Unfolding the dynamics of ecosystems undergoing alternating wet-dry transitional states.

A significant fraction of Earth's ecosystems undergoes periodic wet-dry alternating transitional states. These globally distributed water-driven transitional ecosystems, such as intermittent rivers and coastal shorelines, have traditionally been studied as two distinct entities, whereas they constitute a single, interconnected meta-ecosystem. This has resulted in a poor conceptual and empirical understanding of water-driven transitional ecosystems.

Generalism in species interactions is more the consequence than the cause of ecological success.

Generalism in resource use is commonly considered a critical driver of population success, species distribution and extinction risk. This idea can be questioned as generalism may be a result rather than the cause of species abundance and range size. We tested these contrasting causal hypotheses focusing on host use in three databases encompassing approximately 44,000 mutualistic (hummingbird-plant), commensalistic (lichen-plant) and parasitic (flea-mammal) interactions in 617 ecological communities across the Americas and Eurasia.

Gypsum lichens: A global data set of lichen species from gypsum ecosystems.

Lichens are significant components of the biological soil crust communities in gypsum ecosystems and are involved in several processes related to ecosystem functioning, such as water and nutrient cycles or protection against soil erosion. Although numerous studies centered on lichen taxonomy and ecology have been performed in these habitats, global information about lichen species from gypsum substrates or their distributional ranges at a global scale is lacking. Thus, we compiled a global data set of recorded lichen species growing on gypsum.

Lagrangian modelling of oil concentrations at sea: A sensitivity analysis to the grid resolution and number of Lagrangian elements.

This paper presents a novel method to select the optimal combination of grid resolution and number of Lagrangian elements (LEs) required in numerical modelling of oil concentrations at sea. A sensitivity analysis in terms of grid resolution and the number of LEs, was carried out to understand the uncertainty that these user-dependent parameters introduce in the numerical results. A dataset of 211,200 simulations performed under 400 metocean patterns, 6 initial volumes, 11 grid resolutions, and different numbers of LEs (100 to 500,000), was used to analyze the sensitivity of the model along different Thresholds of Concern.

Cyanobacterial Variability in Lichen Cephalodia.

The ecological success of lichens is related to both myco- and photobionts which condition the physiological limits of the lichen symbioses and thus affect their ecological niches and geographic ranges. A particular type of lichen, called cephalolichen, is characterized by housing both green algal and cyanobacterial symbionts-the latter is restricted to special structures called cephalodia. In this type of lichen, questions related to specialization within species or within individuals are still unsolved as different patterns have previously been observed.

Specialization patterns in symbiotic associations: A community perspective over spatial scales.

Specialization, contextualized in a resource axis of an organism niche, is a core concept in ecology. In biotic interactions, specialization can be determined by the range of interacting partners. Evolutionary and ecological factors, in combination with the surveyed scale (spatial, temporal, biological, and/or taxonomic), influence the conception of specialization.

Standardization of Trauma, General Surgical Morbidity and Mortality Conferences: Development and Dissemination of a "Toolkit" in Peru.

Background: Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) conferences allow clinicians to review adverse events and identify areas for improvement. There are few reports of structured M&M conferences in low- and middle-income countries and no report of collaborative efforts to standardize them.

Methods: The present study aims to gather general surgeons representing most of Peru's urban surgical care and, in collaboration, with trauma quality improvement experts develop a M&M conferences toolkit with the expectation that its diffusion impacts their reported clinical practice.

Contrasting Environmental Drivers Determine Biodiversity Patterns in Epiphytic Lichen Communities along a European Gradient.

Assessing the ecological impacts of environmental change on biological communities requires knowledge of the factors driving the spatial patterns of the three diversity facets along extensive environmental gradients. We quantified the taxonomic (TD), functional (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of lichen epiphytic communities in 23 beech forests along Europe to examine their response to environmental variation (climate, habitat quality, spatial predictors) at a continental geographic scale. We selected six traits related to the climatic conditions in forest ecosystems, the water-use strategy and the nutrient uptake, and we built a phylogenetic tree based on four molecular markers.

Disentangling functional trait variation and covariation in epiphytic lichens along a continent-wide latitudinal gradient.

Characterizing functional trait variation and covariation, and its drivers, is critical to understand the response of species to changing environmental conditions. Evolutionary and environmental factors determine how traits vary among and within species at multiple scales. However, disentangling their relative contribution is challenging and a comprehensive trait-environment framework addressing such questions is missing in lichens.

Intraspecific variability drives functional changes in lichen epiphytic communities across Europe.

Traditional approaches in trait-based community ecology typically expect that trait filtering across broad environmental gradients is largely due to replacement of species, rather than intraspecific trait adjustments. Recently, the role of intraspecific trait variability has been largely highlighted as an important contributor mediating the ability of communities to persist under changing conditions and determining the community-level trait variation, particularly across limited environmental gradients. Unfortunately, few studies quantify the relative importance of species turnover versus intraspecific variability mediating the response of communities different from vascular plants.

How much matching there is in functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic optima of epiphytic macrolichen communities along a European climatic gradient?

Adopting an integrative approach that explicitly includes the different facets of biodiversity is crucial to assess the response of biological communities to changing environments. The identification of the optimal climatic conditions where communities maximize their functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity is useful to compare whether the optima of the different facets of biodiversity match. Using a wide climatic gradient across Europe, we quantified the functional, phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity of epiphytic macrolichen communities, which are valuable early-warning ecological indicators.

A case study on the re-establishment of the cyanolichen symbiosis: where do the compatible photobionts come from?

Background And Aims: In order to re-establish lichen symbiosis, fungal spores must first germinate and then associate with a compatible photobiont. To detect possible establishment limitations in a sexually reproducing cyanolichen species, we studied ascospore germination, photobiont growth and photobiont association patterns in Pectenia plumbea.

Methods: Germination tests were made with ascospores from 500 apothecia under different treatments, and photobiont growth was analysed in 192 isolates obtained from 24 thalli.

Blend design tools for Medium Combustion Plants (MCP) firing biomass wastes.

A feasible alternative for agricultural or forestry waste management is the operation of a distributed network of sustainable Medium Combustion Plants (MCPs). However, one of the main factors that hinder its development is the propensity to operational problems derived from corrosion, slagging and fouling characteristics of both bottom and fly ashes. Therefore, a cost-effective approach for these multi-product MCP could be based on predictive tools for an optimal formulation of a fuel blend.

Intraspecific life history variation in contrasting habitats: Insights from an obligate symbiotic organism.

Premise Of The Study: Life history theory predicts that plants in unfavorable habitats for juvenile growth and survival will commence reproduction at smaller sizes and exhibit higher reproductive allocations than those in favorable habitats. The scope of life history theory will increase if these predictions apply to a broad range of organisms. Populations of organisms in contrasting habitats may experience different demographic rates.

Variation in the reproductive strategy of a lichenized fungus along a climatic gradient.

Background And Aims: Onset of reproduction and reproductive allocation patterns are key components of plant reproductive strategies. Life history theory predicts that plants in adverse environments for juvenile performance start reproduction at smaller sizes and exhibit higher reproductive allocation compared to their counterparts in favourable environments. Life history theory will gain in generality if its predictions are shown to apply to a broad range of organisms and modes of reproduction.

A species on a tightrope: Establishment limitations of an endangered lichen in a fragmented Mediterranean landscape.

Premise Of The Study: Habitat loss and forest fragmentation affect the dispersal and establishment of species. Furthermore, populations growing far from the species' optimal climate might be less viable because good-quality habitat can be scarce and easily altered by smaller changes. The lichen has oceanic climatic requirements, so in the Mediterranean region it needs the humidity provided by well-preserved forests to thrive, but most of this habitat has disappeared and the remnants are fragmented.

Species delimitation and phylogeography of the Pectenia species-complex: A misunderstood case of species-pairs in lichenized fungi, where reproduction mode does not delimit lineages.

The main goal of this work was to study species boundaries in the genus Pectenia and elucidate the biogeographic history of the four currently accepted species. To accomplish this, we included 92 specimens across the range of Pectenia in Europe and northern Africa. We used three nuclear loci and assessed species circumscription using two Bayesian coalescent-based methods and the Bayes Factor approach.

The threatened epiphytic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria in the Iberian Peninsula: genetic diversity and structure across a latitudinal gradient.

The current genetic diversity and structure of a species plays a marked role in the species' future response to environmental changes. Identification of the factors that might ensure the long-term viability of populations along its distribution area is therefore important for conserving biodiversity. In this work, infraspecific genetic diversity and structure of the threatened lichen Lobaria pulmonaria was investigated along a latitudinal gradient, spanning the Spanish latitudinal range of L.

A Strategic Study about Quality Characteristics in e-Health Systems Based on a Systematic Literature Review.

e-Health Systems quality management is an expensive and hard process that entails performing several tasks such as analysis, evaluation, and quality control. Furthermore, the development of an e-Health System involves great responsibility since people's health and quality of life depend on the system and services offered. The focus of the following study is to identify the gap in Quality Characteristics for e-Health Systems, by detecting not only which are the most studied, but also which are the most used Quality Characteristics these Systems include.

Environmental factors that drive the distribution and abundance of a threatened cyanolichen in Southern Europe: a multi-scale approach.

Premise Of The Study: High-quality information about threatened species is required to prevent current global biodiversity losses. Lichens are important components of forest biodiversity and help to maintain ecosystem functioning. The epiphytic cyanolichen Lobarina scrobiculata is red-listed in Europe and North America, but knowledge of its ecology and distribution in Southern Europe is scarce.

Cardinal characters on a slippery slope--a re-evaluation of phylogeny, character evolution, and evolutionary rates in the jelly lichens (Collemataceae s. str).

Recent molecular systematic studies have indicated that the traits currently used for generic delimitation in the jelly lichens (Collemataceae s. str.), may not characterize monophyletic groups.

Does the reproductive strategy affect the transmission and genetic diversity of bionts in cyanolichens? A case study using two closely related species.

Observed levels of population genetic diversity are often associated with differences in species dispersal and reproductive strategies. In symbiotic organisms, the genetic diversity level of each biont should also be highly influenced by biont transmission. In this study, we evaluated the influence of the reproductive strategies of cyanolichen species on the current levels of population genetic diversity of bionts.

Multiple-scale environmental modulation of lichen reproduction.

It is necessary to understand how environmental changes affect plant fitness to predict survival of a species, but this knowledge is scarce for lichens and complicated by their formation of sexual and asexual reproductive structures. Are the presence and number of reproductive structures in Lobaria pulmonaria, a threatened lichen, dependent on thallus size, and is their formation sequential? Does any size-dependence and sequential formation vary along a climate gradient? Generalized linear mixed models were used to explore the effect of environmental predictors on the size and presence/abundance of each reproductive structure and to determine the probability of a given-sized thallus to develop any reproductive structure. The largest individuals are more likely to develop reproductive structures, and the lichen uses a mixed strategy of early asexual reproduction and late sexual.

Effects of tropical montane forest disturbance on epiphytic macrolichens.

The high diversity of epiphytes typical of undisturbed montane tropical forests has been negatively affected by continuous deforestation and forest conversion to secondary vegetation. Macrolichens are an important component of these epiphytes. Because their physiology is strongly coupled to humidity and solar radiation, we hypothesized that microclimatic changes derived from forest clearing and logging can affect the diversity of these poikilohydric organisms.

Loss of epiphytic diversity along a latitudinal gradient in southern Europe.

Latitudinal gradients that involve macroclimatic changes can affect the diversity of several groups of plants and animals. Here we examined the effect of a latitudinal gradient on epiphytic communities on a single host species (Fagus sylvatica) to test the core-periphery theory. The latitudinal span considered, covering two biogeographic regions, is associated with major changes in rainfall during the dry season.