The BIOKLIM project: biodiversity research between climate change and wilding in a temperate montane forest : the conceptual framework

To understand the rapid rate of change in global biodiversity, it is necessary to analyse the present condition of ecosystems and to elucidate relationships of species to their environment. The BIOKLIM Project (Biodiversity and Climate Change Project) is intended to close this gap in our knowledge of montane and high montane forests of Central European low mountain ranges, one of the most threatened mixed montane systems worldwide. The Bavarian Forest National Park is characterised by its altitude range of ca. 800 m and a strongly developed gradient of forest structure. Relicts of old growth forests (areas of former local nature reserves) and dead stands, mostly killed by bark beetles, are accompanied by widely varying levels of woody debris and light. The gradients comprise a wide range of abiotic and forest structure factors, making the study area well suited for a multidisciplinary investigation of biodiversity. Unconstrained ordination (CA) of six taxa (vascular plants, wood inhabiting fungi, birds, carabids, spiders and molluscs) indicate the altitudinal gradient to be the main driver for distribution patterns of species assemblages. Objectives, structure, study design and data sampling of the BIOKLIM Project are described in detail. We set up 293 sampling plots along four main straight transects following the altitudinal gradient. All abiotic and stand structure data regarded as relevant are available for each plot. Vascular plants, wood inhabiting fungi and birds were sampled or mapped on all 293 plots. For the other 22 investigated taxa we used subsamples pre-stratified according to the sampling methods. The necessity of dealing with spatial autocorrelation, arising from sampling along linear transects, is described. Finally, study approach of our biodiversity project is compared with others involving altitudinal gradients. Worldwide, only a few multidisciplinary biodiversity studies have been previously conducted on long altitudinal gradients. However, in most cases sampling techniques were similar to ours, which allows comparison of results between continents. Keywords: Climate Change, Biodiversity, species-environment relationshipsUm die rasante Veränderung globaler Biodiversität zu verstehen, ist es erforderlich, den gegenwärtigen Zustand von Ökosystemen zu analysieren und die Zusammenhänge zwischen Arten und deren Umwelt aufzulösen. Das BIOKLIMProjekt (Biodiversität und Klima Projekt) hat zum Ziel, diese Wissenslücken für Wälder montaner und hochmontaner Mittelgebirge zu schließen. Der Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald ist neben dem Höhengradient (ca. 800 m) durch einen starken Strukturgradient geprägt. Dieser resultiert aus Restvorkommen sehr alter Bestände (ehem. Naturschutzgebiete) sowie dem Wirken des Borkenkäfers seit ca. zwei Jahrzehnten und einem dadurch verbundenen z. T. sehr hohen Totholzvorrat. Die Gradienten umfassen eine breite Spanne von abiotischen Faktoren und Bestandesstrukturen und machen den Nationalpark zu einem gut geeigneten Untersuchungsgebiet für interdisziplinäre Biodiversitätsforschung. Korrespondenzanalysen (CA) für 6 taxonomische Gruppen (Gefäßpflanzen, Holzpilze, Vögel, Laufkäfer, Spinnen und Mollusken) machen die starke Abhängigkeit der Artengruppen vom Höhengradienten deutlich. Es werden detailliert die Zielsetzungen, Projektaufbau, das Untersuchungsdesign sowie die Erfassungsmethoden des BIOKLIM-Projektes beschrieben. 293 Probepunkte wurden entlang von 4 Transekten, welche dem Höhengradienten folgen, eingerichtet. Zu jedem Probekreis stehen alle als relevant erachteten Daten zur Abiotik und Bestandesstruktur zur Verfügung. Gefäßpflanzen, Holzpilze und Vögel wurden auf allen 293 Probepunkten erfasst. Für die anderen 22 untersuchten Artengruppen wurde in Abhängigkeit von der Methode ein stratifiziertes Design gewählt. Lösungsansätze zum Umgang mit Autokorrelation, die durch die Anordnung von Probekreisen entlang von Linien (Transekte) bedingt ist, werden dargestellt. Schließlich wird das BIOKLIM-Projekt mit den wenigen weltweiten Biodiversitätsprojekten verglichen und diskutiert. In den meisten Fällen sind die Erhebungsmethoden ähnlich, sodass Vergleiche der Ergebnisse zwischen verschiedenen Kontinenten möglich werden. Schlüsselwörter: Klimawandel, Biodiversität, Arten-Umwelt-Beziehun

Epiphytic lichens indicating process protection and ecological continuity in the Bavarian Forest National Park

Lichens are one of the prominent taxonomical indicator groups for changes in forests. Within the course of the research project BIOKLIM, we sampled 125 epiphytic lichens, 5 lichenicolous fungi, and 1 non-lichenized ascomycete in wilding areas, managed areas, and relicts of old-growth forests along four transects in the Bavarian Forest National Park. Our analyses showed that old-growth relicts and wilding areas have a significantly higher diversity and a higher number of red-listed species than managed forests, demonstrating the importance of these areas for the protection and dispersal of endangered lichens and lichenicolous fungi. The rare and threatened lichenicolous fungi Chaenothecopsis viridialba, Sphinctrina anglica, and Sphinctrina turbinata and the critically threatened lichen Mycobilimbia sphaeroides were new records for the Bavarian Forest. The lichen-fungus Sphinctrina tubiformis, presumed extinct in Germany, was recovered in the old-growth relict Rachelseeurwald. The following species were classified as indicators of old, nearnatural forests of the Bavarian Forest: Lecanactis abietina, Pyrenula nitida, Micarea cinerea, Microcalicium disseminatum, Loxospora cismonica, and Thelotrema lepadinum. We propose management implications for the managed areas of montane and high montane forests in Central Europe.Flechten gehören zu den herausragenden Indikatorgruppen für Veränderungen in Wäldern. Im Rahmen des Forschungsprojektes „Biodiversität und Klima“ (BIOKLIM) wurden im Jahr 2007 im Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald entlang von 4 Forschungslinien 125 baumbewohnende Flechten, 5 lichenicole Pilze sowie 1 nicht lichenisierter Ascomycet festgestellt. Alte Wälder und Prozessschutzwälder wiesen dabei signifikant die größte Artendiversität und die höchste Anzahl an bedrohten Arten im Vergleich mit den noch gemanagten Wäldern auf. Die herausragende Bedeutung von alten Wäldern und Prozessschutzflächen für den Erhalt und die Ausbreitung gefährdeter Flechten und lichenicoler Pilze für den ostbayerischen Mittelgebirgsraum wird dargestellt. Die sehr seltenen und hochgradig gefährdeten lichenicolen Pilze Chaenothecopsis viridialba, Sphinctrina anglica und Sphinctrina turbinata und die Flechte Mycobilimbia sphaeroides werden als Neufunde für den Bayerischen Wald genannt. Der in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland als verschollen geltende Flechtenpilz Sphinctrina tubiformis wurde im „Rachelseeurwald“ wiederentdeckt. Für alte naturnahe Wälder des Bayerischen und Böhmischen Waldes werden folgende Zeigerarten beschrieben: Lecanactis abietina, Pyrenula nitida, Micarea cinerea, Microcalicium disseminatum, Loxospora cismonica und Thelotrema lepadinum. Abschließend werden für das Management montaner und hochmontaner Wälder Mitteleuropas Empfehlungen abgeleitet

Insects Overshoot the Expected Upslope Shift Caused by Climate Warming

Along elevational gradients, climate warming may lead to an upslope shift of the lower and upper range margin of organisms. A recent meta-analysis concluded that these shifts are species specific and considerably differ among taxonomic lineages. We used the opportunity to compare upper range margins of five lineages (plants, beetles, flies, hymenoptera, and birds) between 1902-1904 and 2006-2007 within one region (Bavarian Forest, Central Europe). Based on the increase in the regional mean annual temperature during this period and the regional lapse rate, the upslope shift is expected to be between 51 and 201 m. Averaged across species within lineages, the range margin of all animal lineages shifted upslope, but that of plants did not. For animals, the observed shifts were probably due to shifts in temperature and not to changes in habitat conditions. The range margin of plants is therefore apparently not constrained by temperature, a result contrasting recent findings. The mean shift of birds (165 m) was within the predicted range and consistent with a recent global meta-analysis. However, the upslope shift of the three insect lineages (>260 m) exceeded the expected shift even after considering several sources of uncertainty, which indicated a non-linear response to temperature. Our analysis demonstrated broad differences among lineages in their response to climate change even within one region. Furthermore, on the considered scale, the response of ectothermic animals was not consistent with expectations based on shifts in the mean annual temperature. Irrespective of the reasons for the overshooting of the response of the insects, these shifts lead to reorganizations in the composition of assemblages with consequences for ecosystem processes

Rituximab-Containing Treatment Regimens May Imply a Long-Term Risk for Difficult-To-Treat Chronic Hepatitis E

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an emerging disease in industrialized countries which is usually characterized by a self-limited course. However, there is an increased risk of HEV persistence in immunocompromised risk populations, comprising patients following solid organ transplantation or hematological malignancies. Recently, chronic HEV infection following rituximab-containing treatment regimens has been described. Here we report five patients with chronic hepatitis E after prior rituximab therapy for various indications. We determined the immunological characteristics of these patients and analyzed the development of ribavirin (RBV) treatment failure-associated mutations in the HEV genome. One patient became chronically HEV-infected 110 months after administration of rituximab (RTX). Immunological characterization revealed that all patients exhibited significant hypogammaglobulinemia and CD4+ T cell lymphopenia. One patient permanently cleared HEV following weight-based ribavirin treatment while three patients failed to reach a sustained virological response. In depth mutational analysis confirmed the presence of specific mutations associated with RBV treatment failure in these patients. Our cases indicate that rituximab-containing treatment regimens might imply a relevant risk for persistent HEV infection even years after the last rituximab application. Moreover, we provide further evidence to prior observations suggesting that chronically HEV infected patients following RTX-containing treatment regimens might be difficult to treat

Electrodynamic coupling of electric dipole emitters to a fluctuating mode density within a nano-cavity

We investigate the impact of rotational diffusion on the electrodynamic coupling of fluorescent dye molecules (oscillating electric dipoles) to a tunable planar metallic nanocavity. Fast rotational diffusion of the molecules leads to a rapidly fluctuating mode density of the electromagnetic field along the molecules' dipole axis, which significantly changes their coupling to the field as compared to the opposite limit of fixed dipole orientation. We derive a theoretical treatment of the problem and present experimental results for rhodamine 6G molecules in cavities filled with low and high viscosity liquids. The derived theory and presented experimental method is a powerful tool for determining absolute quantum yield values of fluorescence.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Physical Review Letter