Biological Earth observation with animal sensors

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmen-tal change

Contrasting research approaches to managing mistletoes in commercial forests and wooded pastures

Many mistletoe species are pests in agricultural and forest ecosystems throughout the world. Mistletoes are unusual “weeds” as they are generally endemic to areas where they achieve pest status and, therefore, classical biological control and broad-scale herbicidal control are usually impractical. In North American coniferous forests, dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium spp.) infection results in major commercial losses and poses a public liability in recreation settings. Hyperparasitic fungi have potential as biological control agents of dwarf mistletoe, including species which attack shoots, berries, and the endophytic systems of dwarf mistletoe. Development of an inundative biological control strategy will be useful in situations where traditional silvicultural control is impractical or undesirable. In southern Australia, farm eucalypts are often attacked and killed by mistletoes (Amyema spp.) in grazed landscapes where tree decline and biodiversity loss are major forms of land degradation. Although long-term strategies to achieve a balance between mistletoe and host abundance are promoted, many graziers want short-term options to treat severely infected trees. Recent research has revisited the efficiency and efficacy of silvicultural treatments and selective herbicides in appropriate situations. The results of recent research on these diverse management strategies in North America and Australia are summarized

SODplex, a Series of Hierarchical Multiplexed Real-Time PCR Assays for the Detection and Lineage Identification of Phytophthora ramorum, the Causal Agent of Sudden Oak Death and Sudden Larch Death

Since its emergence in the 1990s, the invasive pathogen Phytophthora ramorum has spread in Europe and the west coast of North America, causing sudden oak death in the United States and sudden larch death in the United Kingdom, resulting in the mortality or destruction of millions of trees. Due to its invasive nature, its damage potential, its wide host range, and its ability to disseminate via the plant trade, P. ramorum has been placed on quarantine lists worldwide. Rapid and reliable detection of the pathogen and identification of its lineages are crucial to limit spread and inform mitigation and eradication efforts. SODplex, a suite of new multiplex real-time PCR tools, was developed to streamline the detection and identification of P. ramorum. It offers four multiplexed assays covering different use cases. SODplex-base combines primers and probes for the sensitive and accurate detection of Phytophthora spp. and P. ramorum. SODplex-ITS and SODplex-mito offer a single-step identification of P. ramorum and the EU1, NA1, and NA2 lineages present in the United States and Canada. SODplex-lin targets each of the four P. ramorum lineages present in Europe and North America in a single reaction. The assays have high levels of accuracy and are robust to the use of different instruments, different operators, and different temperatures. The redundancy within the assays reduces the likelihood of false negatives and false positives. The SODplex assays presented here improve the toolbox available for the detection of P. ramorum and its lineages. [Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license

Europa Biodiversity Observation Network: integrating data streams to support policy

Observations are key to understand the drivers of biodiversity loss, and the impacts on ecosystem services and ultimately on people. Many EU policies and initiatives demand unbiased, integrated and regularly updated biodiversity and ecosystem service data. However, efforts to monitor biodiversity are spatially and temporally fragmented, taxonomically biased, and lack integration in Europe. EuropaBON aims to bridge this gap by designing an EU-wide framework for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem services. EuropaBON harnesses the power of modelling essential variables to integrate different reporting streams, data sources, and monitoring schemes. These essential variables provide consistent knowledge about multiple dimensions of biodiversity change across space and time. They can then be analyzed and synthesized to support decision-making at different spatial scales, from the sub-national to the European scale, through the production of indicators and scenarios. To develop essential biodiversity and ecosystem variables workflows that are policy relevant, EuropaBON is built around stakeholder engagement and knowledge exchange (WP2). EuropaBON will work with stakeholders to identify user and policy needs for biodiversity monitoring and investigate the feasibility of setting up a center to coordinate monitoring activities across Europe (WP2). Together with stakeholders, EuropaBON will assess current monitoring efforts to identify gaps, data and workflow bottlenecks, and analyse cost-effectiveness of different schemes (WP3). This will be used to co-design improved monitoring schemes using novel technologies to become more representative temporally, spatially and taxonomically, delivering multiple benefits to users and society (WP4). Finally, EuropaBON will demonstrate in a set of showcases how workflows tailored to the Birds Directive, Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive, Climate and Restoration Policy, and the Bioeconomy Strategy, can be implemented (WP5)