Central Asian wild tulip conservation requires a regional approach, especially in the face of climate change

Funder: Finnis Scott FoundationAbstractTulips (Tulipa spp.) are one of the most widely appreciated plants worldwide, nevertheless species taxonomy and biogeography are often poorly understood. Most wild tulips inhabit the mountains of Central Asia, a recognised biodiversity hotspot, and a centre of tulip diversity. Despite the presence of several country-level endemic Tulipa species, most taxa span the borders of several nations. With no globally Red Listed tulip taxa from this region national level conservation assessments are an important resource. Nonetheless, threats posed to tulips are still inadequately understood, especially climate change, and given the trans-national nature of most species, distributional information is restricted and often misleading. Here we collate 330 species records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility with 85 newly collected records, to undertake species distribution modelling (MaxEnt) for ten native Central Asian species. This work showed that regional level models provide a much more comprehensive understanding of species’ extinction risks, proportions of habitat in different countries, and limitations in protected area coverage. Furthermore, our climate modelling, the first of its kind for tulips, suggests that climate change will have a significant negative impact on the range size of all species; including those that are currently widespread. We therefore add climate change to the list of threats affecting tulip populations in Central Asia, which already includes livestock overgrazing, urbanisation, wild collection, and mining. Overall, our work shows that although national information is important, a regional approach is crucial not just for tulip conservation efforts, but likely for Central Asian plant conservation in general.</jats:p

British Society for Immunology & United Kingdom Primary Immunodeficiency Network (UKPIN) consensus guideline for the management of immunoglobulin replacement therapy

Currently there is no guideline to support the use of immunoglobulin replacement therapy (IgRT) in primary and secondary immunodeficiency disorders in UK. The UK Primary Immunodeficiency Network (UK-PIN) and the British Society of Immunology (BSI) joined forces to address this need. Given the paucity of evidence a modified Delphi approach was employed covering statements for the initiation, monitoring, discontinuation of IgRT as well as home therapy programme. A group of 6 consultant immunologists and 3 nurse specialists created the statements, reviewed responses and feedback and agreed on final recommendations. This guideline includes 22 statements for initiation, 22 statements for monitoring, 11 statement for home therapy and 19 statements for discontinuation of IgRT. Further areas of research are proposed to improve future delivery of care

Quantifying and mapping species threat abatement opportunitiesto support national target setting

The successful implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s post-2020Global Biodiversity Framework will rely on effective translation of targets from global tonational level and increased engagement across diverse sectors of society. Species conserva-tion targets require policy support measures that can be applied to a diversity of taxonomicgroups, that link action targets to outcome goals, and that can be applied to both global andnational data sets to account for national context, which the species threat abatement andrestoration (STAR) metric does. To test the flexibility of STAR, we applied the metric to vascular plants listed on national red lists of Brazil, Norway, and South Africa. The STARmetric uses data on species’ extinction risk, distributions, and threats, which we obtainedfrom national red lists to quantify the contribution that threat abatement and habitatrestoration activities could make to reducing species’ extinction risk. Across all 3 coun-tries, the greatest opportunity for reducing plant species’ extinction risk was from abatingthreats from agricultural activities, which could reduce species’ extinction risk by 54% inNorway, 36% in South Africa, and 29% in Brazil. Species extinction risk could be reducedby a further 21% in South Africa by abating threats from invasive species and by 21% inBrazil by abating threats from urban expansion. Even with different approaches to red-listing among countries, the STAR metric yielded informative results that identified wherethe greatest conservation gains could be made for species through threat-abatement andrestoration activities. Quantifiably linking local taxonomic coverage and data collection toglobal processes with STAR would allow national target setting to align with global targetsand enable state and nonstate actors to measure and report on their potential contributionsto species conservation. habitat restoration, national red lists, species’ extinction risk, threat reduction, threatened species, vascular plantspublishedVersio

Current knowledge, status and future for plant and fungal diversity in Great Britain and the UK Overseas Territories

Societal Impact Statement We rely on plants and fungi for most aspects of our lives. Yet plants and fungi are under threat, and we risk losing species before we know their identity, roles, and potential uses. Knowing names, distributions, and threats are first steps toward effective conservation action. Accessible products like field guides and online resources engage society, harnessing collective support for conservation. Here, we review current knowledge of the plants and fungi of the UK and UK Overseas Territories, highlighting gaps to help direct future research efforts toward conserving these vital elements of biodiversity. Summary This review summarizes current knowledge of the status and threats to the plants and fungi of Great Britain and the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs). Although the body of knowledge is considerable, the distribution of information varies substantially, and we highlight knowledge gaps. The UK vascular flora is the most well studied and we have a relatively clear picture of its 9,001 native and alien taxa. We have seedbanked 72% of the native and archaeophyte angiosperm taxa and 78% of threatened taxa. Knowledge of the UKOTs flora varies across territories and we report a UKOTs flora comprising 4,093 native and alien taxa. We have conserved 27% of the native flora and 51% of the threatened vascular plants in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, UK. We need a better understanding of the conservation status of plants in the wild, and progress toward completion or updating national red lists varies. Site‐based protection of key plant assemblages is outlined, and progress in identifying Important Plant Areas analyzed. Knowledge of the non‐vascular flora, especially seaweeds remains patchy, particularly in many UKOTs. The biggest gaps overall are in fungi, particularly non‐lichenized fungi. Considerable investment is needed to fill these knowledge gaps and instigate effective conservation strategies

Training Programmes Can Change Behaviour and Encourage the Cultivation of Over-Harvested Plant Species

Cultivation of wild-harvested plant species has been proposed as a way of reducing over-exploitation of wild populations but lack of technical knowledge is thought to be a barrier preventing people from cultivating a new species. Training programmes are therefore used to increase technical knowledge to encourage people to adopt cultivation. We assessed the impact of a training programme aiming to encourage cultivation of xaté (Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti), an over-harvested palm from Central America. Five years after the training programme ended, we surveyed untrained and trained individuals focusing on four potential predictors of behaviour: technical knowledge, attitudes (what individuals think about a behaviour), subjective norms (what individuals perceive others to think of a behaviour) and perceived behavioural control (self assessment of whether individuals can enact the behaviour successfully). Whilst accounting for socioeconomic variables, we investigate the influence of training upon these behavioural predictors and examine the factors that determine whether people adopt cultivation of a novel species. Those who had been trained had higher levels of technical knowledge about xaté cultivation and higher belief in their ability to cultivate it while training was not associated with differences in attitudes or subjective norms. Technical knowledge and perceived behavioural control (along with socio-economic variables such as forest ownership and age) were predictors of whether individuals cultivate xaté. We suggest that training programmes can have a long lasting effect on individuals and can change behaviour. However, in many situations other barriers to cultivation, such as access to seeds or appropriate markets, will need to be addressed

Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities

Madagascar's unique biota is heavily affected by human activity and is under intense threat. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the conservation status of Madagascar's terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by presenting data and analyses on documented and predicted species-level conservation statuses, the most prevalent and relevant threats, ex situ collections and programs, and the coverage and comprehensiveness of protected areas. The existing terrestrial protected area network in Madagascar covers 10.4% of its land area and includes at least part of the range of the majority of described native species of vertebrates with known distributions (97.1% of freshwater fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals combined) and plants (67.7%). The overall figures are higher for threatened species (97.7% of threatened vertebrates and 79.6% of threatened plants occurring within at least one protected area). International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments and Bayesian neural network analyses for plants identify overexploitation of biological resources and unsustainable agriculture as themost prominent threats to biodiversity. We highlight five opportunities for action at multiple levels to ensure that conservation and ecological restoration objectives, programs, and activities take account of complex underlying and interacting factors and produce tangible benefits for the biodiversity and people of Madagascar

Genetic causes of hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis

Renal stone disease (nephrolithiasis) affects 3–5% of the population and is often associated with hypercalciuria. Hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis is a familial disorder in over 35% of patients and may occur as a monogenic disorder that is more likely to manifest itself in childhood. Studies of these monogenic forms of hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis in humans, e.g. Bartter syndrome, Dent’s disease, autosomal dominant hypocalcemic hypercalciuria (ADHH), hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis with hypophosphatemia, and familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria have helped to identify a number of transporters, channels and receptors that are involved in regulating the renal tubular reabsorption of calcium. Thus, Bartter syndrome, an autosomal disease, is caused by mutations of the bumetanide-sensitive Na–K–Cl (NKCC2) co-transporter, the renal outer-medullary potassium (ROMK) channel, the voltage-gated chloride channel, CLC-Kb, the CLC-Kb beta subunit, barttin, or the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR). Dent’s disease, an X-linked disorder characterized by low molecular weight proteinuria, hypercalciuria and nephrolithiasis, is due to mutations of the chloride/proton antiporter 5, CLC-5; ADHH is associated with activating mutations of the CaSR, which is a G-protein-coupled receptor; hypophosphatemic hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis associated with rickets is due to mutations in the type 2c sodium–phosphate co-transporter (NPT2c); and familial hypomagnesemia with hypercalciuria is due to mutations of paracellin-1, which is a member of the claudin family of membrane proteins that form the intercellular tight junction barrier in a variety of epithelia. These studies have provided valuable insights into the renal tubular pathways that regulate calcium reabsorption and predispose to hypercalciuria and nephrolithiasis

Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use

Madagascar's biota is hyperdiverse and includes exceptional levels of endemicity. We review the current state of knowledge on Madagascar's past and current terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by compiling and presenting comprehensive data on species diversity, endemism, and rates of species description and human uses, in addition to presenting an updated and simplified map of vegetation types. We report a substantial increase of records and species new to science in recent years; however, the diversity and evolution of many groups remain practically unknown (e.g., fungi and most invertebrates). Digitization efforts are increasing the resolution of species richness patterns and we highlight the crucial role of field- and collections-based research for advancing biodiversity knowledge and identifying gaps in our understanding, particularly as species richness corresponds closely to collection effort. Phylogenetic diversity patterns mirror that of species richness and endemism in most of the analyzed groups. We highlight humid forests as centers of diversity and endemism because of their role as refugia and centers of recent and rapid radiations. However, the distinct endemism of other areas, such as the grassland-woodland mosaic of the Central Highlands and the spiny forest of the southwest, is also biologically important despite lower species richness. The documented uses of Malagasy biodiversity are manifold, with much potential for the uncovering of new useful traits for food, medicine, and climate mitigation. The data presented here showcase Madagascar as a unique living laboratory for our understanding of evolution and the complex interactions between people and nature. The gathering and analysis of biodiversity data must continue and accelerate if we are to fully understand and safeguard this unique subset of Earth's biodiversity

State of the world’s plants and fungi 2020

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi sets an important international standard from which we can annually track trends in the global status of plant and fungal diversity