Species sorting drives variation of boreal lake and river macrophyte communities

Metacommunity paradigms are increasingly studied to explain how environmental control and spatial patterns determine variation in community composition. However, the relative importance of these patterns on biological assemblages among different habitats is not well known. We investigated the relative roles of local, catchment and spatial variables based on overland and watercourse distances in explaining the variation of community structure of lake and river macrophytes in two large river basins at two spatial extents (within and across river basins). Partial redundancy analysis was used to explore the share of variability in macrophyte communities attributable to local environmental conditions, catchment land cover and space (generated with Principle Coordinates of Neighbour Matrices). We found that local variables had the highest effect on both lake and river macrophyte communities, followed by catchment variables. Space had no or only marginal influence on the community structure regardless of used distance measure. Total phosphorus, conductivity and turbidity of the local variables contributed most for lake macrophytes, whereas pH and color had largest independent contribution for variation in river macrophytes. Size of catchment area and proportion of lakes and agriculture were the most important catchment variables in both habitats. The strong importance of environmental control suggests that both lake and river macrophyte communities are structured by species sorting. This finding gives support to the validity of assessment systems based on the European Water Framework Directive

Assessing the societal benefits of river restoration using the ecosystem services approach

This paper is a contribution from the EU seventh framework funded research project REFORM (Grant Agreement 282656).The success of river restoration was estimated using the ecosystem services approach. In eight pairs of restored–unrestored reaches and floodplains across Europe, we quantified provisioning (agricultural products, wood, reed for thatching, infiltrated drinking water), regulating (flooding and drainage, nutrient retention, carbon sequestration) and cultural (recreational hunting and fishing, kayaking, biodiversity conservation, appreciation of scenic landscapes) services for separate habitats within each reach, and summed these to annual economic value normalized per reach area. We used locally available data and literature, did surveys among inhabitants and visitors, and used a range of economic methods (market value, shadow price, replacement cost, avoided damage, willingness-to-pay survey, choice experiment) to provide final monetary service estimates. Total ecosystem service value was significantly increased in the restored reaches (difference 1400 ± 600 € ha−1 year−1; 2500 − 1100, p = 0.03, paired t test). Removal of one extreme case did not affect this outcome. We analysed the relation between services delivered and with floodplain and catchment characteristics after reducing these 23 variables to four principal components explaining 80% of the variance. Cultural and regulating services correlated positively with human population density, cattle density and agricultural N surplus in the catchment, but not with the fraction of arable land or forest, floodplain slope, mean river discharge or GDP. Our interpretation is that landscape appreciation and flood risk alleviation are a function of human population density, but not wealth, in areas where dairy farming is the prime form of agriculture.PostprintPeer reviewe

Global Patterns and Drivers of Ecosystem Functioning in Rivers and Riparian Zones

River ecosystems receive and process vast quantities of terrestrial organic carbon, the fate of which depends strongly on microbial activity. Variation in and controls of processing rates, however, are poorly characterized at the global scale. In response, we used a peer-sourced research network and a highly standardized carbon processing assay to conduct a global-scale field experiment in greater than 1000 river and riparian sites. We found that Earth’s biomes have distinct carbon processing signatures. Slow processing is evident across latitudes, whereas rapid rates are restricted to lower latitudes. Both the mean rate and variability decline with latitude, suggesting temperature constraints toward the poles and greater roles for other environmental drivers (e.g., nutrient loading) toward the equator. These results and data set the stage for unprecedented “next-generation biomonitoring” by establishing baselines to help quantify environmental impacts to the functioning of ecosystems at a global scale

Correlation of umbilical cord blood haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell levels with birth weight: implications for a prenatal influence on cancer risk

We examined the relation with birth weight and umbilical cord blood concentrations of haematopoietic stem and progenitor populations in 288 singleton infants. Across the whole range of birth weight, there was a positive relation between birth weight and CD34+CD38− cells, with each 500 g increase in birth weight being associated with a 15.5% higher (95% confidence interval: 1.6–31.3%) cell concentration. CD34+ and CD34+c-kit+ cells had J-shaped relations and CFU-GM cells had a U-shaped relation with birth weight. Among newborns with ⩾3000 g birth weights, concentrations of these cells increased with birth weight, while those below 3000 g had higher stem cell concentrations than the reference category of 3000–3499 g. Adjustment for cord blood plasma insulin-like growth factor-1 levels weakened the stem and progenitor cell–birth weight associations. The positive associations between birth weight and stem cell measurements for term newborns with a normal-to-high birth weight support the stem cell burden hypothesis of cancer risk

Understanding biological responses to degraded hydromorphology and multiple stresses. Deliverable 3.2 of REFORM (REstoring rivers FOR effective catchment Management), a Collaborative project (large-scale integrating project) funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme under Grant Agreement 282656

The aim of this deliverable is to conceptually model and empirically test the response of biota to the effects of both hydromorphological pressures acting in concert with one another or with other types of pressures. Best use is made of existing large national monitoring datasets (Denmark, UK, Finland, France, Germany, Austria & WISER datasets), case studies and modeling to provide evidence of multiple stressors interacting to alter river biota (Biological Quality Elements: BQE)

Country-specific birth weight and length in type 1 diabetes high-risk HLA genotypes in combination with prenatal characteristics

Objective:To examine the relationship between high-risk human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes for type 1 diabetes and birth size in combination with prenatal characteristics in different countries.Study Design:Four high-risk HLA genotypes were enrolled in the Environmental determinants of Diabetes in the Young study newborn babies from the general population in Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United States. Stepwise regression analyses were used to adjust for country, parental physical characteristics and environmental factors during pregnancy.Result:Regression analyses did not reveal differences in birth size between the four type 1 diabetes high-risk HLA genotypes. Compared with DQ 4/8 in each country, (1) DQ 2/2 children were heavier in the United States (P=0.028) mostly explained however, by parental weight; (2) DQ 2/8 (P=0.023) and DQ 8/8 (P=0.046) children were longer in Sweden independent of parents height and as well as (3) in the United States for DQ 2/8 (P=0.023), but again dependent on parental height.Conclusion:Children born with type 1 diabetes high-risk HLA genotypes have comparable birth size. Longitudinal follow-up of these children should reveal whether birth size differences between countries contribute to the risk for islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes.Journal of Perinatology advance online publication, 28 April 2011; doi:10.1038/jp.2011.26

The global EPTO database: Worldwide occurrences of aquatic insects

Motivation: Aquatic insects comprise 64% of freshwater animal diversity and are widely used as bioindicators to assess water quality impairment and freshwater ecosystem health, as well as to test ecological hypotheses. Despite their importance, a comprehensive, global database of aquatic insect occurrences for mapping freshwater biodiversity in macroecological studies and applied freshwater research is missing. We aim to fill this gap and present the Global EPTO Database, which includes worldwide geo-referenced aquatic insect occurrence records for four major taxa groups: Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Odonata (EPTO). Main type of variables contained: A total of 8,368,467 occurrence records globally, of which 8,319,689 (99%) are publicly available. The records are attributed to the corresponding drainage basin and sub-catchment based on the Hydrography90m dataset and are accompanied by the elevation value, the freshwater ecoregion and the protection status of their location. Spatial location and grain: The database covers the global extent, with 86% of the observation records having coordinates with at least four decimal digits (11.1 m precision at the equator) in the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) coordinate reference system. Time period and grain: Sampling years span from 1951 to 2021. Ninety-nine percent of the records have information on the year of the observation, 95% on the year and month, while 94% have a complete date. In the case of seven sub-datasets, exact dates can be retrieved upon communication with the data contributors.Major taxa and level of measurement: Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Odonata, standardized at the genus taxonomic level. We provide species names for 7,727,980 (93%) records without further taxonomic verification. Software format: The entire tab-separated value (.csv) database can be downloaded and visualized at https://glowa bio.org/proje ct/epto_datab ase/. Fifty individual datasets are also available at https://fred.igb-berlin. de, while six datasets have restricted access. For the latter, we share metadata and the contact details of the authors