Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms

Global patterns in endemicity and vulnerability of soil fungi

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high-resolution, long-read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West-Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land-cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early-diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms

Blue Carbon Storage Capacity of Temperate Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Meadows

Despite the importance of coastal ecosystems for the global carbon budgets, knowledge of their carbon storage capacity and the factors driving variability in storage capacity is still limited. Here we provide an estimate on the magnitude and variability of carbon stocks within a widely distributed marine foundation species throughout its distribution area in temperate Northern Hemisphere. We sampled 54 eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows, spread across eight ocean margins and 36° of latitude, to determine abiotic and biotic factors influencing organic carbon (Corg) stocks in Zostera marina sediments. The Corg stocks (integrated over 25‐cm depth) showed a large variability and ranged from 318 to 26,523 g C/m2 with an average of 2,721 g C/m2. The projected Corg stocks obtained by extrapolating over the top 1 m of sediment ranged between 23.1 and 351.7 Mg C/ha, which is in line with estimates for other seagrasses and other blue carbon ecosystems. Most of the variation in Corg stocks was explained by five environmental variables (sediment mud content, dry density and degree of sorting, and salinity and water depth), while plant attributes such as biomass and shoot density were less important to Corg stocks. Carbon isotopic signatures indicated that at most sites <50% of the sediment carbon is derived from seagrass, which is lower than reported previously for seagrass meadows. The high spatial carbon storage variability urges caution in extrapolating carbon storage capacity between geographical areas as well as within and between seagrass species

Rapid establishment of the European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC):The Hot Start experience

A fast track “Hot Start” process was implemented to launch the European Bank for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (EBiSC) to provide early release of a range of established control and disease linked human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) lines. Established practice amongst consortium members was surveyed to arrive at harmonised and publically accessible Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) for tissue procurement, bio-sample tracking, iPSC expansion, cryopreservation, qualification and distribution to the research community. These were implemented to create a quality managed foundational collection of lines and associated data made available for distribution. Here we report on the successful outcome of this experience and work flow for banking and facilitating access to an otherwise disparate European resource, with lessons to benefit the international research community. eTOC: The report focuses on the EBiSC experience of rapidly establishing an operational capacity to procure, bank and distribute a foundational collection of established hiPSC lines. It validates the feasibility and defines the challenges of harnessing and integrating the capability and productivity of centres across Europe using commonly available resources currently in the field

Connecting the multiple dimensions of global soil fungal diversity

How the multiple facets of soil fungal diversity vary worldwide remains virtually unknown, hindering the management of this essential species-rich group. By sequencing high-resolution DNA markers in over 4000 topsoil samples from natural and human-altered ecosystems across all continents, we illustrate the distributions and drivers of different levels of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of fungi and their ecological groups. We show the impact of precipitation and temperature interactions on local fungal species richness (alpha diversity) across different climates. Our findings reveal how temperature drives fungal compositional turnover (beta diversity) and phylogenetic diversity, linking them with regional species richness (gamma diversity). We integrate fungi into the principles of global biodiversity distribution and present detailed maps for biodiversity conservation and modeling of global ecological processes

Carry-Over or Compensation? The Impact of Winter Harshness and Post-Winter Body Condition on Spring-Fattening in a Migratory Goose Species

Environmental conditions at one point of the annual cycle of migratory species may lead to cross-seasonal effects affecting fitness in subsequent seasons. Based on a long-term mark-resighting dataset and scoring of body condition in an arctic breeding goose species, we demonstrate a substantial effect of winter harshness on post-winter body condition. However, this effect was compensated along the spring migration corridor, and did not persist long enough to influence future reproduction. This highlights the importance of temporal scale when assessing impacts of environmental effects, and suggests a state-dependent physiological mechanism adjusting energy accumulation according to internal energy stores carried into spring. In support of these findings, the development of body condition was unaffected by whether geese used supplementary feeding sites or not. While there was no effect of winter harshness on the average population pre-breeding body condition, individual variations in early spring body condition (probably related to different life-histories) were partly traceable throughout spring. This strongly indicates a carry-over effect on the individual level, possibly related to differences in dominance, site use, disturbance or migration strategy, which may potentially affect future reproduction

Using re-sighting data to estimate population size of Pink-footed Geese (Anser brachyrhynchus)

In wildlife management, the ability to reliably assess population sizes is a basic prerequisite. When populations are managed specifically to maintain a population target this is even more vital. In this study we apply a mark-resight approach using neck-collared geese to develop and present an alternative method to total counts when estimating the population size of Pink-footed Geese (Anser brachyrhynchus). Estimates of population size from the mark-resight approach showed an increasing trend from 31,000 birds in 1991/ 1992 to 100,700 birds in 2011/2012, and fluctuating numbers around 80,000 in recent years. By exploring the relationship between uncertainty of the population estimate and the monitoring effort, we showed that a minimum of approximately 120 independent flocks greater than 100 birds should be surveyed to derive a ratio estimate of marked to unmarked birds minimizing uncertainty of the overall population estimate

Fixed effects model output of the general linear model to explain the effect of supplementary feeding on April API of pink-footed geese <i>Anser brachyrhynchus</i>.

<p>* Significant effects on α-level 0.05</p><p>Presented estimates are coefficients from a model with “Year” and “Bird ID” as random effects and “Day of month”, “Sex”, “Supplementary feeding”, “Sex * Supplementary feeding” and “Year * Supplementary feeding” as fixed effects. The supplementary feeding variable distinguishes between birds with API assessments inside and outside areas with supplementary feeding, and N indicates the number of geese included in the analysis. Day of month and Year was fitted as continuous variables (covariates).</p

Fixed effects output of the general linear mixed model to explain temporal persistence of the winter carry-over effect on pink-footed goose <i>Anser brachyrhynchus</i> body condition at three consecutive spring staging sites (Denmark, Trøndelag and Vesterålen).

<p>* Significant effects on α-level 0.05</p><p>Presented estimates are coefficients from a model with API (abdominal profile index) as response variable, “Year” and “Bird ID” as random effects and “Day of Month”, “Winter temperature” and the interaction between these as fixed effects. Winter temperature is the average December-February temperature (°C) in the preceding winter, and N the number of geese (females & males) with abdominal profile index (API) assessments for all combinations of month and staging sites. Day of month was fitted as a continuous variable (covariate).</p