Conservation and biodiversity of protists The conservation of biodiversity is not just an issue of plants and vertebrates. It is the scarcely visible invertebrates and myriads of other microscopic organisms that are crucial to the maintenance of ecological processes on which all larger organisms and the composition of the atmosphere ultimately depend. Biodiversity and Conservation endeavours to take an holistic view of biodiversity, and when the opportunity arises to issue collections of papers dealing with too-often neglected groups of organisms. The protists, essentially eukaryotes that cannot be classi?ed in the kingdoms of animals, fungi, or plants, include some of the lea- known groups of organisms on earth. They are generally treated as a separate kingdom, commonly named Protista (or Protoctista) in textbooks, but in reality they are a mixture of organisms with disparate a?nities. Some authors have hypothesized that the numbers of protists are not especially large, and that many have extraordinarily wide distributions. However, the p- ture that unfolds from the latest studies discussed in this issue is di?erent. There are many species with wide ranges, and proportionately more cosmopolitan species than in macroorganism groups, as a result of their long evolutionary histories, but there are also de?nite patterns and geographical restrictions to be found. Further, some protists are linked to host organisms as mutualists or parasites and necessarily con?ned to the distributions of their hosts.

Biological diversity is considered one of today's most urgent environmental concerns, yet the term was first coined only twenty-five years ago. Why did the concept of biological diversity so quickly capture public attention and emerge as a banner issue for the environmental movement? In this book, Timothy J. Farnham explores for the first time the historical roots of biological diversity, tracing the evolution of the term as well as the history of the conservation traditions that contributed to its rapid acceptance and popularity.
Biological diversity is understood today as consisting of three components--species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity. Farnham finds that these three tiers coincided with three earlier, disparate conservation traditions that converged when the cause of preserving biological diversity was articulated. He tells the stories of these different historical foundations, recounts how the term came into the environmental lexicon, and shows how the evolution of the idea of biological diversity reflects an evolution of American attitudes toward the natural world.

Functional diversity (FD) defined as the value, range, and abundance of functional traits in a given community or ecosystem is increasingly accepted as a synthetic ecological concept that sheds light on ecosystem functioning. Functional group richness and functional biodiversity indices have been proposed to quantify the FD of a community, or some of its components. The comparative assessment of FD in different ecosystems and for different ecosystem processes would be an invaluable tool for a better and more general understanding of what are the functional roles of biodiversity in the provision of ecosystem services. In this volume we offer a synthesis of the methods used to quantify functional diversity and step by step examples to define functional groups and to estimate functional indices. We also compare communities, and changes of diversity along environmental gradients. All the examples may be reproduce using electronic data files and FDiversity, a free software.

Life As we Know It covers several aspects of Life, ranging from the prebiotic level, origin of life, evolution of prokaryotes to eukaryotes and finally to various affairs of human beings. Although Life is hard to define, one can characterize it and describe its features. The information presented here on the various phenomena of Life were all written by highly qualified authors including scientists, a professional athlete and three Nobel Laureates.

Outside Russia very little is known about the terrestrial ecology, vegetation, biogeographical patterns, and biodiversity of the enormously extensive ecosystems of Yakutia, Siberia. These systems are very special in that they function on top of huge layers of permafrost and are exposed to very severe and extreme weather conditions, the range between winter and summer temperatures being more than 100 degrees C. The soils are generally poor, and human use of the vegetation is usually extensive. Main vegetation zones are taiga and tundra, but Yakutia also supports a special land and vegetation form, caused by permafrost, the alas: more or less extensive grasslands around roundish lakes in taiga. All these vegetation types will be described and their ecology and ecophysiological characteristics will be dealt with. Because of the size of Yakutia, covering several climatic zones, and its extreme position on ecological gradients, Yakutia contains very interesting biogeographical patterns, which also will be described. Our analyses are drawn from many years of research in Yakutia and from a vast body of ecological and other literature in Russian publications and in unpublished local reports. The anthropogenic influence on the ecosystems will be dealt with. This includes the main activities of human interference with nature: forestry, extensive reindeer herding, cattle and horse grazing, etc. Also fire and other prominent ecological factors are dealt with. A very important point is also the very high degree of naturalness that is still extant in Yakutia's main vegetation zones.

The question "Why are there so many species?" has puzzled ecologist for a long time. Initially, an academic question, it has gained practical interest by the recent awareness of global biodiversity loss. Species diversity in local ecosystems has always been discussed in relation to the problem of competi tive exclusion and the apparent contradiction between the competitive exclu sion principle and the overwhelming richness of species found in nature. Competition as a mechanism structuring ecological communities has never been uncontroversial. Not only its importance but even its existence have been debated. On the one extreme, some ecologists have taken competi tion for granted and have used it as an explanation by default if the distribu tion of a species was more restricted than could be explained by physiology and dispersal history. For decades, competition has been a core mechanism behind popular concepts like ecological niche, succession, limiting similarity, and character displacement, among others. For some, competition has almost become synonymous with the Darwinian "struggle for existence", although simple plausibility should tell us that organisms have to struggle against much more than competitors, e.g. predators, parasites, pathogens, and envi ronmental harshness.

Among the unresolved topics in evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology are the origins, mechanisms, evolution, and consequences of developmental and phenotypic diversity. In an attempt to address these challenges, plasticity has been investigated empirically and theoretically at all levels of biological organization-from biochemical to whole organism and beyond to the population, community, and ecosystem levels. Less commonly explored are constraints (e.g., ecological), costs (e.g., increased response error), perturbations (e.g., alterations in selection intensity), and stressors (e.g., resource limitation) influencing not only selective values of heritable phenotypic components but, also, decisions and choices (not necessarily conscious ones) available to individuals in populations. Treating extant mammals, the primary purpose of the proposed work is to provide new perspectives on common themes in the literature on robustness ("functional diversity"; differential resistance to "deconstraint" of conserved elements) and weak robustness (the potential to restrict plasticity and evolvability), plasticity (variation expressed throughout the lifetimes of individuals in a population setting "evolvability potential"), and evolvability (non-lethal phenotypic novelties induced by endogenous and/or exogenous stimuli). The proposed project will place particular emphasis upon the adaptive complex in relation to endogenous (e.g., genomes, neurophysiology) and exogenous (abiotic and biotic, including social environments) organismal features discussed as regulatory and environmental perturbations with the potential to induce, and, often, constrain variability and novelty of form and function

This book brings together a selection of 21 original studies submitted to Biodiversity and Conservation that address aspects of management for the conservation of biodiversity. The topics addressed include: lessons from the Northern spotted owl saga, hidden costs of implementing the EU Habitats Directive, the importance of recently created agricultural wetlands, cutting reeds to create a sustainable habitat, impacts and control of feral cats, selecting areas to complement existing reserve systems, beneficial effects of rabbit warrens, effects of fences on large predator ranges, spatial structure of critical habitats and connectivity, effects of an agro-pasture landscape on biodiversity, community involvement, reserve selection in forests, germ-plasm interventions in agroforestry systems, shade coffee plantations and the protection of tree diversity, reserves and the reduction of deforestation rates in dry tropical forests, reconciling forest conservation actions with usage by and needs of local peoples, weed invasion in understory plant communities in tropical lowland forests, problems of patch area and connectivity in plant conservation, the need not to focus just on hot-spots, and partitioning conservation across elevations.

The organisms and communities considered embrace birds, coral reefs, various large and small mammals, reptiles, forest trees, and dune and boreal semi-natural grassland plants. The contributions are taken from situations being confronted in regions including the Andaman Islands, Brazil, Canary Islands, the Caribbean, Finland, Germany, Guinea, India, Italy, Mexico, Myanmar, Poland, South Africa, Spain, and the USA.

Collectively, the studies presented here provide a snap-shot of the types of management actions being undertaken for conservation and their efficacy. This makes the volume especially valuable for use in conservation biology courses.

Reprinted from Biodiversity and Conservation, volume 18, No 4 (2009)

The book is based on the author's life time experience in exploring and researching the genus "Avena." It describes some great events in oat research and minor stories along the way. It will be of interest and value to all those working with oats and to students and scientists of crop evolution, including those dealing with collecting and conserving wild genetic resources.

A first part deals with the morphology and taxonomy of the genus and a classification based on the biological species concept is presented. A further part is devoted to the author s research accomplishments in this genus. It describes morphological characters distinguishing between diploids and tetraploids of series Eubarbatae, the genetic relationships between them, and the mode of origin of the tetraploid form. The section Denticulatae, to which the common oat belongs, is extensively treated. Further, oat domestication and the newly domesticated protein rich A. magna are described. A third part deals with wild genetic resources of oat.

Biological invasions are a global problem whose local impact can be of great magnitude. The prevention and minimization of the impact of invasive alien species has become a priority because of their negative impact on biodiversity, economy and public health.

Effective responses are needed; cooperation and coordination among countries and/or different sectors of society are a must. To combine and share experiences on biological invasions at international, regional and local level it is essential to develop compatible approaches to common problems.

With this aim, the GEI (Grupo Especies Invasoras) organised the First National Conference on Invasive Alien Species in Spain in 2003. Scientists coming from different parts of the Iberian Peninsula belonging to universities, public administration, NGOs and environmental enterprises and world-renowned experts on biological invasions from other countries responded to this "call for action" and participated in the conference.

Issues in Bioinvasion Science contains key contributions of this conference. The themes included cut across different aspects of non-native species invasions. This volume is essential reading for anyone seeking an understanding of non-native species invasions.

Our aim: to go beyond national boundaries in order to tackle these complex biological issues.

Water is Life. Freshwater is one of the most valuable commodities on our planet, and this resource should be managed in a sustainable way. Yet, we are less than careful in the way we use water and many of our non-marine, aquatic habitats are threatened by anthropogenic impacts. Eutrophication, for example, could well turn into one of the major social as well as economic problems of the 21st century.

Reduction of water quality also has a profound effect on the biota that depend on these water bodies, such as micro-organisms, plants and animals. Freshwater Biodiversity is a much underestimated component of global biodiversity, both in its diversity and in its potential to act as models for fundamental research in evolutionary biology and ecosystem studies. Freshwater organisms also reflect quality of water bodies and can thus be used to monitor changes in ecosystem health. The present book deals with all of these aspects of Aquatic Biodiversity. It comprises a unique collection of primary research papers spanning a wide range of topics in aquatic biodiversity studies, and including a first global assessment of specific diversity of freshwater animals. The book also presents a section on the interaction between scientists and science policy managers. A target opinion paper lists priorities in aquatic biodiversity research for the next decade and several reactions from distinguished scientists discuss the relevance of these items from different points of view: fundamental ecology, taxonomy and systematics, needs of developing countries, present-day biodiversity policy at European and at global scales. It is believed that such a platform for the interaction between science and science policy is an absolute necessity for the efficient use of research budgets in the future.

Protection of the environment has nowadays become a major challenge and a condi tion for survival of future human generations and life on Earth in general. Yet it is still far too much of a dream or hope rather than a reality in the policy of our societies. Presently we are experiencing an unprecedented exponential growth of demography combined with a race for profit, resulting in excessive consumption particularly of en ergy, and a serious impact on the world ecosystems. Various types of pollutants and emerging new diseases not only disrupt the normal course of life, but also above this some of the atmospheric pollutants are most likely involved in the changing climate. We fear and literally shiver at the thought that the "changing climate" would ultimately disrupt the fragile thermodynamic equilibrium between the atmosphere and the oceans. Are we insensitive to these facts to the point of pushing our descendants, some genera tions ahead, into a new glacial period after a first period of warming up, at least, in northern Europe, like the one that took place 13 to 14 millennia ago? Surely the planet's nature is not prepared to be dominated by man and will go its way, whether humanity will be alive or dead."

In the present volume - the sixth of this series - 48 flowering plant families comprising a total of 712 genera are treated. They represent the newly designed eurosid orders Celastrales, Oxalidales and Rosales and the asterid orders Cornales and Ericales. The recognition of these ordinal concepts is the result of numerous recent gene sequence analyses which, for the first time in angiosperm systematics, have provided a reliable higher order classification. The concept of Ericales is largely expanded beyond its conventional limits to make it monophyletic and now includes parts of the erstwhile Ebenales, Lecythidales, Primulales and other orders. The revised circumscription of families such as Ericaceae, Celastraceae and Cunoniaceae owes much to the application of recent molecular studies, and for the same reason in the primulalean families, a complete remodeling of family limits is proposed.

Building forth upon recent developments in democracy theory that have identified multiple forms of legitimacy, this volume observes a EU-wide shift from output legitimacy to input and throughput legitimacy. Top down policy making is increasingly meeting local resistance. As a result, the importance for policy makers of enhancing the democratic legitimacy of their policy plans has increased.

In this volume, nine case studies are presented, seven case studies of protected areas in different countries (Belgium, Germany, Poland, Spain, Finland, France and the UK), and two case studies of protected species (the geese in the Netherlands, and the great Cormorant in Denmark and Italy). These case studies are followed by extensive comments. The volume opens with an introductory chapter on the problematic production of legitimacy in current European nature policy. It concludes with a chapter that situates the case studies within the wider EU environmental policy and political context.

Biological invasions are one of the major threats to our native biodiversity. The magnitude of biodiversity losses, land degradation and productivity losses of managed and natural ecosystems due to invasive species is enormous. The ecological and environmental aspects of non-native invasive plants are of great importance to (i) understand ecological principles involved in the management of invasives, (ii) design management strategies, (iii) find effective management solutions for some of the worst invaders, and (iv) frame policies and regulations. The objectives of this book are to discuss (i) ecological approaches needed to design effective management strategies, (ii) recent progress in management methods and tools, (iii) success and failure of management efforts for some of the worst invaders, and (iv) restoration and conservation of invaded land. In an effort to achieve these objectives, contributing authors have strived to provide up-to-date information on the management of non-native invasives. Chapters included in the book are peer-reviewed by international experts working in the area. Readers will get a unique perspective on ecological aspects of the management of invasives. The book will be useful to graduate students, researchers, managers and policy makers involved in the management of exotic invasives.

The book reflects the work in progress regarding the analysis of the costs of crop genetic resources conservation that has been conducted at various research insti tutes over the last couple of years, including research conducted at ZEF and asso ciated institutes. In addition, contributions in this publication were presented at a special session during the "Global Dialogue: The Role of the Village in the 2]'1 Century: Crops, Jobs and Livelihood" in Hannover, Germany, at the World Exposition in Au gust 2000. The purpose of the publication is to make a general contribution to the ongoing discussion about the conservation of crop genetic resources as part of the global strategy to secure increasing food production in a sustainable way. Specifically, it discusses the costs of the worldwide efforts to conserve crop genetic resources on the basis of theoretical and applied studies. It aims to serve decision-makers at dif ferent levels with information on the costs involved in the conservation of genetic resources and hence to increase the awareness of the importance of improving the cost effectiveness of different conservation methods in order to optimize the sus tainability of conservation. The quoted Leipzig Declaration, which was adopted at the Fourth International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources in Leipzig in June 1996, dem onstrates the close linkage of the contributions to the ongoing discussion about the implementation of the Global Plan of Actionfor the Conservation and Sustainable Utili zation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture."

In 2002, sixty international specialists met to discuss problems of high P-unavailability as a soil nutrient for crops, and the hazards of increased phosphate input to aquatic habitats from industrial and mining activities, sewage disposal, detergents, and other sources. Among the presentations were updated solutions to enhance P-uptake by plants, bioremediation potential in the rehabilitation of ecosystems, taxonomic characterization interactions with mycorrizae, the physiological and molecular basis of PSM, and more.

This book brings together a selection of original studies that address biodiversity and conservation in Europe. The contributions are drawn from a wide range of countries and discuss diverse organism and habitat types. They collectively provide a snap-shot of the sorts of studies and actions being taken in Europe to address issues in biodiversity and conservation topical examples that make the volume especially valuable for use in conservation biology courses."

A fascinating work that provides a wealth of information on one of the world 's most biodiverse ecosystems. This is the result of investigations by almost 30 groups of researchers from various disciplines. They performed ecosystem analyses following two gradients: an altitudinal gradient and a gradient of land use intensity and ecosystem regeneration following human use. Based on these analyses, this volume discusses these findings in a huge variety of subject areas.

Marine, coastal and wetland habitats are threatened, not only through exploitation, but also by the prospect of climate change as ocean currents change course, sea levels rise, and rainfall patterns change. Even the once-common cod is now under threat from the combined effects of over-fishing and a dramatic change-induced decrease in the plankton that cod larvae feed on. Meanwhile, coral reefs remain especially vulnerable to rapid sea-level changes exacerbated by the effects of tourism and disease.

This book gathers together a wide range of papers reporting on key research into the biodiversity conservation of these critical and increasingly threatened habitats. Collectively these papers provide a snap-shot of the types of problems they are experiencing, and offer a wealth of topical examples which render this volume especially valuable to teachers of courses in marine, freshwater and wetlands ecology, biological conservation and ecological restoration."

This book offers exchanges between the fields of paleontology and zoology as patterns of biodiversity have long attracted the attention of both biologists and paleontologists. It covers the development of isolated island faunas, paleogeography and zoomorphology. The book shows that patterns are not always what they seem if looked at without a spatial or temporal reference.

This book draws together a wide range of papers from researchers around the world that address the conservation and biodiversity of vertebrates, particularly those in terrestrial habitats. Collectively, the papers provide a snap-shot of the types of studies and actions being taken in vertebrate conservation and provide topical examples that will make the volume especially valuable for use in conservation biology courses.

The monitoring of benthic diatoms, macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fish will be the backbone of future water management in Europe. This book describes and compares the relevant methodologies and tools, based on a large data set covering rivers in most parts of Europe. The 36 articles presented will provide scientists and water managers with a unique insight into background and application of state-of-the-art monitoring tools and techniques.

The book synthesizes knowledge on the arthropod taxon Oribatida, a suborder of Acari (the mites and ticks), that are a key group in soil ecology and biodiversity studies for Canada and Alaska but also worldwide. This book is unparalleled in the comprehensive nature of the information provided on this key biotic group. It is presented by two leading global experts for this group. There is no competing text in English. Reviewers were unanimous in their view that there is an "unquestionable" need for this book. The book provides highly reliable set of data, well prepared from a content and methodological point of view, bringing much interesting information on the subject and a valuable contribution to the knowledge of ecology of the group of invertebrates.

such as ?oodplains and temporary ponds) challenge this de?nition. Our decision has been to include such The term 'aquatic macrophytes' refers to a diverse species as "aquatic macrophytes", only if their group of aquatic photosynthetic organisms, all large environmental survival is clearly dependent upon enough to see with the naked eye. It includes regular re?lling of their aquatic habitat with a source macroalgae of the divisions Chlorophyta (green of fresh to brackish water. algae), Xanthophyta (yellow-green algae) and Rho- The freshwater macroalgae are primarily rep- dophyta (red algae) and the "blue-green algae" (more sented by the green algae, especially the Charales, correctly known as Cyanobacteria), Bryophyta commonly known as the stoneworts or brittleworts (mosses and liverworts), Pteridophyta (ferns) and (e.g., Chara and Nitella spp.). The Charales are often Spermatophyta (seed-bearing plants), the vegetative mistaken for higher plants because they have erect parts of which actively grow either permanently or central stalks that are divided into short nodes and periodically (for at least several weeks each year) long internodes of elongated multinucleate cells, with submerged below, ?oating on, or growing up through a whorl of "branchlets" at each node (Fig. 1).