65 research outputs found
Biogeographic distributions of neotropical trees reflect their directly measured drought tolerances
High levels of species diversity hamper current understanding of how tropical forests may respond to environmental change. In the tropics, water availability is a leading driver of the diversity and distribution of tree species, suggesting that many tropical taxa may be physiologically incapable of tolerating dry conditions, and that their distributions along moisture gradients can be used to predict their drought tolerance. While this hypothesis has been explored at local and regional scales, large continental-scale tests are lacking. We investigate whether the relationship between drought-induced mortality and distributions holds continentally by relating experimental and observational data of drought-induced mortality across the Neotropics to the large-scale bioclimatic distributions of 115 tree genera. Across the different experiments, genera affiliated to wetter climatic regimes show higher drought-induced mortality than dry-affiliated ones, even after controlling for phylogenetic relationships. This pattern is stronger for adult trees than for saplings or seedlings, suggesting that the environmental filters exerted by drought impact adult tree survival most strongly. Overall, our analysis of experimental, observational, and bioclimatic data across neotropical forests suggests that increasing moisture-stress is indeed likely to drive significant changes in floristic composition
Distribution of Corbicula fluminea (MĂŒller, 1774) in the invaded range: a geographic approach with notes on species traits variability
Corbicula fluminea is considered one of the
most important non-native invasive species (NIS) in
aquatic systems mainly due to its widespread distribution
and ecological and economic impacts. This species
is known to negatively affect native bivalves, also with
severe effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Throughout an exhaustive bibliographic survey and
with the aid of Geographic Information Systems tools,
this study tracks the species dispersion from its native
range, including the description of important physical
and environmental barriers. Additional analyses were
conducted to examine possible influences of latitudinal/
temperature gradients on important traits (e.g. life span,
maximum and mean body length, growth at the end of
first year). Altitude and winter minimum temperature
appear to be delaying the invasion worldwide, but it
seems inevitable that the species will spread across the
globe. Latitude and summer temperature show a
relationship with growth and life span. Overall, the
information gathered in this review may be relevant to
forecast future distribution patterns of this NIS, and to
anticipate the possible implementation of effective
management measures. Moreover, it may constitute a
valuabletool inthe prediction of population responses to
an increasingly changing environment.This research was supported by FCT
(Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), through
a PhD grant attributed to D. Crespo (SFRH/BD/80252/2011), a
post-doc grant attributed to S. Leston (SFRH/BPD/91828/2012)
and M Dolbeth (SFRH/BPD/41117/2007) and BIOCHANGED
project (PTDC/MAR/111901/2009), subsidized by the
European Social Fund and MCTES (MinistĂ©rio da CiĂȘncia,
Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) National Funds, through the
POPH (Human Potential Operational Programme), QREN
(National Strategic Reference Framework) and COMPETE
(Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Scoping review of patient- and family-oriented outcomes and measures for chronic pediatric disease.
Improvements in health care for children with chronic diseases must be informed by research that emphasizes outcomes of importance to patients and families. To support a program of research in the field of rare inborn errors of metabolism (IEM), we conducted a broad scoping review of primary studies that: (i) focused on chronic pediatric diseases similar to IEM in etiology or manifestations and in complexity of management; (ii) reported patient- and/or family-oriented outcomes; and (iii) measured these outcomes using self-administered tools.We developed a comprehensive review protocol and implemented an electronic search strategy to identify relevant citations in Medline, EMBASE, DARE and Cochrane. Two reviewers applied pre-specified criteria to titles/abstracts using a liberal accelerated approach. Articles eligible for full-text review were screened by two independent reviewers with discrepancies resolved by consensus. One researcher abstracted data on study characteristics, patient- and family-oriented outcomes, and self-administered measures. Data were validated by a second researcher.4,118 citations were screened with 304 articles included. Across all included reports, the most-represented diseases were diabetes (35%), cerebral palsy (23%) and epilepsy (18%). We identified 43 unique patient- and family-oriented outcomes from among five emergent domains, with mental health outcomes appearing most frequently. The studies reported the use of 405 independent self-administered measures of these outcomes.Patient- and family-oriented research investigating chronic pediatric diseases emphasizes mental health and appears to be relatively well-developed in the diabetes literature. Future research can build on this foundation while identifying additional outcomes that are priorities for patients and families
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