9 research outputs found
Integrative phylogenetic, phylogeographic and morphological characterisation of the Unio crassus species complex reveals cryptic diversity with important conservation implications
The global decline of freshwater mussels and their crucial ecological services highlight the need to understand their phylogeny, phylogeography and patterns of genetic diversity to guide conservation efforts. Such knowledge is urgently needed for Unio crassus, a highly imperilled species originally widespread throughout Europe and southwest Asia. Recent studies have resurrected several species from synonymy based on mitochondrial data, revealing U. crassus to be a complex of cryptic species. To address long-standing taxonomic uncertainties hindering effective conservation, we integrate morphometric, phylogenetic, and phylogeographic analyses to examine species diversity within the U. crassus complex across its entire range. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (815 specimens from 182 populations) and, for selected specimens, whole mitogenome sequences and Anchored Hybrid Enrichment (AHE) data on ⌠600 nuclear loci. Mito-nuclear discordance was detected, consistent with mitochondrial DNA gene flow between some species during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Fossil-calibrated phylogenies based on AHE data support a Mediterranean origin for the U. crassus complex in the Early Miocene. The results of our integrative approach support 12 species in the group: the previously recognised Unio bruguierianus, Unio carneus, Unio crassus, Unio damascensis, Unio ionicus, Unio sesirmensis, and Unio tumidiformis, and the reinstatement of five nominal taxa: Unio desectus stat. rev., Unio gontierii stat. rev., Unio mardinensis stat. rev., Unio nanus stat. rev., and Unio vicarius stat. rev. Morphometric analyses of shell contours reveal important morphospace overlaps among these species, highlighting cryptic, but geographically structured, diversity. The distribution, taxonomy, phylogeography, and conservation of each species are succinctly described.We thank Ana-Maria Benedek, Monica SĂźrbu and Jouni Leinikki for
their assistance with the fieldwork, and to Jeroen Goud, Sankurie Pye,
Fiona Ware, Emily Mitchell, and Aleksandra Skawina for their assistance
with the taxonomic investigation. We would also like to thank the editor,
Dr. Guillermo OrtĂ, and two anonymous reviewers for their time and
effort in reviewing our manuscript and for their insightful comments and
valuable improvements to our work. This publication is based upon
work from COST Action CA18239: CONFREMU - Conservation of
freshwater mussels: a pan-European approach, supported by COST
(European Cooperation in Science and Technology), including STSMs,
the interaction of the authors and the writing of the paper. This work
was supported by the project ConBiomics: The Missing Approach for the Conservation of Freshwater Bivalves Project No. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030286, co-financed by FEDER through POCI and by FCT - FundaçËao
para a CiËencia e a Tecnologia, through national funds. Strategic funding
UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020 was provided by FCT. FCT
also supported DVG (2020.03848.CEECIND), EF (CEECINST/00027/
2021/CP2789/CT0003) and MLL (2020.03608.CEECIND). INB, AVK
and IVV were supported by the Russian Science Foundation under grants
(19-14-00066-P), (21-17-00126) and (21-74-10130) respectively. BVB
acknowledges the bioinformatics platform of UMR 8198 for the
computing resources to perform time-calibrated phylogenetic analyses;
this platform is in part funded by CPER research project CLIMIBIO
through the French Minist`ere de lâEnseignement SupÂŽerieur et de la
Recherche, the Agence Nationale de la Recherche, the European Fund
for Regional Development (FEDER) and the region Hauts-de-France
(HdF). Support to KD came from the Czech Science Foundation
(19â05510S). TT and MT were supported by the National Science Fund
of Bulgaria under the project âConservation of freshwater mussels on the
Balkan Peninsulaâ (KP-06-COST-9/20.07.2022). Any use of trade, firm,
or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply
endorsement by the United States Government.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Does Fiscal Decentralisation Foster Regional Investment in Productive Infrastructure?
The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of revenue decentralization on the provision of infrastructure at the sub-national level. We estimate the effects of revenue decentralization and earmarked grant financing on the level of sub-national infrastructure investment in 20 European countries over the period 1990-2009. The results are interpreted in light of the predictions of the theory on fiscal federalism. We find that it is sub-national infrastructure investment that increases after revenue decentralization and not investment in redistribution. However, the effect of revenue decentralization is lower the higher the use of earmarked grants to fund infrastructure investment
Integrative phylogenetic, phylogeographic and morphological characterisation of the Unio crassus species complex reveals cryptic diversity with important conservation implications
The global decline of freshwater mussels and their crucial ecological services highlight the need to understand their phylogeny, phylogeography and patterns of genetic diversity to guide conservation efforts. Such knowledge is urgently needed for Unio crassus, a highly imperilled species originally widespread throughout Europe and southwest Asia. Recent studies have resurrected several species from synonymy based on mitochondrial data, revealing U. crassus to be a complex of cryptic species. To address long-standing taxonomic uncertainties hindering effective conservation, we integrate morphometric, phylogenetic, and phylogeographic analyses to examine species diversity within the U. crassus complex across its entire range. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (815 specimens from 182 populations) and, for selected specimens, whole mitogenome sequences and Anchored Hybrid Enrichment (AHE) data on âŒ600 nuclear loci. Mito-nuclear discordance was detected, consistent with mitochondrial DNA gene flow between some species during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Fossil-calibrated phylogenies based on AHE data support a Mediterranean origin for the U. crassus complex in the Early Miocene. The results of our integrative approach support 12 species in the group: the previously recognised Unio bruguierianus, Unio carneus, Unio crassus, Unio damascensis, Unio ionicus, Unio sesirmensis, and Unio tumidiformis, and the reinstatement of five nominal taxa: Unio desectus stat. rev., Unio gontierii stat. rev., Unio mardinensis stat. rev., Unio nanus stat. rev., and Unio vicarius stat. rev. Morphometric analyses of shell contours reveal important morphospace overlaps among these species, highlighting cryptic, but geographically structured, diversity. The distribution, taxonomy, phylogeography, and conservation of each species are succinctly described
A Comparison of Construction Contract Prices for Traditionally Procured Roads and PublicâPrivate Partnerships
Publicâprivate partnerships, Risk transfer, Construction cost, European roads, L33, H54, C51,