Influence of the honeybee and trait similarity on the effect of a non-native plant on pollination and network rewiring

Introduced entomophilous non-native plants usually become well integrated into the diet of generalist pollinators. This integration can affect the entire recipient plant–pollinator network. Effects vary from facilitative to competitive, and understanding the factors that govern such variability is one of the fundamental goals in invasion ecology. Species traits determine the linking patterns between plant and pollinator species. Therefore, trait similarity among plants or among pollinators might modulate how they affect each other. We conducted a flower removal experiment to investigate the effects of the non-native entomophilous legume Hedysarum coronarium on the pollination patterns of a Mediterranean shrubland plant–pollinator network. Specifically, we explored whether effects were influenced by similarity with the resident plant species in flower morphology (papilionate vs. non-papilionate), and whether effects on the pollinator community were influenced by similarity in functional group with its main visitor species (bees vs. non-bees). In addition, we explored whether Hedysarum had an effect on the identity of interactions. For this purpose, we calculated the interaction rewiring, that is the number of plant–pollinator interactions that were gained or lost after invasion. Hedysarum was well integrated into the diet of 15 generalist pollinators having the honeybee as its main visitor species. Such integration did not affect visitation rates, normalized degree (i.e. proportion of pollinators they are visited by) nor niche overlap (i.e. proportion of plant species they share pollinators with) of plants, irrespective of their flower morphology. Only the proportion of honeybee visits to resident plants decreased with invasion. On the other hand, Hedysarum reduced visitation rates and niche overlap of pollinators, mainly those of bee species. Finally, we observed that changes in the foraging behaviour of the honeybee were positively associated with the interaction rewiring involving the rest (92 taxa) of pollinators. In conclusion, pollinators show a plastic use of floral resources, responding to the presence of non-native plants. When the non-native attracts highly competitive pollinators such as the honeybee, plasticity is especially significant in pollinators that are functionally close to that competitive pollinator. The result is an interaction rewiring, probably due to pollinators avoiding competition with the honeybee. Though this plasticity might not quantitatively affect the pollination of plants, consequences on their reproduction and the functioning of the network can derive from the interaction rewiring.Peer reviewe

Direct and Indirect Influence of Non-Native Neighbours on Pollination and Fruit Production of a Native Plant

Entomophilous non-native plants can directly affect the pollination and reproductive success of native plant species and also indirectly, by altering the composition and abundance of floral resources in the invaded community. Separating direct from indirect effects is critical for understanding the mechanisms underlying the impacts of non-native species on recipient communities. Objectives Our aims are: (a) to explore both the direct effect of the non-native Hedysarum coronarium and its indirect effect, mediated by the alteration of floral diversity, on the pollinator visitation rate and fructification of the native Leopoldia comosa and (b) to distinguish whether the effects of the non-native species were due to its floral display or to its vegetative interactions. Methods We conducted field observations within a flower removal experimental setup (i.e. non-native species present, absent and with its inflorescences removed) at the neighbourhood scale. Results Our study illustrates the complexity of mechanisms involved in the impacts of non-native species on native species. Overall, Hedysarum increased pollinator visitation rates to Leopoldia target plants as a result of direct and indirect effects acting in the same direction. Due to its floral display, Hedysarum exerted a direct magnet effect attracting visits to native target plants, especially those made by the honeybee. Indirectly, Hedysarum also increased the visitation rate of native target plants. Due to the competition for resources mediated by its vegetative parts, it decreased floral diversity in the neighbourhoods, which was negatively related to the visitation rate to native target plants. Hedysarum overall also increasedthe fructification of Leopoldia target plants, even though such an increase was the result of other indirect effects compensating for the observed negative indirect effect mediated by the decrease of floral diversityPeer reviewedEstación Biológica de Doñana/Unidad de Excelencia Severo Ochoa. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España). (SEV-2012-0262

Mass flowering crops in a patchy agricultural landscape can reduce bee abundance in adjacent shrublands

Pollinator spill-over among habitats can arise in order to fulfill the pollination function and whenever differences in floral offering change over time or space. Flowering crops offer pulsed and abundant floral resources (i.e., mass flowering crops) that might promote pollinator spill-over between cultivated and adjacent natural areas. We explored pollinator patterns in the mass flowering legume crop Hedysarum coronarium and its influence on the bee pollinator communities of adjacent shrublands in a heterogeneous and patchy agricultural landscape. We studied the temporal (i.e., during vs. after mass flowering in adjacent shrublands) and spatial (i.e., inside crops, adjacent and distant shrublands during mass flowering) functional pollinator spill-over. The honeybee was highly attracted to Hedysarum crops, yet its abundance and that of other bee species visiting native plants in adjacent shrublands did not differ during and after Hedysarum mass flowering. However, at the landscape scale, the honeybee and the other bee species were less abundant in shrublands adjacent to Hedysarum crops compared to distant ones; their visitation rates showing a similar trend. These results show that some mass flowering crops can influence pollinator patterns in the surrounding landscape by competing for generalist pollinators with native plants. The characteristics of the crop species and the landscape can modulate and determine the role of mass flowering crops as competitors or supporters of wild pollinators for adjacent natural areas.Peer reviewe

Clinical Utility of Ghrelin-O-Acyltransferase (GOAT) Enzyme as a Diagnostic Tool and Potential Therapeutic Target in Prostate Cancer

Recent data suggested that plasma Ghrelin O-Acyl Transferase enzyme (GOAT) levels could represent a new diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer (PCa). In this study, we aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic/aggressiveness capacity of GOAT in urine, as well as to interrogate its putative pathophysiological role in PCa. We analysed urine/plasma levels of GOAT in a cohort of 993 patients. In vitro (i.e., cell-proliferation) and in vivo (tumor-growth in a xenograft-model) approaches were performed in response to the modulation of GOAT expression/activity in PCa cells. Our results demonstrate that plasma and urine GOAT levels were significantly elevated in PCa patients compared to controls. Remarkably, GOAT significantly outperformed PSA in the diagnosis of PCa and significant PCa in patients with PSA levels ranging from 3 to 10 ng/mL (the so-called PSA grey-zone). Additionally, urine GOAT levels were associated to clinical (e.g., Gleason-score, PSA levels) and molecular (e.g., CDK2/CDK6/CDKN2A expression) aggressiveness parameters. Indeed, GOAT overexpression increased, while its silencing/blockade decreased cell-proliferation in PCa cells. Moreover, xenograft tumors derived from GOAT-overexpressing PCa (DU145) cells were significantly higher than those derived from the mock-overexpressing cells. Altogether, our results demonstrate that GOAT could be used as a diagnostic and aggressiveness marker in urine and a therapeutic target in PCa

Management for sustainable cephalopod fisheries in Europe: review and recommendations

Although cephalopod fisheries are of world-wide importance, in Europe catching cephalopods is managed only in small-scale fisheries, at national level, and few stocks are formally assessed. Because cephalopods are not quota species under the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, there is currently no requirement for assessment or management at European level. Given increasing interest in targeting cephalopods in Europe, there is a risk that they will be fished unsustainably. Although there have been recent review papers on progress in stock assessment and fishery forecasting for commercially fished cephalopods there has been no recent review of cephalopod fishery management. We aim to fill this gap, with a particular focus on European cephalopod fisheries.We review potential barriers to sustainable fishing and reasons why management of cephalopod fisheries differs from that for finfish fisheries, e.g. due to the high inherent volatility and the possibly cyclic nature of year-to-year variation in cephalopod abundance, reflecting their short lifespan, rapid growth and high sensitivity to environmental conditions. We review fishery management approaches in important cephalopod fisheries worldwide (e.g. in the USA, Japan, Falklands, South Africa, Australia and Russia) and current management of small-scale cephalopod fisheries in Europe. We identify knowledge gaps and limitations to current monitoring programmes and stock assessments and discuss the options available for cephalopod fishery management in Europe, considering the suitability or otherwise of catch and effort limits, use of closed areas and seasons, restrictions on sizes caught and types of fishing gear, and the ole of market-based sustainability pathways.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors

Management for sustainable cephalopod fisheries in Europe: review and recommendations

Cephalopod International Advisory Council Conference, Cephalopods in the Anthropocene: Multiple Challenges in a Changing Ocean, April 2-8, 2022, Sesimbra, PortugalAlthough cephalopod fisheries are of world-wide importance, in Europe catching cephalopods is managed only in small-scale fisheries, at national level, and few stocks are formally assessed. Because cephalopod are not quota species under the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, there is currently no requirement for assessment or management at European level. Given increasing interest in targeting cephalopods in Europe, there is a risk that they will be fished unsustainably. Although there have been recent review papers on progress in stock assessment and fishery forecasting for commercially fished cephalopods there has been no recent review of cephalopod fishery management. We aim to fill this gap, with a particular focus on European cephalopod fisheries.We review potential barriers to sustainable fishing and reasons why management of cephalopod fisheries differs from that for finfish fisheries, e.g. due to the high inherent volatility and the possibly cyclic nature of year-to-year variation in cephalopod abundance, reflecting their short lifespan, rapid growth and high sensitivity to environmental conditions. We review fishery management approaches in important cephalopod fisheries worldwide (e.g. in the USA, Japan, Falklands, South Africa, Australia and Russia) and current management of small-scale cephalopod fisheries in Europe. We identify knowledge gaps and limitations to current monitoring programmes and stock assessments and discuss the options available for cephalopod fishery management in Europe, considering the suitability or otherwise of catch and effort limits, use of closed areas and seasons, restrictions on sizes caught and types of fishing gear, and the ole of market-based sustainability pathwaysN

MEDIDAS PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN DE LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE LOS POLINIZADORES SILVESTRES EN LA PENÍNSULA IBÉRICA

Los científicos y científicas abajo firmantes consideramos muy importante hacer llegar a instituciones, agricultores/as y a la sociedad en general, la necesidad urgente de implementar conjuntamente medidas y cambios que consigan frenar el declive de los polinizadores silvestres ocasionado por la actividad humana. Durante la última década, son múltiples los estudios que alertan de la creciente desaparición de los polinizadores por todo el mundo, en concreto de las abejas silvestres, (Biesmeijer et al. 2006; Potts et al. 2010; Burkle et al. 2013), y de las graves consecuencias que su déficit podría provocar sobre la biodiversidad global (Biesmeijer et al. 2006; Burkle et al. 2013; Lundgren et al. 2016) y sobre la producción agrícola (Aizen y Harder 2009; Garibaldi et al. 2013). No debemos olvidar que la península Ibérica es, por su condición mediterránea y su proximidad al continente africano, uno de los lugares con mayor diversidad de polinizadores de la Unión Europea y, en concreto, una de las zonas con mayor diversidad de abejas del mundo (Michener 2007; Nieto et al. 2014). Hasta el momento, el número de especies de abejas en España presentes en la zona íbero-balear es algo superior a 1.100, cifra a la que cabe añadir algunas especies exclusivas de Portugal más los nuevos hallazgos de los últimos años (Ortiz-Sánchez 2011). Esta gran diversidad de abejas y polinizadores en general está asociada al gran número de especies de plantas con flor presentes en la península Ibérica, alrededor de las 7.000 especies (Aguado Martín et al. 2015). En cuanto al número de mariposas y polillas (lepidópteros) se estima que existen en la península Ibérica unas 5.000 especies (Stefanescu et al. 2018). Más difícil es estimar el número exacto de especies de escarabajos florícolas (coleópteros polinizadores), pero atendiendo a la riqueza de los principales géneros podemos estimar su número en más de 750 (Stefanescu et al. 2018). Somos conscientes de que, a pesar del desarrollo explosivo de los últimos 10 años de la investigación en ecología y gestión de la polinización de los cultivos por insectos silvestres, hoy en día son numerosas las lagunas de conocimiento básico y aplicado sobre el estado de conservación de los insectos polinizadores silvestres. Y es, bajo esta premisa, que presentamos este trabajo de revisión de la literatura científica sobre insectos polinizadores desde principios del siglo XX hasta ahora, cuyo resultado ha quedado plasmado en una lista, no exhaustiva, de los aspectos que consideramos fundamentales para el desarrollo y debate de esta relevante cuestió

Integration of new biological and physical retrospective dosimetry methods into EU emergency response plans : joint RENEB and EURADOS inter-laboratory comparisons

Purpose: RENEB, 'Realising the European Network of Biodosimetry and Physical Retrospective Dosimetry,' is a network for research and emergency response mutual assistance in biodosimetry within the EU. Within this extremely active network, a number of new dosimetry methods have recently been proposed or developed. There is a requirement to test and/or validate these candidate techniques and inter-comparison exercises are a well-established method for such validation. Materials and methods: The authors present details of inter-comparisons of four such new methods: dicentric chromosome analysis including telomere and centromere staining; the gene expression assay carried out in whole blood; Raman spectroscopy on blood lymphocytes, and detection of radiation induced thermoluminescent signals in glass screens taken from mobile phones. Results: In general the results show good agreement between the laboratories and methods within the expected levels of uncertainty, and thus demonstrate that there is a lot of potential for each of the candidate techniques. Conclusions: Further work is required before the new methods can be included within the suite of reliable dosimetry methods for use by RENEB partners and others in routine and emergency response scenarios