.0046). A significant correlation was found between the persistence of HHV-8 shedding and HIV viral load by logistic bivariate analysis (Odds Ratio of HHV-8 persistence for 1-log increase of HIV viral load = 1.725 ± 0.397, p = 0.018).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high prevalence of HPV infection was found in our cohort of HIV-infected MSM, with a negative correlation between anal HPV infection and CD4 cell count.</p

Is salinity the main ecologic factor that shapes the distribution of two endemic Mediterranean plant species of the genus Gypsophila?

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2218-2Aims Responses to salt stress of two Gypsophila species that share territory, but with different ecological optima and distribution ranges, were analysed. G. struthium is a regionally dominant Iberian endemic gypsophyte, whereas G. tomentosa is a narrow endemic reported as halophyte. Theworking hypothesis is that salt tolerance shapes the presence of these species in their specific habitats. Methods Taking a multidisciplinary approach, we assessed the soil characteristics and vegetation structure at the sampling site, seed germination and seedling development, growth and flowering, synthesis of proline and cation accumulation under artificial conditions of increasing salt stress and effect of PEG on germination and seedling development. Results Soil salinity was low at the all sampling points where the two species grow, but moisture was higher in the area of G. tomentosa. Differences were found in the species salt and drought tolerance. The different parameters tested did not show a clear pattern indicating the main role of salt tolerance in plant distribution. Conclusions G. tomentosa cannot be considered a true halophyte as previously reported because it is unable to complete its life cycle under salinity. The presence of G. tomentosa in habitats bordering salt marshes is a strategy to avoid plant competition and extreme water stressSoriano, P.; Moruno Manchón, JF.; Boscaiu Neagu, MT.; Vicente Meana, Ó.; Hurtado, A.; Llinares Palacios, JV.; Estrelles, E. (2014). Is salinity the main ecologic factor that shapes the distribution of two endemic Mediterranean plant species of the genus Gypsophila?. Plant and Soil. 384(1-2):363-379. doi:10.1007/s11104-014-2218-2S3633793841-2Alonso MA (1996) Flora y vegetación del Valle de Villena (Alicante). 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Not Bot Horti Agrobo 40:58–66Hare PD, Cress WA (1997) Metabolic implications of stress-induced proline accumulation in plants. Plant Growth Regul 21:79–102Ishikawa SI, Kachi N (2000) Differential salt tolerance of two Artemisia species growing in contrasting coastal habitats. Ecol Res 15:241–247Kebreab E, Murdoch AJ (1999) Modelling the effects of water stress and temperature on germination rate of Orobanche aegyptiaca seeds. J Exp Bot 50:655–664Khan MA (2002) Halophyte seed germination: Success and Pitfalls. In: Hegazi AM, El-Shaer HM, El-Demerdashe S et al (eds) International symposium on optimum resource utilization in salt affected ecosystems in arid and semi arid regions. Desert Research Centre, Cairo, pp 346–358Khan MA, Gul B, Weber DJ (2000) Germination responses of Salicornia rubra to temperature and salinity. J Arid Environ 45:207–214Khan A, Rayner GD (2003) Robustness to non-normality of common tests for the many-sample location problem. 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Implicating genes, pleiotropy, and sexual dimorphism at blood lipid loci through multi-ancestry meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Genetic variants within nearly 1000 loci are known to contribute to modulation of blood lipid levels. However, the biological pathways underlying these associations are frequently unknown, limiting understanding of these findings and hindering downstream translational efforts such as drug target discovery. RESULTS: To expand our understanding of the underlying biological pathways and mechanisms controlling blood lipid levels, we leverage a large multi-ancestry meta-analysis (N = 1,654,960) of blood lipids to prioritize putative causal genes for 2286 lipid associations using six gene prediction approaches. Using phenome-wide association (PheWAS) scans, we identify relationships of genetically predicted lipid levels to other diseases and conditions. We confirm known pleiotropic associations with cardiovascular phenotypes and determine novel associations, notably with cholelithiasis risk. We perform sex-stratified GWAS meta-analysis of lipid levels and show that 3-5% of autosomal lipid-associated loci demonstrate sex-biased effects. Finally, we report 21 novel lipid loci identified on the X chromosome. Many of the sex-biased autosomal and X chromosome lipid loci show pleiotropic associations with sex hormones, emphasizing the role of hormone regulation in lipid metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms through which associated variants lead to altered lipid levels and potentially cardiovascular disease risk

A saturated map of common genetic variants associated with human height.

Common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are predicted to collectively explain 40-50% of phenotypic variation in human height, but identifying the specific variants and associated regions requires huge sample sizes1. Here, using data from a genome-wide association study of 5.4 million individuals of diverse ancestries, we show that 12,111 independent SNPs that are significantly associated with height account for nearly all of the common SNP-based heritability. These SNPs are clustered within 7,209 non-overlapping genomic segments with a mean size of around 90 kb, covering about 21% of the genome. The density of independent associations varies across the genome and the regions of increased density are enriched for biologically relevant genes. In out-of-sample estimation and prediction, the 12,111 SNPs (or all SNPs in the HapMap 3 panel2) account for 40% (45%) of phenotypic variance in populations of European ancestry but only around 10-20% (14-24%) in populations of other ancestries. Effect sizes, associated regions and gene prioritization are similar across ancestries, indicating that reduced prediction accuracy is likely to be explained by linkage disequilibrium and differences in allele frequency within associated regions. Finally, we show that the relevant biological pathways are detectable with smaller sample sizes than are needed to implicate causal genes and variants. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive map of specific genomic regions that contain the vast majority of common height-associated variants. Although this map is saturated for populations of European ancestry, further research is needed to achieve equivalent saturation in other ancestries

Initial constraints in seedling dynamics of Juniperus macrocarpa Sm.

The micro-forests dominated by Juniperus macrocarpa inhabiting coastal dunes in the Mediterranean Basin are European priority habitats. Their conservation is hindered by both anthropic and natural causes, although the regeneration problems for J. macrocarpa are still poorly understood. In this study, several factors influencing emergence and mortality of J. macrocarpa seedlings were investigated. For this purpose, permanent plots were placed in coastal dunes of Sardinia (Italy) and periodically monitored to record seedling parameters (emergence, survival and growth), as well as several biotic and abiotic variables (solar radiation, tree cover, herbaceous plus scrub cover, number of female cones on the soil and number of herbivory traces). Linear mixed models were fitted to test the effects of several types of explanatory variables on seedling dynamics. A total of 536 seedlings were marked, most of which emerged in winter. The microhabitat was the most important factor in models explaining emergence, with the number of emerged seedlings decreasing with solar radiation. Survival was very low, reaching the highest mortality percentage in the first summer. Herbivory and location in open interspaces had significant negative effects on seedling survival. In conclusion, the recruitment of J. macrocarpa is highly limited in the initial life cycle phases, with microhabitat and herbivory constraints influencing seedling dynamics. The identification of critical stages in the recruitment process of J. macrocarpa, together with factors influencing them, suggests some implication for management as well the hypotheses for future studies about conservation and recovery of the J. macrocarpa habitat

Inter-and intraspecific morphometric variability in Juniperus L. seeds (Cupressaceae)

In this study, a statistical classifier for Mediterranean taxa of Juniperus, based on 98 seed morphometric parameters, was tested at interspecific, specific and intraspecific levels. Ripe cones of 10 taxa were collected in different regions of the Mediterranean Basin to compare and discuss their taxonomic treatments according to two different sources. High percentages of correct identification were reached for both taxonomic treatments at the specific and intraspecific level and from the comparison among taxa of the J. oxycedrus, J. communis and J. phoenicea complexes. Moreover, ripe cones of J. macrocarpa were collected from four Sardinian populations, in two seasons, and from plant and soil, in order to analyse inter-population, seasonal and source variability in seed morphology. This statistical classifier discriminated J. macrocarpa seeds collected in spring more accurately than those collected in autumn, but it failed to distinguish between the seeds collected from plants and soil, or between those collected from different populations of the same geographic region

Hotspots within hotspots: Endemic plant richness, environmental drivers, and implications for conservation

Detecting smaller hotspots within larger hotspots could be an essential tool to focus conservation efforts. In this study, we identified hotspots at two scales of analysis within the Mediterranean overall hotspot. Particularly, based on the distribution of endemic-vascular-plant richness (EVPR), we identified microhotspots, among the richest floristic territories of the Sardinian and Baetic regions, and nano-hotspots, among the richest 1-km2 grid cells of Sierra Nevada and Gennargentu massifs, located within these regions. In addition, we explored environmental drivers of EVPR, performing both simple- and multiple- regression models. Our results showed that even in areas previously defined as hotspots, the endemic- plant richness was not uniformly distributed, but rather depended largely on environmental conditions. Relationships between environmental drivers and EVPR have been poorly studied in the Mediterranean context, where we found patterns consistent among scales and regions. Specifically, EVPR was positively linked to altitude and precipitation, particularly in the driest period. Hence, the different levels of hotspots nested in hotspots were organized in a hierarchy. This downscaling approach may help to focus conservation efforts within a given hotspot, e.g. the identification of narrow hotspots could be useful to find gaps in the protected-area networks. Specifically, the identified nano-hotspots are certainly priority sites for plant conservation, since the whole of the nano-hotspots in each region represented less than 1% of the surface area but contained more than 19% of the regional EVPR. Moreover, an examination of both where hotspots are and under what environmental conditions they appear, would enable the detection of specific threat

Hotspots within hotspots: Endemic plant richness, environmental drivers, and implications for conservation

Detecting smaller hotspots within larger hotspots could be an essential tool to focus conservation efforts. In this study, we identified hotspots at two scales of analysis within the Mediterranean overall hotspot. Particularly, based on the distribution of endemic-vascular-plant richness (EVPR), we identified microhotspots, among the richest floristic territories of the Sardinian and Baetic regions, and nano-hotspots, among the richest 1-km2 grid cells of Sierra Nevada and Gennargentu massifs, located within these regions. In addition, we explored environmental drivers of EVPR, performing both simple- and multiple- regression models. Our results showed that even in areas previously defined as hotspots, the endemic- plant richness was not uniformly distributed, but rather depended largely on environmental conditions. Relationships between environmental drivers and EVPR have been poorly studied in the Mediterranean context, where we found patterns consistent among scales and regions. Specifically, EVPR was positively linked to altitude and precipitation, particularly in the driest period. Hence, the different levels of hotspots nested in hotspots were organized in a hierarchy. This downscaling approach may help to focus conservation efforts within a given hotspot, e.g. the identification of narrow hotspots could be useful to find gaps in the protected-area networks. Specifically, the identified nano-hotspots are certainly priority sites for plant conservation, since the whole of the nano-hotspots in each region represented less than 1% of the surface area but contained more than 19% of the regional EVPR. Moreover, an examination of both where hotspots are and under what environmental conditions they appear, would enable the detection of specific threat