Action needed for the EU Common Agricultural Policy to address sustainability challenges

Abstract Making agriculture sustainable is a global challenge. In the European Union (EU), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is failing with respect to biodiversity, climate, soil, land degradation as well as socio-economic challenges. The European Commission's proposal for a CAP post-2020 provides a scope for enhanced sustainability. However, it also allows Member States to choose low-ambition implementation pathways. It therefore remains essential to address citizens' demands for sustainable agriculture and rectify systemic weaknesses in the CAP, using the full breadth of available scientific evidence and knowledge. Concerned about current attempts to dilute the environmental ambition of the future CAP, and the lack of concrete proposals for improving the CAP in the draft of the European Green Deal, we call on the European Parliament, Council and Commission to adopt 10 urgent action points for delivering sustainable food production, biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation. Knowledge is available to help moving towards evidence-based, sustainable European agriculture that can benefit people, nature and their joint futures. The statements made in this article have the broad support of the scientific community, as expressed by above 3,600 signatories to the preprint version of this manuscript. The list can be found here (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3685632). A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.Peer reviewe

The green-brown polymorphism of the club-legged grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus is heritable and appears genetically simple

Abstract Background Local coexistence of distinct, genetically determined color morphs can be unstable and transitional. Stable, long-term coexistence requires some form of balancing selection to protect morphs from getting lost by directional selection or genetic drift. However, not all phenotypic polymorphism need to have a genetic basis. We here report on the genetic basis of two color polymorphisms in the club-legged grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus: a green-brown polymorphism that is phylogenetically and geographically widespread among orthopteran insects and a pied-brown pattern polymorphism that is shared among many gomphocerine grasshoppers. Results We found a remarkably clear outcome of matings within and between morph that suggest not only that the green-brown polymorphism is heritable in this species, but that results can be most parsimoniously explained by a single autosomal locus with two alleles in which the green allele is dominant over the brown allele. A few individuals did not match this pattern and suggest the existence of genetic modifiers and/or developmental phenocopies. We also show that the pied-brown polymorphism is highly heritable, although the evidence for the involvement of one or more loci is less clear-cut. Conclusions Overall, our data demonstrate that the two polymorphisms are heritable in the club-legged grasshopper and appear genetically simple, at least with respect to green morphs. The results are consistent with the idea that the synthesis or transport of a pigment involved in the production of green coloration (likely biliverdin) is lost by homozygosity for loss-of-function alleles in brown individuals. The apparently simple genetic architecture of the green-brown polymorphism offer potential for studying balancing selection in the field and for genetic mapping in this species

The influence of terrain age and altitude on the arthropod communities found on recently deglaciated terrain

Franzén M, Dieker P. The influence of terrain age and altitude on the arthropod communities found on recently deglaciated terrain. Current Zoology. 2014;60(2):203-220.Climate warming has been more pronounced in the Arctic th an elsewhere, resulting in a recent rapid glacial retreat. Over 85% of the Ålmajallojekna glacier has disappeared over the last 115 years and it is one of the fastest retreating glaciers in Sweden. In 2011 and 2012, at 18 sites in the vicinity of the remaining glacier network, we sampled arthropods and related the species richness, abundance and proportion of herbivores to altitude (ranging from 824 to 1,524 m.a.s.l.) and the age of the site (ranging from 0 to >115 years). Temperature was measured at six sites and the average annual air temperature ranged from -3.7°C to 1.1°C. In total, we recorded 3,705 arthropods from 117 species in nine different taxonomic groups. The most abundant and species-rich group was Coleoptera (1,381 individuals, 41 species) followed by Araneae (1,050 individuals, 15 species) and Macrolepidoptera (732 individuals, 17 species). Only at lower altitudes did the abundance and species richness of arthropods increase with increasing age of the site. The results were consistent among the studied taxonomic groups and when controlling for sam- pling intensity using two different approaches. The proportion of herbivores decreased with increasing age of the site and with increasing altitude. Clearly, altitude appears more important than the age of the site and, at higher altitudes, abundance, species richness and herbivory are low

Larval ecology determines the frequency of butterflies: A case study of three syntopic occurring swallowtail butterfly species (Papilio xuthus, P. maackii and P. machaon).

Dieker P, Mattes H. Larval ecology determines the frequency of butterflies: A case study of three syntopic occurring swallowtail butterfly species (Papilio xuthus, P. maackii and P. machaon). In: Mattes H, ed. Living alongside with the Tiger - The Fauna of the Lazovsky Zapovednik, Sikhote Alin. Vol 18. Arbeiten aus dem Institut für Landschaftsökologie, Münster. 2010: 103-109

Two high-mountain burnet moth species (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae) react differently to the global change drivers climate and land-use

Dieker P, Drees C, Assmann T. Two high-mountain burnet moth species (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae) react differently to the global change drivers climate and land-use. Biological Conservation. 2011;144(12):2810-2818.Uphill shifts of alpine species have been associated with climate warming; however, land-use change can act simultaneously. We surveyed two related alpine burnet moth species in the Pyrenees to determine whether there was an uphill shift in the range of these two species and, if so, whether this was driven by climate and/or land-use changes. In 2008/09 we revisited 28 sites at the lower altitudinal range limits at which the species had been recorded between 1958 and 1986 (data were obtained from museum collections, distribution atlas, researchers’ field notes). We also recorded the recent upper range limits. The arctic-alpine Zygaena exulans showed an uphill shift (148 m ± SD 87 m/decade) at all sites; at four sites the species has even become extinct. Changes in the lower altitudinal range limits were attributed to climate change. For the endemic species Zygaena anthyllidis we only ascertained an uphill shift at one third of the sites investigated (60 m ± SD 74 m/decade); these shifts were due to changes in grazing intensities. As both species colonize very high summits, further uphill shifts of the upper limits are no longer possible. The studied con-generic species are affected by different global change drivers. Our data indicate the considerable role of land-use in conservation and suggest that it can even exceed the impact of climate change. Ongoing climate change is likely to jeopardize the long-term survival of Z. exulans in the Pyrenees; Z. anthyllidis, however, may be preserved by appropriate management in the subalpine belt

Gsibiricus_SpatialTemporalRepeatability

The tab separated file contains information about the individuals that we caught at the six locations (site Albitzen I/Heilgenblut) in two consecutive years in order to estimate the local spatial and temporal repeatability of colour morph ratios

Data from: Spatial analyses of two color polymorphisms in an alpine grasshopper reveal a role of small‐scale heterogeneity

Discrete color polymorphisms represent a fascinating aspect of intraspecific diversity. Color morph ratios often vary clinally, but in some cases, there are no marked clines and mixes of different morphs occur at appreciable frequencies in most populations. This poses the questions of how polymorphisms are maintained. We here study the spatial and temporal distribution of a very conspicuous color polymorphism in the club‐legged grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus. The species occurs in a green and a nongreen (predominately brown) morph, a green–brown polymorphism that is common among Orthopteran insects. We sampled color morph ratios at 42 sites across the alpine range of the species and related color morph ratios to local habitat parameters and climatic conditions. Green morphs occurred in both sexes, and their morph ratios were highly correlated among sites, suggesting shared control of the polymorphism in females and males. We found that in at least 40 of 42 sites green and brown morphs co‐occurred with proportions of green ranging from 0% to 70% with significant spatial heterogeneity. The proportion of green individuals tended to increase with decreasing summer and winter precipitations. Nongreen individuals can be further distinguished into brown and pied individuals, and again, this polymorphism is shared with other grasshopper species. We found pied individuals at all sites with proportions ranging from 3% to 75%, with slight, but significant variation between years. Pied morphs show a clinal increase in frequency from east to west and decreased with altitude and lower temperatures and were more common on grazed sites. The results suggest that both small‐scale and large‐scale spatial heterogeneity affects color morph ratios. The almost universal co‐occurrence of all three color morphs argues against strong effects of genetic drift. Instead, the data suggest that small‐scale migration–selection balance and/or local balancing selection maintain populations polymorphic

Gsibiricus_LargescaleAnalysis

The tab separated file contains information about all individuals the we used for the large-scale analysis. The data set includes only one sample of the six locations (site Albitzen I/Heiligenblut) that we sampled in two consecutive years in order to avoid giving undue weight on the single site with a large sample size

Spatial analyses of two color polymorphisms in an alpine grasshopper reveal a role of small-scale heterogeneity

Dieker P, Beckmann L, Teckentrup J, Schielzeth H. Spatial analyses of two color polymorphisms in an alpine grasshopper reveal a role of small-scale heterogeneity. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION. 2018;8(15):7273-7284.Discrete color polymorphisms represent a fascinating aspect of intraspecific diversity. Color morph ratios often vary clinally, but in some cases, there are no marked clines and mixes of different morphs occur at appreciable frequencies in most populations. This poses the questions of how polymorphisms are maintained. We here study the spatial and temporal distribution of a very conspicuous color polymorphism in the club-legged grasshopper Gomphocerussibiricus. The species occurs in a green and a nongreen (predominately brown) morph, a green-brown polymorphism that is common among Orthopteran insects. We sampled color morph ratios at 42 sites across the alpine range of the species and related color morph ratios to local habitat parameters and climatic conditions. Green morphs occurred in both sexes, and their morph ratios were highly correlated among sites, suggesting shared control of the polymorphism in females and males. We found that in at least 40 of 42 sites green and brown morphs co-occurred with proportions of green ranging from 0% to 70% with significant spatial heterogeneity. The proportion of green individuals tended to increase with decreasing summer and winter precipitations. Nongreen individuals can be further distinguished into brown and pied individuals, and again, this polymorphism is shared with other grasshopper species. We found pied individuals at all sites with proportions ranging from 3% to 75%, with slight, but significant variation between years. Pied morphs show a clinal increase in frequency from east to west and decreased with altitude and lower temperatures and were more common on grazed sites. The results suggest that both small-scale and large-scale spatial heterogeneity affects color morph ratios. The almost universal co-occurrence of all three color morphs argues against strong effects of genetic drift. Instead, the data suggest that small-scale migration-selection balance and/or local balancing selection maintain populations polymorphic

Gsibiricus_Sites

The tab separated file contains sampling site information. REFERENCES: (1) Karger, D.N., Conrad, O., Böhner, J., Kawohl, T., Kreft, H., Soria-Auza, R.W., Zimmermann, N.E., Linder, H.P. & Kessler, M. (2017) Climatologies at high resolution for the earth’s land surface areas. Scientific Data 4, 170122. (2) Karger, D.N., Conrad, O., Böhner, J., Kawohl, T., Kreft, H., Soria-Auza, R.W., Zimmermann, N.E., Linder, H.P., Kessler, M. (2017) Data from: Climatologies at high resolution for the earth’s land surface areas. Dryad Digital Repository. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kd1d