Explore the vast range of titles available.

To gain more widely applicable life history theories for plants, it is critical to go beyond the plant groups that currently underpin generalizations in the field. By integrating perspectives on maleg amete and diaspore dispersal in both spore- and seed-producingplants, the studies in this Research Topic underscore the diversity of dispersal strategies and the ecological and evolutionary consequences they entail. The findings reveal that dispersal is not a uniform process but one deeply influenced by reproductive biology, life-history traits, and environmental context. Importantly, these studies also emphasize the value of combining field and experimental studies with molecular and modelling approaches to better understand the mechanisms driving plant distribution and diversity. As climate change continues to reshape ecosystems globally, advancing our understanding of plant dispersal across taxonomic groups will be essential for predicting future biodiversity patterns and informing conservation strategies.

The previous studies show soil microbes play a key role in the material and nutrient cycles in the forest ecosystem, but little is known about how soil microbes respond to plant distribution, especially in the soil bacterial community in woody bamboo forests. Cephalostachyum pingbianense (Hsueh & Y.M. Yang ex Yi et al.) D.Z. Li & H.Q. Yang, 2007 is known as the only bamboo species producing shoots all year round in natural conditions. Endemic to the Dawei mountain in Yunnan of China, this species is a good case to study how soil bacteria respond to plant endemic distribution. In this work, we assayed the soil chemical properties, enzyme activity, changes in the bacterial community along the distribution range of the C. pingbianense forest. The results showed that soil nutrients at the range edge were nitrogen-rich but phosphorus-deficient, and soil pH value and soil urease activity were significantly lower than that of the central range. No significant difference was detected in soil bacterial diversity, community composition, and function between the central and marginal range of C. pingbianense forest. Notably, the relative abundance of heterotrophy bacteria, such as Variibacter and Acidothermus, in the soil of the C. pingbianense forest was significantly higher than that of the outside range, which may lead to a higher soil organic carbon mineralization rate. These results imply that abundant heterotrophy bacteria were linked to the endemism and full-year shooting in C. pingbianense. Our study is amongst the first cases demonstrating the important role of heterotrophy bacteria in the distribution formation of endemic woody bamboos in special soil habitats, and provides insight into germplasm conservation and forest management in woody bamboos.

Recent advancement of environmental DNA (eDNA) methods for surveying species in aquatic ecosystems has been used for various organisms and contributed to monitoring and conservation of species and environments. Amphibians are one of the promising taxa which could be monitored efficiently by applying quantitative PCR (qPCR) or next generation sequencing to eDNA. However, the cost of eDNA detection using these approaches can be quite high and requires instruments that are not usually installed in ecology laboratories. For aiding researchers in starting eDNA studies of amphibians, especially those not specialized in molecular biology, we developed a cost efficient protocol using PCR-RFLP method. We attempted to detect eDNA of three Japanese Rana species ( Rana japonica, Rana ornativentris , and Rana tagoi tagoi ) in various spatial scales including an area close to the Fukushima nuclear power plant where the environment is recovering after the disaster in 2011. Our PCR-RFLP protocol was successful in detecting Rana species in static water in both laboratory and field; however, it could not detect Rana species in non-static water samples from the field. Even a more sensitive detection method (standard qPCR) was unable to detect frogs in all non-static water samples. We speculate that our new protocol is effective for frogs living in lentic habitats, but not for lotic habitats which may still require the gold standard of field observation for detection approach.

Home range estimation is routine practice in ecological research. While advances in animal tracking technology have increased our capacity to collect data to support home range analysis, these same advances have also resulted in increasingly autocorrelated data. Consequently, the question of which home range estimator to use on modern, highly autocorrelated tracking data remains open. This question is particularly relevant given that most estimators assume independently sampled data. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of autocorrelation on home range estimation. We base our study on an extensive data set of GPS locations from 369 individuals representing 27 species distributed across five continents. We first assemble a broad array of home range estimators, including Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) with four bandwidth optimizers (Gaussian reference function, autocorrelated-Gaussian reference function [AKDE], Silverman's rule of thumb, and least squares cross-validation), Minimum Convex Polygon, and Local Convex Hull methods. Notably, all of these estimators except AKDE assume independent and identically distributed (IID) data. We then employ half-sample cross-validation to objectively quantify estimator performance, and the recently introduced effective sample size for home range area estimation (N̂area) to quantify the information content of each data set. We found that AKDE 95% area estimates were larger than conventional IID-based estimates by a mean factor of 2. The median number of cross-validated locations included in the hold-out sets by AKDE 95% (or 50%) estimates was 95.3% (or 50.1%), confirming the larger AKDE ranges were appropriately selective at the specified quantile. Conversely, conventional estimates exhibited negative bias that increased with decreasing N̂area. To contextualize our empirical results, we performed a detailed simulation study to tease apart how sampling frequency, sampling duration, and the focal animal's movement conspire to affect range estimates. Paralleling our empirical results, the simulation study demonstrated that AKDE was generally more accurate than conventional methods, particularly for small N̂area. While 72% of the 369 empirical data sets had >1,000 total observations, only 4% had an N̂area >1,000, where 30% had an N̂area <30. In this frequently encountered scenario of small N̂area, AKDE was the only estimator capable of producing an accurate home range estimate on autocorrelated data.

We present a new record of Scaphiodontophis annulatus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) from Serranía Montes de María, department of Sucre, Colombia. This represents the second record of this species from the Colombian Caribbean region and the first from a tropical dry forest habitat. We discuss color variation across this species range, as the taxonomy of this species remains unresolved.

Human activities such as the transport of species to new regions and modifications of the environment are increasingly reshaping the distribution of biota. Accordingly, developing robust, repeatable, and consistent definitions of alien species that serve scientific and policy purposes has become of prime importance. We provide a set of classification criteria that are widely applicable across taxa and realms and offer guidance on their use in practice. The criteria focus on (a) acknowledging the role of assessment uncertainty, (b) incorporating time since introduction, (c) considering infraspecific taxonomic ranks, and (d) differentiating between alien species whose survival depends on explicit human assistance from those that survive without such assistance. Furthermore, we make recommendations for reducing assessment uncertainty, suggest thresholds for species assessment, and develop an assessment scheme. We illustrate the application of the assessment criteria with case studies. Finally, the implications for alien species management, policy, and research are discussed.

The species‐range size distribution is a product of speciation, transformation of range‐sizes, and extinction. Previous empirical studies showed that it has a left‐skewed lognormal‐like distribution. We developed a new mathematical framework to study species‐range‐size distributions, one in which allopatric speciation, transformation of range size, and the extinction process are explicitly integrated. The approach, which we call the gain‐loss‐allopatric speciation model, allows us to explore the effects of various speciation scenarios. Our model captures key dynamics thought to lead to known range‐size distributions. We also fitted the model to empirical range‐size distributions of birds, mammals, and beetles. Since geographic range dynamics are linked to speciation and extinction, our model provides predictions for the dynamics of species richness. When a species‐range‐size distribution initially evolves away from the range sizes at which the likelihood of speciation is low, it tends to cause diversification slowdown even in the absence of (bio)diversity dependence in speciation rate. Using the mathematical model developed here, we give a potential explanation for how observed range‐size distributions emerge from range‐size dynamics. Although the framework presented is minimalistic, it provides a starting point for examining hypotheses based on more complex mechanisms. We developed a new mathematical framework to study species‐range‐size distributions, one in which allopatric speciation, transformation of range size, and the extinction process are explicitly integrated. Our model captures key dynamics thought to lead to known range‐size distributions. We also fitted the model to empirical range‐size distributions of birds, mammals, and beetles.

AIM: Maps of species ranges are among the most frequently used distribution data in biodiversity studies. As with any biological data, range maps have some level of measurement error, but this error is rarely quantified. We assessed the error associated with amphibian range maps by comparing them with point locality data. LOCATION: Global. METHODS: The maps published by the Global Amphibian Assessment were assessed against two data sets of species point localities: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and a refined data set including recently published, high‐quality presence data from both GBIF and other sources. Range fit was measured as the proportion of presence records falling within the range polygon(s) for each species. RESULTS: Using the high‐quality point data provided better fit measures than using the raw GBIF data. Range fit was highly variable among continents, being highest for North American and European species (a fit of 84–94%), and lowest for Asian and South American species (a fit of 57–64%). At the global scale, 95% of amphibian point records were inside the ranges published in maps, or within 31 km of the range edge. However, differences among continents were striking, and more points were found far from range edges for South American and Asian species. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: The Global Amphibian Assessment range maps represent the known distribution of most amphibians well; this study provides measures of accuracy that can be useful for future research using amphibian maps as baseline data. Nevertheless, there is a need for greater investment in the continuous updating and improvement of maps, particularly in the megadiverse areas of tropical Asia and South America.

Glaciers are inhabited by various cryophilic organisms ranging from single celled to multicellular, like Tardigrada (water bears). Owing to their scattered distribution, glaciers represent extremely fragmented habitats, and it remains unclear how their inhabitants survive and disperse among such isolated patches. This study investigates the biogeography of the tardigrade genus Cryoconicus, whose distribution, population stability, and interregional connectivity are examined by screening the collections from ~ 60 glaciers worldwide and by a phylogeographic analysis. We found that two Cryoconicus species occur at low densities on two Arctic glaciers in Svalbard, far from their previously reported Antarctic and Central Asian ranges. Screening of worldwide databases and DNA metabarcoding indicated that these species are absent or rare in the intermediate areas, suggesting large disjunctions in their ranges. In particular, the genetic data and multiyear resampling showed that Cryoconicus kaczmareki established a stable population on the Ebba Glacier (Svalbard), which has been isolated from its Asian core range since before the last glacial maximum. Our findings suggest that glacial invertebrates may possess wide yet largely disjunctive ranges. Interpolar- or intercontinental-scale movements of cryophilic meiofauna may occur, but migration connectivity is not sufficient to mitigate the differentiation of the local population. Revealed biogeographic patterns further demonstrate that inhabitants of extreme environments may establish isolated and highly fragmented populations that persist long term, even if at very low densities.

Mangroves are an ideal habitat for a variety of marine species, especially brachyuran crabs. Using MaxEnt modelling technique, we projected the potential global distributions of six families of mangrove crabs including Camptandriidae, Dotillidae, Macrophthalmidae, Ocypodidae, Sesarmidae, and Oziidae; as well as 23 representative species of those families. Our results showed that depth and sea surface temperature (SST) are the most important drivers of distribution of mangrove crabs. The most potential suitable environments for all 23 species were located along the coastal areas with depths of less than 17 m, mean SST 14–30 °C, salinity 10–44 PSS (Pactical Salinity Scale), current velocity of 0.001–1.38 m −1 in present models. In projected models, depth less 29 m, SST between 15 and 31 °C, salinity between 19 and 41 PSS, and current velocity between 0.02–1.33 m −1 were the most potential suitable habitat conditions for the mangrove crabs. Future models showed that distribution of most species will be shifted towards higher latitudes. The contraction of latitudinal distribution ranges in 52% of mangrove crabs of six families were observed following future environmental changes. However, a number of species (48%) showed range expansions as a response to global warming. The results showed that in general, the high suitable environments would shrink until 2100 for mangrove crabs in response to global warming. The outputs of MaxEnt model presented the vulnerability of mangrove crabs to future climatic condition changes. As a result, our finding implies a need to understand the consequences of climate change on distribution and diversity of mangrove crabs to adopt ecological function and to impelement accurate mangrove conservation programs.