‘Cort short on a mountaintop’ – Eight new species of sequestrate Cortinarius from sub-alpine Australia and affinities to sections within the genus

During the course of research on mammal mycophagy and movement in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, extensive collections of sequestrate fungi were made, including numerous cortinarioid taxa. Historically any novel taxa would have been described in the cortinarioid sequestrate genera Descomyces, Hymenogaster, Protoglossum, Quadrispora, Thaxterogaster or Timgrovea based on broad morphological similarities of the sporocarps and spore ornamentation. However, consistent with other recent analyses of nuclear DNA regions, taxa from sequestrate genera were found to have affinities with Cortinarius and Descolea or Hebeloma, and to be scattered across many sections within Cortinarius. None of the historical sequestrate cortinarioid genera are monophyletic in our analyses. In particular, the gastroid genus Hymenogaster is paraphyletic, with one clade including two species of Protoglossum in Cortinarius, and a second clade sister to Hebeloma. Eight new species of sequestrate Cortinarius are described and illustrated, and discussion of their affinities with various sections provided: C. argyronius, C. caesibulga and C. cinereoroseolus in section Purpurascentes, C. maculobulga in section Rozites, C. sinapivelus in section Splendidi, C. kaputarensis in a mixed section Phlegmacium/Myxacium within a broader section Dermocybe, C. basorapulus in section Percomes and C. nebulobrunneus in section Pseudotriumphantes. Keys to genera of the Bolbitiaceae and Cortinariaceae containing sequestrate taxa and to currently known Australian species of sequestrate Cortinarius and Protoglossum are provided. As with the related agaricoid taxa, macroscopic characters such as colour and texture of basidioma, degree of loculisation of the hymenophore, and stipe-columella development and form remain useful for distinguishing species, but are generally not so useful at the sectional level within Cortinarius. Microscopic characters such as spore shape, size, and ornamentation, and pileipellis structure (simplex vs duplex and size of hyphal elements) are essential for determining species, and also appear to follow sectional boundaries

Complémentarités et convergences de méthodes de régionalisation des précipitations : application à une région endoréique du Nord-Mexique

La connaissance des champs pluviométriques annuels est importante dans les zones arides et semi-arides où la gestion de l'eau est un exercice permanent d'aménagement de la pénurie, comme cela est le cas au Nord du Mexique.On se propose de montrer ici qu'une meilleure connaissance des disponibilités en eau peut s'appuyer sur la détermination de régions pluviométriquement homogènes à partir de diverses méthodes complémentaires ou convergentes.Pour définir des régions homogènes, on part de la répartition des stations par rapport à la régression pluviométrie/altitude. Des analyses factorielles en composantes principales et des correspondances permettent également de proposer des régions homogènes suivant des variables définies et disponibles pour toutes les stations. On s'appuie aussi sur les régimes pluviométriques pour déterminer d'autres régionalisations. Parallèlement on a pu utiliser la répartition des stations par rapport au gradient altitudinal pour créer des régions dont l'homogénéité vis-à-vis des précipitations a pu être vérifiée par la Méthode du Vecteur Régional (MVR), basée sur le principe de la pseudo-proportionnalité des données de postes proches.La comparaison des résultats obtenus par chacune des méthodes permet de constater que dans la région traitée, les limites entre régions " homogènes " sont souvent les mêmes, bien que les modes de détermination soient différents. Enfin, les différences apportent une information supplémentaire pour la compréhension des mécanismes locaux ou régionaux de la répartition des champs de pluie.Knowledge of annual rainfall is of great importance in arid and semi-arid areas, because water management is dominated by scarcity. The Nazas-Aguanaval river basin constitutes one of the main endoreic basins in Mexico (92 000 km2). It extends from the crests of the Western SierraMadre to as far as the Chihuahuan desert, in the states of Durango, Coahuila and Zacatecas. Spatial variability of rainfall is significant with annual rainfall amounts ranging from 900 mm in the higher areas of the Sierra Madre to 180 mm at the centre of the Laguna de Mayran. However, temporal variability of the precipitation amount is also appreciable, and it increases from the sub-humid areas of the mountains to the desert. The coefficient of variation for annual precipitation ranges from 0.2 in the mountains to 0.4 in Chihuahuan desert. Furthermore, in 1992, 1994, 1995, and from 1997 to 2000 severe rainfall deficits forced farmers to reduce strongly irrigated areas, thus leading to socio-economic development problems in this region. It is shown in this paper that an improvement in water availability knowledge is attainable by the determination of homogeneous rainfall regions, based on complementary or convergent methods.Rainfall distribution is a result of many factors, including the atmospheric circulation, the continental pattern, the coastal design, the location of major mountainous massifs, the distance from the ocean, and other site factors. The regionalisation of precipitation has been the subject of much research for almost all types of climates. The influence of zonal and regional factors is also determined in regional monographs where the role of local variables (relief, vegetation, general roughness of landscape, etc.) is described in relation to the large-scale circulation scheme. In most of the cases, the interpolation of values between two observations is necessary and quite difficult. Kriging is widely used for this purpose, as is co-kriging, which takes into account the topography or some other local factors and frequently gives better reconstitution of rainfall data. In order to determine the first set of homogeneous regions in northwestern Mexico, the elevation gradient of the rainfall amount was defined by a simple regression. All the stations were located with respect to the regression line and they can form apparent groups. The following relation was obtained :P=0.31 H - 133r2=0.73; n=84)(where P is annual rainfall in mm and H the altitude in m).In the same way, various statistical analysis were performed using all data available from the rainfall measurement stations, such as elevation, distance from the Pacific Ocean, exposure, annual rainfall amount, and the type of topography and vegetation cover surrounding the station. An Empirical Orthogonal Function Analysis (EOF) and a Factorial Analysis of Correspondences (FAC) revealed other kinds of regionalisation. The precipitation regime is tropical-like in spite of the latitude (25° N), but the percentage of annual precipitation in winter appeared as a segregating factor and thus was used to define the climatic geography. This was determined by a stepwise discriminant analysis, which allowed the segregation of the north-eastern area of the Nazas-Aguanaval basin. This is the dryer region of the basin because it is less exposed to monsoon fluxes and the proportion of winter rain is higher there than in the remaining basin.The main variables explaining the spatial distribution of precipitation are altitude and distance from the Pacific Ocean, as determined by both the EOF analysis and the analysis of correspondences. The grouping of stations segregated by the elevation gradient regression led to regions where the homogeneity in relation to the annual rainfall amount was tested and verified by the Regional Vector Method (RVM). This method is based on the principle of pseudo-proportionality between annual rainfall amounts at close stations.The Nazas-Aguanaval basin is divided into three climatic regions defined by precipitation: the Western Sierra Madre, the Chihuahuan desert, and a semi-arid area that is divided into two sub-regions (Middle Nazas basin and Aguanaval plateau) by the analysis of correspondences. As a result of the regional rainfall analysis, some variograms were performed to determine the length of the validity of the rainfall data. However, it appeared that a multidirectional variogram did not explain these data. The role that relief (mainly the Western Sierra Madre) plays in the spatial distribution of precipitation does not explain the length of rainfall data. Introducing the direction of mountain range into the variogram demonstrated that the relief played a significant role, and in this case the length of the rainfall variogram data was 180 km.A comparison of results obtained using each method led to the conclusion that the boundaries between homogeneous regions are often the same while the determination processes are different. Finally, all the proposed methods are complementary and the differences between all characterisations give additional information regarding the local and regional processes that explain the annual rainfall spatial distribution. Simple tools have been used to acquire a better knowledge of rainfall spatial distribution.In the case of Northern Mexico, the low density of a measurement network (rain gauges), particularly in mountainous or arid zones, is partially attenuated by the possibility of evaluating the main climatic characteristics for the different regions defined in terms of rainfall

New Russulaceae species in south-east Queensland

Russula species are ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes common throughout Australian woodlands. Molecular and morphological examination of Russula specimens from various sites in South-east Queensland has uncovered a number of phylogenetically diverse and potentially undescribed specimens. At this stage, most of these remain as individual specimens. However, several specimens have been grouped into project species. In this presentation, two potentially new species of Russula will be described. Both species are widespread on red to black clay soils in the Toowoomba region and appear to be phylogenetically related to each other. Project species 1 has a white stipe which developed a pink flush after collection and red to pink centrally depressed cap with white gills. The spores of this species were subglobose, white and ornamented with amyloid warts connected in short chains. The second species, project species 3, is macroscopically similar, differing with its larger size, purple-pink cap colour, and rougher cap texture. Its spores are globose to subglobose, white and ornamented with small amyloid warts connected in short chains. Continued molecular and morphological studies of the Russula species of South-east Queensland may uncover more novel Australian species

Improving Mekong water resources investment and allocation choices

The CPWF Project PN67 “Improving Mekong Water Allocation” was a key, collaborative activity of the Mekong Program on Water, Environment and Resilience (M-POWER). The goal of contributing to water allocation policy and practice which results in a more optimal and equitable use of water by society has been pursued by research across the Mekong Region and active engagement with policymakers. The project team have examined the use of a wide range of decision-support tools, in many decision-making arenas. In doing so, they have sought to understand decision contexts and drivers

Commentary : Reproducibility in Psychological Science: When Do Psychological Phenomena Exist?

Peer reviewe

Towards management of invasive ectomycorrhizal fungi

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are increasingly recognized as invasive species. Invasive ectomycorrhizal fungi can be toxic to humans, may compete with native, edible or otherwise valuable fungi, facilitate the co-invasion of trees, and cause major changes in soil ecosystems, but also have positive effects, enabling plantation forestry and, in some cases, becoming a valuable food source. Land-managers are interested in controlling and removing invasive fungi, but there are few available strategies for management and none are based on robust scientific evidence. Nonetheless, despite the absence of relevant experiments, we suggest that knowledge of the fundamental ecology of fungi can help guide strategies. We review the literature and suggest potential strategies for prevention, for slowing the spread of invasive fungi, for eradication, and for long-term management. In many cases the most appropriate strategy will be species and context (including country) specific. In order to effectively address the problems posed by invasive ectomycorrhizal fungi, land managers and scientists need to work together to develop and robustly test control and management strategies

A preliminary census of the macrofungi of Mt Wellington, Tasmania- the sequestrate species

This is the fourth and final contribution in a series of papers providing a preliminary documentation of the macrofungi of Mt Wellington, Tasmania. The earlier papers dealt with the gilled Basidiomycota, the non-gilled Basidiomycota and the Ascomycota, respectively, excluding the sequestrate species. The present paper completes the series by dealing with the sequestrate species, of which seven Ascomycota, 76 Basidiomycota, three Glomeromycota and one Zygomycota were found. Seven new genera and 25 new species to be formally described elsewhere, are recorded

Effects of fluoride on primary cultured haemocytes from the marine gastropod Haliotis tuberculata

International audienceAs a consequence of human's activities, fluoride concentration in many aquatic ecosystems is significantly increasing. Nevertheless, little is known about fluoride toxicity to aquatic life. In this study the effect of exposure to different concentrations of sodium fluoride (2, 10, 50, 250 and 1,250 μg mL −1) during 24 h on primary cultured haemocytes of the gastropod Haliotis tuberculata was realized. Results indicate no significant effect of NaF on cell viability, Lysosomal membrane stability, phagocytosis and ROS production at concentrations of 2, 10, 50 and 250 μg mL −1. Nevertheless, lysosomal membrane alterations, a decrease of phagocytosis and morphological changes of H. tuberculata haemocytes were observed at concentration of 1,250 µg mL −1 NaF suggesting a potential impact of NaF at high concentration in the environment