TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Performance and Consistency of Indicator Groups in Two Biodiversity Hotspots

In a world limited by data availability and limited funds for conservation, scientists and practitioners must use indicator groups to define spatial conservation priorities. Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of indicator groups, but still little is known about the consistency in performance of these groups in different regions, which would allow their a priori selection.We systematically examined the effectiveness and the consistency of nine indicator groups in representing mammal species in two top-ranked Biodiversity Hotspots (BH): the Brazilian Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest. To test for group effectiveness we first found the best sets of sites able to maximize the representation of each indicator group in the BH and then calculated the average representation of different target species by the indicator groups in the BH. We considered consistent indicator groups whose representation of target species was not statistically different between BH. We called effective those groups that outperformed the target-species representation achieved by random sets of species. Effective indicator groups required the selection of less than 2% of the BH area for representing target species. Restricted-range species were the most effective indicators for the representation of all mammal diversity as well as target species. It was also the only group with high consistency.We show that several indicator groups could be applied as shortcuts for representing mammal species in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest to develop conservation plans, however, only restricted-range species consistently held as the most effective indicator group for such a task. This group is of particular importance in conservation planning as it captures high diversity of endemic and endangered species

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Fissuras orais e sua notificação no sistema de informação: análise da Declaração de Nascido Vivo (DNV) em Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, 1999-2004 Oral cleft and its notification in the information system: live Births Declaration analysis in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro State, 1999-2004

O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a notificação de ocorrência de fissuras orais na Declaração de Nascido Vivo (DNV), através dos três itens do campo 34 (notificação de malformação congênita). Para tal, foram verificados os prontuários de pacientes inscritos em serviços de referência em tratamento de anomalias craniofaciais, incluindo os portadores de fissuras labiopalatinas e nascidos no município de Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ) entre 01/01/1999 e 31/12/2004. A seguir, foi feito levantamento junto ao Setor de Dados Vitais da SMS, onde todos os sujeitos da amostra (63) tiveram suas DNV localizadas. Constatou-se que apenas 53,3% das DNV apresentavam o registro de malformação no primeiro item e a subnotificação ocorreu em todos os tipos de fissura, sendo maior na fissura palatina (70%). Quanto à descrição (2º item), a fissura palatina apresentou o maior número de erros, sendo descrita corretamente em 25% dos casos. Todos os documentos estudados apresentaram o código da malformação (3º item) em branco. Não houve diferença estatística entre os diferentes profissionais quanto ao preenchimento dos formulários. Deste modo, concluiu-se que a DNV se mostrou ineficiente no registro das fissuras labiopalatais, em decorrência de falhas no preenchimento, principalmente pela ausência do preenchimento do código da CID-10.<br>The objective of this study was to verify the notification of information system for oral clefts in the live births declaration (DNV), studying the 3 items of DNV related to malformation. All the patients' medical records registered in oral cleft reference centers were checked. The inclusion criteria were: a) to have any oral cleft and b) to be born from 01/01/1999 to 12/31/2004. Next step was to raise the information in the vital data sector of Municipal Health Secretary, where all the DNVs identified were subjects with oral clefts (63 children). The first item presented a large subnotification (only 53.3 of the DNVs showed the register of malformation) and all types of clefts were not notified in any scale. Highest sub notification was observed for cleft palate (70 %). Second item (description of malformation) showed similarly a high number of errors referred to palate cleft, identified only in 25 % of the cases. All the documents showed no information about the third item (code of malformation). There was no statistical difference between professionals responsible for filling out the document. In conclusion, the DNV was inefficient to register the oral cleft cases due to imperfections related to 3 items studied, especially in the absence of information about CID-10 codes

Effects of habitat type change on taxonomic and functional composition of orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossini) in the Brazilian Amazon

© 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature. Land use change impact species richness and functional diversity (FD). In the Brazilian Amazon, we examined the impacts of oil palm plantations on orchid bee (Apidae: Euglossini) species using abundance and FD. We collected male orchid bees in oil palm plantation (PALM), legal reserves (LR), and riparian corridors (APP), and then we used morphological and life-history traits to characterize each species. We evaluated differences in bee body size by comparing intertegular span values. We tested the influence of habitat on taxonomic and functional parameters of orchid bees by applying a partial redundancy analysis (pRDA). We contrasted FD by calculating species richness, functional richness, and functional dispersion. We sampled 1176 bees from 30 species in 18 sampling days across 2015 and 2016. Males from PALM were 13.6% bigger than those in LR areas, and bees from APP showed a similar pattern compared to LR and PALM. Less than 15% of the variation in species composition was related to the distance among sampling sites, and 8% was due to habitat structure. In our pRDA, the spatial difference explained 6% of the variation in orchid bee traits, but there were no effects of habitat parameters upon FD. FD was reduced with land use change caused by oil palm plantations. Our findings support the belief that many bees are impacted by cultivated lands. Nevertheless, the functional similarity between LRs and APPs reflects common structural elements between them, although we did not find significant relationship between functional composition and habitat structure that we evaluated

The Scientific Explorations for Deep-Sea Fishes in Brazil: The Known Knowns, the Known Unknowns, and the Unknown Unknowns

The deep sea is the largest and one of the most extreme environments on Earth. It is estimated that 10–15% of all fish species are dwelling in the deep sea, most of which have unique morphological and physiological adaptations. Biological expeditions to sample the deep ocean off Brazil started with the British HMS Challenger Expedition (1872–1876), followed by a few fishery stations made by the German RV Ernst Haeckel (1966) and the North-American MIV Oregon II (1957–1975), the cruises of the French RVs Marion Dufresne (1987) and Thalassa (1999, 2000), the Brazilian RV Atlântico Sul (1996–1999), the FV Diadorim and FV Soloncy Moura (1996–2002), OSB Astro Garoupa (2003), and, more recently, the American RV Luke Thomas and Seward Johnson (2009, 2011), the French RV Antea (2015, 2017), and the Brazilian RV Alpha Crucis. A total of 712 species of deep-sea fishes were recorded, including five species of Myxini, six species of Holocephali, 81 species of Elasmobrachii, and 620 species of Actinopteri. As in other parts of the world, the Brazilian deep-sea ichthyofauna struggles under severe anthropogenic impacts caused by the commercial fishing, and the extraction of oil and gas. The deep ocean is a delicate environment and its recovery is considerably slower than an equivalent in shallow water habitat. Therefore, increasing the research efforts is needed to avoid that part of its diversity disappear without our accurate knowledge.https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facbooks/1102/thumbnail.jp