The ecological and evolutionary dynamics of inselbergs.

Islands are fundamental model systems in ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. However, terrestrial islands, unlike their aquatic counterparts, have received comparatively less attention. Among these land islands, inselbergs (i.

Neutral theory reveals the challenge of bending the curve for the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

In October, nations of the world will begin negotiations for the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the Convention on Biological Diversity. An influential ambition is "bending the curve of biodiversity loss," which aims to reverse the decline of global biodiversity indicators. A second relevant, yet less prominent, milestone is the 20th anniversary of the publication of .

An empirical confirmation of diversified bet hedging as a survival strategy in unpredictably varying environments.

Environmental change jeopardizes the survival of species from variable environments by making the occurrence of favorable conditions less predictable. For organisms with long-lived propagules (e.g.

Random population fluctuations bias the Living Planet Index.

The Living Planet Index (LPI) is a standardized indicator for tracking population trends through time. Due to its ability to aggregate many time series in a single metric, the LPI has been proposed as an indicator for the Convention on Biological Diversity's post-2020 Global Biodiversity Strategy. However, here we show that random population fluctuations introduce biases when calculating the LPI.

Reduced ecological resilience jeopardizes zero loss of biodiversity using the mitigation hierarchy.

One proposal for the Convention on Biological Diversity's post-2020 strategic plan is 'zero loss' of natural habitats. However, the feasibility of zero loss was questioned during the Trondheim Conference for Biodiversity, and it was suggested that biodiversity losses are instead balanced by compensatory efforts (that is, 'no net loss'). The focus on net outcomes is echoed by separate calls for a global mitigation hierarchy to deliver no net biodiversity loss and accommodate both conservation and development goals.

Ecosystem services and ecological degradation of communal wetlands in a South African biodiversity hotspot.

Wetlands provide important ecosystem services to rural communities. However, wetlands are often on communal land, so they may become degraded when individual users act to maximize their personal benefit from ecosystem services without bearing the full environmental costs of their actions. Although it is possible to manage communal resources sustainably, this depends on the dynamics of the socio-ecological system.

Climate change jeopardizes the persistence of freshwater zooplankton by reducing both habitat suitability and demographic resilience.

Background: Higher temperatures and increased environmental variability under climate change could jeopardize the persistence of species. Organisms that rely on short windows of rainfall to complete their life-cycles, like desert annual plants or temporary pool animals, may be particularly at risk. Although some could tolerate environmental changes by building-up banks of propagules (seeds or eggs) that buffer against catastrophes, climate change will threaten this resilience mechanism if higher temperatures reduce propagule survival.

Adding energy gradients and long-distance dispersal to a neutral model improves predictions of Madagascan bird diversity.

Macroecological patterns are likely the result of both stochastically neutral mechanisms and deterministic differences between species. In Madagascar, the simplest stochastically neutral hypothesis - the mid-domain effects (MDE) hypothesis - has already been rejected. However, rejecting the MDE hypothesis does not necessarily refute the existence of all other neutral mechanisms.

Modelling the sensitivity of life history traits to climate change in a temporary pool crustacean.

Temporary pool inhabitants face altered inundation regimes under climate change. While their exposure to these changes has received considerable attention, few studies have investigated their sensitivity or adaptability. Here, we use zooplankton as a model to explore how decreasing hydroperiods affect extinction risks and assess whether changes in life history traits could promote persistence.

Disturbance regime alters the impact of dispersal on alpha and beta diversity in a natural metacommunity.

Disturbance and dispersal are two fundamental ecological processes that shape diversity patterns, yet their interaction and the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood, and evidence from natural systems is particularly lacking. Using an invertebrate rock pool metacommunity in South Africa as a natural model system, we studied potential interactive effects of disturbance regime and patch isolation on diversity patterns of species with contrasting dispersal modes (passive vs. active dispersal).

Combined treatment methods for carcinoma of the esophagus.

From 1950 to 1973, 129 patients received irradiation for esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma at the University of California, San Francisco. From this group, 26 received surgical and irradiation treatment. Twelve did not receive irradiation until recurrence became evident and among them were no 5-year survivors.