Adiantum capillus-veneris (Maidenhair Fern) along the Vale of Glamorgan Coastline, South Wales, UK: a comparison of surveys over 30 years

Adiantum capillus-veneris (Maidenhair Fern), occurs on all continents except the Antarctic, and is considered stable worldwide (Lansdown & Bilz, 2013). In the UK the vascular plants red data list reports the status of A. capillusveneris as of ‘least concern’ (Cheffings et al., 2005). Native populations occur mainly in crevices or on tufa deposits, limited to a few scattered coastal localities (Stewart et al., 1994). Wales is home to about 25% of the UK’s native population (Dines, 2008) mainly concentrated along the Vale of Glamorgan Coastline and to a lesser extent in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. The earliest record (Llwyd, 1698), at Jacksons Bay, Barry Island suggest populations have been persistent for at least 300 years. Historical records for A. capillus- veneris can also be found for Porthkerry; 1838, Dunraven Bay; 1849, Aberthaw; 1862 and Font-y-Gary, 1927 and A. capillus-veneris is still present at all of the aforementioned sites. A. capillus-veneris’s natural habitat in South Wales is primarily restricted to active post glacial tufaceous cliff face seepages which are frequently, but not entirely, associated with the Jurassic Lias bedrock that defines the Vale of Glamorgan ‘Heritage Coast’. The interbedded nature of the Jurassic Lias rocks, with relatively impermeable, thinly interbedded limestones and calcareous mudstones (Wilson et al., 1990), favours the slow diffuse seepage of groundwater across large areas of cliff face supporting the formation of tufa. Tufa forms when groundwater, supersaturated with calcium carbonate dissolved from the bedrock aquifer, re-deposits the material on contact with the atmosphere. Three surveys across the Vale of Glamorgan coastline have been undertaken, the first by Peter S. Jones (1983-4) then Kate Pryor 1996 (reported in Pryor, 2001) and again in 2015 by the authors. Molecular studies of several populations along the coast (Pryor, 2001 & Pryor et al., 2001) provide insight into the genetics of satellite populations, however further discussion of this is outside of the scope of this note. The aim of this survey was to collate and compare the locations of populations recorded over the last 30 years. It is hoped that this will serve as a useful baseline for repeat surveys in the future

Current knowledge, status and future for plant and fungal diversity in Great Britain and the UK Overseas Territories

Societal Impact Statement We rely on plants and fungi for most aspects of our lives. Yet plants and fungi are under threat, and we risk losing species before we know their identity, roles, and potential uses. Knowing names, distributions, and threats are first steps toward effective conservation action. Accessible products like field guides and online resources engage society, harnessing collective support for conservation. Here, we review current knowledge of the plants and fungi of the UK and UK Overseas Territories, highlighting gaps to help direct future research efforts toward conserving these vital elements of biodiversity. Summary This review summarizes current knowledge of the status and threats to the plants and fungi of Great Britain and the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs). Although the body of knowledge is considerable, the distribution of information varies substantially, and we highlight knowledge gaps. The UK vascular flora is the most well studied and we have a relatively clear picture of its 9,001 native and alien taxa. We have seedbanked 72% of the native and archaeophyte angiosperm taxa and 78% of threatened taxa. Knowledge of the UKOTs flora varies across territories and we report a UKOTs flora comprising 4,093 native and alien taxa. We have conserved 27% of the native flora and 51% of the threatened vascular plants in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, UK. We need a better understanding of the conservation status of plants in the wild, and progress toward completion or updating national red lists varies. Site‐based protection of key plant assemblages is outlined, and progress in identifying Important Plant Areas analyzed. Knowledge of the non‐vascular flora, especially seaweeds remains patchy, particularly in many UKOTs. The biggest gaps overall are in fungi, particularly non‐lichenized fungi. Considerable investment is needed to fill these knowledge gaps and instigate effective conservation strategies

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Human papillomavirus testing versus repeat cytology for triage of minor cytological cervical lesions

Background: A typical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) and low-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions (LSIL) are minor lesions of the cervical epithelium, detectable by cytological examination of cells collected from the surface of the cervix of a woman. Usually, women with ASCUS and LSIL do not have cervical (pre-) cancer, however a substantial proportion of them do have underlying high-grade cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN, grade 2 or 3) and so are at increased risk for developing cervical cancer. Therefore, accurate triage of women with ASCUS or LSIL is required to identify those who need further management. This review evaluates two ways to triage women with ASCUS or LSIL: repeating the cytological test, and DNA testing for high-risk types of the human papillomavirus (hrHPV) - the main causal factor of cervical cancer. Objectives Main objective: To compare the accuracy of hrHPV testing with the Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) assay against that of repeat cytology for detection of underlying cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) or grade 3 or worse (CIN3+) in women with ASCUS or LSIL. For the HC2 assay, a positive result was defined as proposed by the manufacturer. For repeat cytology, different cut-offs were used to define positivity: Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or worse (ASCUS+), low-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions or worse (LSIL+) or high-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions or worse (HSIL+). Secondary objective: To assess the accuracy of the HC2 assay to detect CIN2+ or CIN3+ in women with ASCUS or LSIL in a larger group of reports of studies that applied hrHPV testing and the reference standard (coloscopy and biopsy), irrespective whether or not repeat cytology was done. Search methods: We made a comprehensive literature search that included the Cochrane Register of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE (through PubMed), and EMBASE (last search 6 January 2011). Selected journals likely to contain relevant papers were handsearched from 1992 to 2010 (December). We also searched CERVIX, the bibliographic database of the Unit of Cancer Epidemiology at the Scientific Institute of Public Health (Brussels, Belgium) which contains more than 20,000 references on cervical cancer. More recent searches, up to December 2012, targeted reports on the accuracy of triage of ASCUS or LSIL with other HPV DNA assays, or HPV RNA assays and other molecular markers. These searches will be used for new Cochrane reviews as well as for updates of the current review. Selection criteria: Studies eligible for inclusion in the review had to include: women presenting with a cervical cytology result of ASCUS or LSIL, who had undergone both HC2 testing and repeat cytology, or HC2 testing alone, and were subsequently subjected to reference standard verification with colposcopy and colposcopy-directed biopsies for histologic verification. Data collection and analysis: The review authors independently extracted data from the selected studies, and obtained additional data from report authors. Two groups of meta-analyses were performed: group I concerned triage of women with ASCUS, group II concerned women with LSIL. The bivariate model (METADAS-macro in SAS) was used to assess the absolute accuracy of the triage tests in both groups as well as the differences in accuracy between the triage tests. Main results: The pooled sensitivity of HC2 was significantly higher than that of repeat cytology at cut-off ASCUS+ to detect CIN2+ in both triage of ASCUS and LSIL (relative sensitivity of 1.27 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.39; P value < 0.0001) and 1.23 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.4; P value 0.007), respectively. In ASCUS triage, the pooled specificity of the triage methods did not differ significantly from each other (relative specificity: 0.99 (95% CI 0.97 to 1.03; P value 0.98)). However, the specificity of HC2 was substantially, and significantly, lower than that of repeat cytology in the triage of LSIL (relative specificity: 0.66 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.75) P value < 0.0001). Authors' conclusions: HPV-triage with HC2 can be recommended to triage women with ASCUS because it has higher accuracy (significantly higher sensitivity, and similar specificity) than repeat cytology. When triaging women with LSIL, an HC2 test yields a significantly higher sensitivity, but a significantly lower specificity, compared to a repeat cytology. Therefore, practice recommendations for management of women with LSIL should be balanced, taking local circumstances into account

Population structure in a saproxylic funnelweb spider (Hexathelidae: Hadronyche ) along a forested rainfall gradient

We present research undertaken at Tallaganda State Forest, Australia, describing how current climatic conditions impact upon the saproxylic (decaying wood) habitat and the relationship between this habitat and the demography and morphology of a saproxylic funnelweb spider (Hadronyche sp.). Climatic data support a north-south habitat cline and, to a lesser extent, a short-range, aspect-driven habitat cline. Rainfall and log moisture content increased with latitude through the forest, and aspect affected the amount of solar radiation penetrating to ground level. The distribution and abundance of Hadronyche varied among sites along both clines in response to several variables. The decay state of logs was highly influential, with wet, highly decayed logs favoured over dry, hard ones. Population density was highest in wetter, southern sites where these logs were abundant, but rare, suitably decomposed logs in dry, northern sites still typically hosted a comparable number of individuals. Morphological measurements showed some phenotypic variation along the north-south habitat gradient, but not over the short-range, aspect-driven gradients. Hadronyche would not be expected to show similarly strong patterns of molecular variation as seen in saproxylic Collembola and Onychophora within Tallaganda as it appears to be more vagile