Dramatic difference in rate of chromosome number evolution among sundew (Drosera L., Droseraceae) lineages.

Chromosome number change is a driver of speciation in eukaryotic organisms. Carnivorous sundews in the plant genus Drosera L. exhibit single chromosome number variation both among and within species, especially in the Australian Drosera subg.

Ecological Considerations When Designing Mitigation Translocations: An Australian Reptile Case Study.

Translocation science has made considerable progress over the last two decades; however, reptile translocations still frequently fail around the world. Major knowledge gaps surround the basic ecology of reptile species, including basic factors such as habitat preference, which have a critical influence on translocation success. The western spiny-tailed skink () is used here as a case study to exemplify how empirical research can directly inform on-ground management and future translocation planning.

Capture of mammal excreta by Nepenthes is an effective heterotrophic nutrition strategy.

Background And Aims: While isotopic enrichment of nitrogen (15N) and carbon (13C) is often used to determine whether carnivorous plant species capture and assimilate nutrients from supplemental sources such as invertebrate prey or mammal excreta (heterotrophic nutrition), little is known about how successful the different strategies deployed by carnivorous plants are at obtaining supplemental nutrition. The collection of mammalian faeces by Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plants) is the result of a highly specialized biological mutualism that results in heterotrophic nitrogen gain; however, it remains unknown how effective this strategy is in comparison to Nepenthes species not known to collect mammalian faeces.

Methods: We examined how isotopic enrichment varied in the diverse genus Nepenthes, among species producing pitchers for invertebrate capture and species exhibiting mutualisms for the collection of mammal excreta.

Ecosystem restoration is integral to humanity's recovery from COVID-19.

COVID-19 has devastated global communities and economies. The pandemic has exposed socioeconomic disparities and weaknesses in health systems worldwide. Long-term health effects and economic recovery are major concerns.

Revealing microhabitat requirements of an endangered specialist lizard with LiDAR.

A central principle of threatened species management is the requirement for detailed understanding of species habitat requirements. Difficult terrain or cryptic behaviour can, however, make the study of habitat or microhabitat requirements difficult, calling for innovative data collection techniques. We used high-resolution terrestrial LiDAR imaging to develop three-dimensional models of log piles, quantifying the structural characteristics linked with occupancy of an endangered cryptic reptile, the western spiny-tailed skink (Egernia stokesii badia).

A novel approach for reliable qualitative and quantitative prey spectra identification of carnivorous plants combining DNA metabarcoding and macro photography.

Prey spectra (the number and composition of captured arthropods) represent a crucial aspect of carnivorous plant ecology, yet remain poorly studied. Traditional morphology-based approaches for prey identification are time-intensive, require specialists with considerable knowledge of arthropod taxonomy, and are hampered by high numbers of unidentifiable (i.e.

Calcicole-calcifuge plant strategies limit restoration potential in a regional semi-arid flora.

Aim: To examine calcicole and calcifuge plant strategies, as well as nutrient-acquisition strategies, as drivers of the distribution of species in response to edaphic factors, and the degree to which these strategies may act as filters to species establishment in ecological restoration on heavily altered or reconstructed substrates.

Location: An 82,000-ha area within a major mining province in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, harboring vegetation communities ranging from species-poor halophytic scrub on saline flats to dense biodiverse shrubland on the skeletal soils of ancient Banded Ironstone Formations (BIF).

Methods: Univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to examine how variation in soil chemistry and landscape position (undulating plains, slopes, and BIF crests and ridges) influenced patterns of floristic diversity, calcifuge plant strategies, and nutrient-acquisition strategies in 538 plant species from 830 relevés.

Initiating pedogenesis of magnetite tailings using Lupinus angustifolius (narrow-leaf lupin) as an ecological engineer to promote native plant establishment.

Mine tailings pose physical and chemical challenges for plant establishment. Our aim was to learn from natural processes in long-term soil and ecosystem development to use tailings as novel parent materials and pioneer ecological-engineering plant species to ameliorate extreme conditions of tailings, and facilitate the establishment of subsequent native plants. A glasshouse trial was conducted using magnetite tailings containing various amendments, investigating the potential of the nitrogen (N)-fixing, non-native pioneer species Lupinus angustifolius (Fabaceae), narrow-leaf lupin, as a potential eco-engineer to promote soil formation processes, and whether amendment type or the presence of pioneer vegetation improved the subsequent establishment and growth of 40 species of native plants.

Incorporating rock in surface covers improves the establishment of native pioneer vegetation on alkaline mine tailings.

Background And Aims: Rates of tailings production and deposition around the world have increased markedly in recent decades, and have grown asynchronously with safe and environmentally suitable solutions for their storage. Tailings are often produced in regions harbouring biodiverse native plant communities adapted to old, highly-weathered soils. The highly-altered edaphic conditions of tailings compared with natural soils in these areas will likely select against many locally endemic plant species, making phytostabilisation, rehabilitation or ecological restoration of these landforms challenging.

Mitigation translocation as a management tool.

Mitigation translocation is a subgroup of conservation translocation, categorized by a crisis-responsive time frame and the immediate goal of relocating individuals threatened with death. However, the relative successes of conservation translocations with longer time frames and broader metapopulation- and ecosystem-level considerations have been used to justify the continued implementation of mitigation translocations without adequate post hoc monitoring to confirm their effectiveness as a conservation tool. Mitigation translocations now outnumber other conservation translocations, and understanding the effectiveness of mitigation translocations is critical given limited global conservation funding especially if the mitigation translocations undermine biodiversity conservation by failing to save individuals.

Hydrological and thermal responses of seeds from four co-occurring tree species from southwest Western Australia.

Seed germination is a critical stage in the life cycle of most plants and is defined by specific tolerance thresholds beyond which rates and success of germination rapidly decline. Previous studies have demonstrated that widespread plant species commonly germinate over a broad range of temperatures and water stress levels, whereas range-restricted species often exhibit a narrower germination window in terms of temperature and moisture. We investigated the relationships of the key germination traits of maximum germination ( ) and time to 50% germination ( ) in response to temperature (5-35°C) and water stress (-1.

The Bacterial Microbiome Associated With Arid Biocrusts and the Biogeochemical Influence of Biocrusts Upon the Underlying Soil.

Biocrusts are aggregated crusts that exist on the soil surface of arid environments. They are complex microbial communities comprised of cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, algae and fungi. Recently, biocrusts have gained significant attention due to their ubiquitous distribution and likely important ecological roles, including soil stabilization, soil moisture retention, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fixation, as well as microbial engineers for semi-arid ecosystem restoration.

An ecological perspective on 'plant carnivory beyond bogs': nutritional benefits of prey capture for the Mediterranean carnivorous plant Drosophyllum lusitanicum.

Background And Aims: Little is known about the evolutionary and ecological drivers of carnivory in plants, particularly for those terrestrial species that do not occur in typical swamp or bog habitats. The Mediterranean endemic Drosophyllum lusitanicum (Drosophyllaceae) is one of very few terrestrial carnivorous plant species outside of Australia to occur in seasonally dry, fire-prone habitats, and is thus an ecological rarity. Here we assess the nutritional benefits of prey capture for D.

Plastome-Wide Rearrangements and Gene Losses in Carnivorous Droseraceae.

The plastid genomes of four related carnivorous plants (Drosera regia, Drosera erythrorhiza, Aldrovanda vesiculosa, and Dionaea muscipula) were sequenced to examine changes potentially induced by the transition to carnivory. The plastid genomes of the Droseraceae show multiple rearrangements, gene losses, and large expansions or contractions of the inverted repeat. All the ndh genes are lost or nonfunctional, as well as in some of the species, clpP1, ycf1, ycf2 and some tRNA genes.

Ethical seed sourcing is a key issue in meeting global restoration targets.

The global demand for restoration has increased orders of magnitude in the last decade, and hundreds of thousands of tonnes of native seed are required to feed this restoration engine [1] (Figure 1). But where are all the seeds required by restoration going to come from? Wild seed resources continue to be depleted by habitat loss, land degradation and climatic change, and over-collection of seed from wild populations threatens to erode these resources further. Ethical seed sourcing for restoration now represents a core issue in responsible restoration practice.

A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology.

Trait-based approaches have improved our understanding of plant evolution, community assembly and ecosystem functioning. A major challenge for the upcoming decades is to understand the functions and evolution of early life-history traits, across levels of organization and ecological strategies. Although a variety of seed traits are critical for dispersal, persistence, germination timing and seedling establishment, only seed mass has been considered systematically.

Geochemical and mineralogical constraints in iron ore tailings limit soil formation for direct phytostabilization.

The present study aimed to characterize key physico-chemical and mineralogical attributes of magnetite iron (Fe) ore tailings to identify potential constraints limiting in situ soil formation and direct phytostabilization. Tailings of different age, together with undisturbed local native soils, were sampled from a magnetite mine in Western Australia. Tailings were extremely alkaline (pH > 9.

Defining the role of fire in alleviating seed dormancy in a rare Mediterranean endemic subshrub.

Fire is a topical issue in the management of many ecosystems globally that face a drying climate. Understanding the role of fire in such ecosystems is critical to inform appropriate management practices, particularly in the case of rare and ecologically specialized species. The Mediterranean heathlands are highly fire-prone and occur in a biodiversity hotspot increasingly threatened by human activities, and determining the reproductive thresholds of at-risk heathland species is critical to ensuring the success of future conservation initiatives.

Young calcareous soil chronosequences as a model for ecological restoration on alkaline mine tailings.

Tailings are artificial soil-forming substrates that have not been created by the natural processes of soil formation and weathering. The extreme pH environment and corresponding low availability of some macro- and micronutrients in alkaline tailings, coupled with hostile physical and geochemical conditions, present a challenging environment to native biota. Some significant nutritional constraints to ecosystem reconstruction on alkaline tailings include i) predominant or complete absence of combined nitrogen (N) and poor soil N retention; ii) the limited bioavailability of some micronutrients at high soil pH (e.

Microbial Functional Capacity Is Preserved Within Engineered Soil Formulations Used In Mine Site Restoration.

Mining of mineral resources produces substantial volumes of crushed rock based wastes that are characterised by poor physical structure and hydrology, unstable geochemistry and potentially toxic chemical conditions. Recycling of these substrates is desirable and can be achieved by blending waste with native soil to form a 'novel substrate' which may be used in future landscape restoration. However, these post-mining substrate based 'soils' are likely to contain significant abiotic constraints for both plant and microbial growth.

Seed dormancy and persistent sediment seed banks of ephemeral freshwater rock pools in the Australian monsoon tropics.

Background And Aims: Rock pools are small, geologically stable freshwater ecosystems that are both hydrologically and biologically isolated. They harbour high levels of plant endemism and experience environmental unpredictability driven by the presence of water over variable temporal scales. This study examined the hypothesis that the sediment seed bank in monsoon tropical freshwater rock pools would persist through one or more periods of desiccation, with seed dormancy regulating germination timing in response to rock pool inundation and drying events.