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The capacity of grass species to alter their reproductive timing across space and through time can indicate their ability to cope with environmental variability and help predict their future performance under climate change. We determined the long-term (1895–2013) relationship between flowering times of grass species and climate in space and time using herbarium records across ecoregions of the western USA. There was widespread concordance of C3 grasses accelerating flowering time and general delays for C4 grasses with increasing mean annual temperature, with the largest changes for annuals and individuals occurring in more northerly, wetter ecoregions. Flowering time was delayed for most grass species with increasing mean annual precipitation across space, while phenology–precipitation relationships through time were more mixed. Our results suggest that the phenology of most grass species has the capacity to respond to increases in temperature and altered precipitation expected with climate change, but weak relationships for some species in time suggest that climate tracking via migration or adaptation may be required. Divergence in phenological responses among grass functional types, species, and ecoregions suggests that climate change will have unequal effects across the western USA.

A new subgenus, Macrohimalaea subgen. nov. , in the genus Himalaea Hreblay & L. Ronkay, 1998, is established and described for Himalaea (Macrohimalaea) batanga Saldaitis, Benedek & Volynkin, 2022 and for a new species, Himalaea (Macrohimalaea) silvana sp. nov. This new species is the type of the new subgenus. The new subgenus is distinct from the nominotypical one in having antennal pectination and its forewing shape and male genitalia. All four known adult specimens of the genus and their genitalia are illustrated and compared. Their collection localities are mapped.

Aim The diversity of birds and mammals is typically described in separate analyses, but species may play similar roles. Here, we develop a comparative trait framework for birds and mammals to provide a global quantification of the similarity of species roles (functional redundancy) and the breadth of roles across taxa (functional dispersion). We predict different contributions of birds and mammals to redundancy and dispersion, and unique geographical patterns of redundancy and dispersion by including both taxa. Location Global. Time period Contemporary. Major taxa studied Birds and mammals. Methods We systematically select, compile and impute the same six traits (i.e., a common currency of traits) across 15,485 bird and mammal species from multiple databases. We use these six traits to compute functional redundancy and functional dispersion for birds and mammals across all 825 terrestrial ecoregions. We then calculate the standardized effect size (SES) of these observed values compared with null expectations, based on a randomization of species composition (i.e., independent of differences in species richness). Results We find that species‐rich regions, such as the Neotropics, have high functional redundancy coupled with low functional dispersion, characterizing a global trade‐off. Thus, in general, as species richness increases, the similarity in species functional roles also increases. We therefore suggest that different processes generate species richness/functional redundancy and functional dispersion, leading to a novel, and generally non‐tropical, distribution of hotspots of high functional dispersion across Madagascar, Eastern Asia and Western USA. Main conclusions We recommend consideration of both the similarity and the breadth of functional roles across species pools, including taxa that may play similar roles. We therefore suggest that functional redundancy, as a means of insurance, and functional dispersion, as an indicator of response diversity, should be evaluated further as conservation objectives.

Deploying well-adapted and ecologically appropriate plant materials is a core component of successful restoration projects. We have developed generalized provisional seed zones that can be applied to any plant species in the United States to help guide seed movement. These seed zones are based on the intersection of high-resolution climatic data for winter minimum temperature and aridity (as measured by annual heat : moisture index), each classified into discrete bands. This results in the delineation of 64 provisional seed zones for the continental United States. These zones represent areas of relative climatic similarity, and movement of seed within these zones should help to minimize maladaptation. Superimposing Omernik's level III ecoregions over these seed zones distinguishes areas that are similar climatically yet different ecologically. A quantitative comparison of provisional seed zones with level III ecoregions and provisional seed zones within ecoregions for three species showed that provisional seed zone within ecoregion often explained the greatest proportion of variation in a suite of traits potentially related to plant fitness. These provisional seed zones can be considered a starting point for guidelines for seed transfer, and should be utilized in conjunction with appropriate species-specific information as well as local knowledge of microsite differences.

Secchi depth (SD), a primary metric to assess trophic state, is controlled in many lakes by algal densities, measured as chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration. Two other optically related water quality variables also directly affect SD: non-algal suspended solids (SSNA) and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM, expressed as the absorption coefficient at 440 nm, a 440). Using a database of ~1,460 samples from ~625 inland lake basins in Minnesota and two other Upper Midwest states, Wisconsin and Michigan, we analyzed relationships among these variables, with special focus on CDOM levels that influence SD values and the Minnesota SD standards used to assess eutrophication impairment of lakes. Log-transformed chl-a, total suspended solids (TSS), and SD were strongly correlated with each other; log(a 440) had major effects on log(SD) but was only weakly correlated with log(chl-a) and log(TSS). Multiple regression models for log(SD) and 1/SD based on the three driving variables (chl-a, SSNA, and CDOM) explained ~80% of the variance in SD in the whole data set, but substantial differences in the form of the best-fit relationships were found between major ecoregions. High chl-a concentrations (< 50 μg/L) and TSS (< 20 mg/L) rarely occurred in lakes with high CDOM (a 440 > ~4 m−1), and all lakes with a 440 > 8 m−1 had SD ≤ 2.0 m despite low chl-a values (<10 μg/L) in most lakes. Further statistical analyses revealed that CDOM has significant effects on SD at a 440 values > ~4 m−1. Thus, SD is not an accurate trophic state metric in moderately to highly colored lakes, and Minnesota’s 2-m SD criterion should not be the sole metric to assess eutrophication impairment in warm/cool-water lakes of the Northern Lakes and Forest ecoregion. More generally, trophic state assessments using SD in regions with large landscape sources of CDOM need to account for effects of CDOM on SD.

AIM: National and international policy frameworks, such as the European Union's Renewable Energy Directive, increasingly seek to conserve and reference ‘highly biodiverse grasslands’. However, to date there is no systematic global characterization and distribution map for grassland types. To address this gap, we first propose a systematic definition of grassland. We then integrate International Vegetation Classification (IVC) grassland types with the map of Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World (TEOW). LOCATION: Global. METHODS: We developed a broad definition of grassland as a distinct biotic and ecological unit, noting its similarity to savanna and distinguishing it from woodland and wetland. A grassland is defined as a non‐wetland type with at least 10% vegetation cover, dominated or co‐dominated by graminoid and forb growth forms, and where the trees form a single‐layer canopy with either less than 10% cover and 5 m height (temperate) or less than 40% cover and 8 m height (tropical). We used the IVC division level to classify grasslands into major regional types. We developed an ecologically meaningful spatial catalogue of IVC grassland types by listing IVC grassland formations and divisions where grassland currently occupies, or historically occupied, at least 10% of an ecoregion in the TEOW framework. RESULTS: We created a global biogeographical characterization of the Earth's grassland types, describing approximately 75% of IVC grassland divisions with ecoregions. We mapped 49 IVC grassland divisions. Sixteen additional IVC grassland divisions are absent from the map because of the fine‐scale distribution of these grassland types. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: The framework provided by our geographical mapping effort provides a systematic overview of grasslands and sets the stage for more detailed classification and mapping at finer scales. Each regional grassland type can be characterized in terms of its range of biodiversity, thereby assisting in future policy initiatives.

The human-mediated translocation of species poses a distinct threat to nature, human health, and economy. Although existing models calculate the invasion probability of any species, frameworks for species-specific forecasts are still missing. Here, we developed a model approach using global ship movements and environmental conditions to simulate the successive global spread of marine alien species that allows predicting the identity of those species likely to arrive next in a given habitat. In a first step, we simulated the historical steppingstone spreading dynamics of 40 marine alien species and compared predicted and observed alien species ranges. With an accuracy of 77%, the model correctly predicted the presence/absence of an alien species in an ecoregion. Spreading dynamics followed a common pattern with an initial invasion of most suitable habitats worldwide and a subsequent spread into neighboring habitats. In a second step, we used the reported distribution of 97 marine algal species with a known invasion history, and six species causing harmful algal blooms, to determine the ecoregions most likely to be invaded next under climate warming. Cluster analysis revealed that species can be classified according to three characteristic spreading profiles: emerging species, high-risk species, and widespread species. For the North Sea, the model predictions could be confirmed because two of the predicted high-risk species have recently invaded the North Sea. This study highlights that even simple models considering only shipping intensities and habitat matches are able to correctly predict the identity of the next invading marine species.

Armenia is located in the Caucasus Ecoregion, one of Earth's most biologically rich regions and ranked among the planet’s 36 most diverse hotspots. Although the country is home to a wide range of flora and fauna, much of its biological wealth has yet to be explored. This study aims to compile the first checklist of Armenian rotifer species with an indication of their sampling sites based on available literature data. The phylum Rotifera comprises about 2,000 species of tiny invertebrates that occupy key positions in aquatic ecosystems. The oldest available records of rotifers in Armenia date back 100 years. To date, 101 rotifers below the genus level (95 species and 6 subspecies) belonging to 35 genera and 21 families from the class Eurotatoria, orders Ploima (79 species and 6 subspecies), Flosculariaceae (10 species), Bdelloidea (5 species), and Collothecacea (1 species) have been recorded in Armenia. The highest number of rotifer species (69) has been reported from Lake Sevan. Similarities in species diversity of rotifers with neighboring countries are as follows: Turkey – 88%, Iran – 85%, Azerbaijan – 43%, and Georgia – 29%. Only 5 species recorded in Armenia were not found in adjacent countries. While the checklist of Armenian Rotifera provided in this article incorporates almost all available records, it needs to be completed by future studies, especially from the Ararat Valley, as well as the major rivers, high-altitude brooks, lakes, ponds, and marshes of the southern and northeastern parts of Armenia.

Large carnivores, despite being sensitive to specific habitat conditions, are able to distribute in a wide range of natural habitats. Such pattern of distribution raises the question of whether ecoregional differences should be considered when developing habitat suitability models. We assessed habitat suitability of the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) as an example of a wide-ranging predator across four different biogeographic zones of Iran. We used the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to perform a general and ecoregion-specific habitat suitability model and projections of the future distribution of the species for the year 2050. The results showed that the habitat use of leopards in each ecoregion differed depending on the habitat conditions and that, due to smoothing response curves of the explanatory variables, the ecoregion-specific distribution models were suppressed in the general model. Topographic ruggedness, access to prey, NDVI, and human presence affect species' habitat suitability in different orders and gradients across the four ecoregions. We also found that the leopard's response to future climate change varies depending on ecoregions and climate change scenarios. While habitat loss is greater than habitat gain in Hyrcanian and Saharo-Sindian regions, this pattern reversed in Irano-Turanian and Zagros ecoregions. We argued that zoning across wide geographical ranges in niche modelling of widespread species, while may underestimate their environmental tolerance, allows for proper judgments on the required conservation measures in different ecoregions.