scholarly journals Evaluating the efficacy of sample collection approaches and DNA metabarcoding for identifying the diversity of plants utilized by nectivorous bats

Genome ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine E. Edwards ◽  
Joel F. Swift ◽  
Richard F. Lance ◽  
Thomas A. Minckley ◽  
Denise L. Lindsay
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Visual Identification ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
By Catch ◽  
Main Food Source

In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of sample collection approaches and DNA metabarcoding to identify plants utilized by nectivorous bats. Samples included guano collected from beneath bat roosts and pollen-swabs from bat fur, both of which were subjected to DNA metabarcoding and visual identification of pollen (microscopy) to measure plant diversity. Our objectives were to determine whether DNA metabarcoding could detect likely food plants of nectivorous bats, whether sample types would produce different estimates of plant diversity, and to compare results of DNA metabarcoding to visual identification. Visual identification found that 99% of pollen was from Agave, which is thought to be the bats’ main food source. The dominant taxon found by metabarcoding was also Agavoideae, but a broader diversity of plant species was also detected, many of which are likely “by-catch” from the broader environment. Metabarcoding outcomes differed between sample types, likely because pollen-swabs measured the plant species visited by bats and guano samples measured all items consumed in the bat’s diet, even those that were not pollen or nectar. Overall, metabarcoding is a powerful, high-throughput tool to understand bat ecology and species interactions, but careful analysis of results is necessary to derive accurate ecological conclusions.

scholarly journals Enough to Feed Ourselves!—Food Plants in Bulgarian Rural Home Gardens

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2520
Author(s):  
Teodora Ivanova ◽  
Yulia Bosseva ◽  
Mihail Chervenkov ◽  
Dessislava Dimitrova
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Home Gardens ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Home Garden ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Medicinal And Aromatic Plants ◽  
Total Size

The home garden is a unique human-nature interspace that accommodates a diverse spectrum of plant species and provides multiple services to households. One of the most important roles of home gardens is to shelter the agricultural plant diversity that provides for diverse and healthy nutrition, especially in rural communities. While tropical home gardens have received wide recognition due to their provisional function for the local communities, temperate and especially European home gardens have been discussed less frequently as a source of subsistence. The main objectives of the current study were to document plant species grown in Bulgarian rural home gardens and to explore related local knowledge and cultural practices that influence food plant diversity, its selection and preservation. Field work was focused on settlements situated in eight provinces in South and North-West Bulgaria. Participants representing 65 home gardens were approached through semi-structured interviews. Home gardens were found to harbor 145 cultivated and semi-cultivated plant taxa, used as food, medicinal and aromatic plants and as animal fodder. Members of the Rosaceae family were most numerous. The largest part of the garden area was occupied by vegetable crops of Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae. In 63.1% of the studied households, the food growing area comprised more than 2/3 of the total size of the garden. Most preferred crops reflected the social and cultural importance of food self-provisioning, especially in the rural areas. The provisional role of the home gardens in regard to preparation of traditional foods and the driving forces for seed saving are discussed.

scholarly journals Identification of Lagopus muta japonica plant food resources in the Northern Japan Alps using DNA metabarcoding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taichi Fujii ◽  
Kaoru Ueno ◽  
Tomoyasu Shirako ◽  
Masatoshi Nakamura ◽  
Motoyasu Minami
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Plant Food ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Rarefaction Analysis ◽  
Fecal Samples ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
Collection Period ◽  
Lagopus Muta

DNA metabarcoding was employed to identify plant-derived food resources of the Japanese rock ptarmigan ( Lagopus muta japonica ), registered as a natural living monument in Japan, in the Northern Japanese Alps in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, in July to October, 2015-2018. By combined use of rbcL and ITS2 local databases of 74 alpine plant species found in the study area, a total of 43 plant taxa were identified and could be assigned to 40 species (93.0%), two genera (4.7%), and one family (2.3%). Rarefaction analysis of each sample collection period showed that this study covered more than 90% of the plant food resources found in the study area. Of the 21 plant families identified using the combined rbcL and ITS2 local databases, the most dominant families were Ericaceae (98.1% of 105 fecal samples), followed by Rosaceae (42.9%), Apiaceae (35.2%), and Poaceae (19.0%). In all fecal samples examined, the most frequently encountered plant species were Vaccinium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium (69.5%), followed by Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum (68.6%), Vaccinium sp. (54.3%), Kalmia procumbens (42.9%), and Tilingia ajanensis (34.3%). Rarefaction analysis of each collection period in the study revealed that this study covered more than 90% (from 91.0% in July to 97.5% in September) of the plant food resources found in the study area, and 98.1% of the plant food taxa were covered throughout the entire study period. Thus, DNA metabarcoding using the rbcL and ITS2 local databases of alpine plants in combination and rarefaction analysis are considered to be well suited for estimating the dominant food plants in the diet of Japanese rock ptarmigans. Further, the local database constructed in this study can be used to survey other areas with similar flora.

scholarly journals Pollen DNA metabarcoding identifies regional provenance and high plant diversity in Australian honey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Milla ◽  
Kale Sniderman ◽  
Rose Lines ◽  
Mahsa Mousavi‐Derazmahalleh ◽  
Francisco Encinas‐Viso
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding

scholarly journals Effect of Soil Diversity on Forest Plant Species Abundance: A Case Study from Central-European Highlands

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 534
Author(s):  
Pavel Samec ◽  
Jiří Volánek ◽  
Miloš Kučera ◽  
Pavel Cudlín
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Plant Distribution ◽  
Soil Diversity ◽  
Abiotic Environment ◽  
Soil Group ◽  
Biogeographical Regions ◽  
Forest Distribution

Plant distribution is most closely associated with the abiotic environment. The abiotic environment affects plant species’ abundancy unevenly. The asymmetry is further deviated by human interventions. Contrarily, soil properties preserve environmental influences from the anthropogenic perturbations. The study examined the supra-regional similarities of soil effects on plant species’ abundance in temperate forests to determine: (i) spatial relationships between soil property and forest-plant diversity among geographical regions; (ii) whether the spatial dependencies among compared forest-diversity components are influenced by natural forest representation. The spatial dependence was assessed using geographically weighted regression (GWR) of soil properties and plant species abundance from forest stands among 91 biogeographical regions in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). Regional soil properties and plant species abundance were acquired from 7550 national forest inventory plots positioned in a 4 × 4 km grid. The effect of natural forests was assessed using linear regression between the sums of squared GWR residues and protected forest distribution in the regions. Total diversity of forest plants is significantly dependent on soil-group representation. The soil-group effect is more significant than that of bedrock bodies, most of all in biogeographical regions with protected forest representation >50%. Effects of soil chemical properties were not affected by protected forest distribution. Spatial dependency analysis separated biogeographical regions of optimal forest plant diversity from those where inadequate forest-ecosystem diversity should be increased alongside soil diversity.

scholarly journals Sesquiterpene emissions from vegetation: a review

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 761-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. Duhl ◽  
D. Helmig ◽  
A. Guenther
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Environmental Controls ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Experimental Protocols ◽  
Selection Of Species

Abstract. This literature review summarizes the environmental controls governing biogenic sesquiterpene (SQT) emissions and presents a compendium of numerous SQT-emitting plant species as well as the quantities and ratios of SQT species they have been observed to emit. The results of many enclosure-based studies indicate that temporal SQT emission variations appear to be dominated mainly by ambient temperatures although other factors contribute (e.g., seasonal variations). This implies that SQT emissions have increased significance at certain times of the year, especially in late spring to mid-summer. The strong temperature dependency of SQT emissions also creates the distinct possibility of increasing SQT emissions in a warmer climate. Disturbances to vegetation (from herbivores and possibly violent weather events) are clearly also important in controlling short-term SQT emissions bursts, though the relative contribution of disturbance-induced emissions is not known. Based on the biogenic SQT emissions studies reviewed here, SQT emission rates among numerous species have been observed to cover a wide range of values, and exhibit substantial variability between individuals and across species, as well as at different environmental and phenological states. These emission rates span several orders of magnitude (10s–1000s of ng gDW-1 h−1). Many of the higher rates were reported by early SQT studies, which may have included artificially-elevated SQT emission rates due to higher-than-ambient enclosure temperatures and disturbances to enclosed vegetation prior to and during sample collection. When predicting landscape-level SQT fluxes, modelers must consider the numerous sources of variability driving observed SQT emissions. Characterizations of landscape and global SQT fluxes are highly uncertain given differences and uncertainties in experimental protocols and measurements, the high variability in observed emission rates from different species, the selection of species that have been studied so far, and ambiguities regarding controls over emissions. This underscores the need for standardized experimental protocols, better characterization of disturbance-induced emissions, screening of dominant plant species, and the collection of multiple replicates from several individuals within a given species or genus as well as a better understanding of seasonal dependencies of SQT emissions in order to improve the representation of SQT emission rates.

scholarly journals A Contribution to the flora of Rajouri and Poonch districts in the Pir Panjal Himalaya (Jammu & Kashmir), India

Check List ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gh. Hassan Dar ◽  
Akhtar H. Malik ◽  
Anzar A. Khuroo
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Himalayan Region ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir

The current paper provides a taxonomic inventory of the vascular plant species collected by the authors during the last two decades from the Rajouri and Poonch districts, located along the Pir Panjal range in the Indian Himalayan State of Jammu and Kashmir. The inventory records a total of 352 species, which belong to 270 genera in 83 families. Of the total taxa, the angiosperms are represented by 331 species in 253 genera and 77 families; gymnosperms by 12 species in 9 genera and 3 families; and pteridophytes by 9 species in 7 genera and 3 families. Asteraceae is the largest family, contributing 42 species; while Artemisia is the largest genus, with 5 species. The inventory is expected to provide baseline scientific data for further studies on plant diversity in these two border districts, and can be used to facilitate the long-term conservation and sustainable use of plant resources in this Himalayan region.

scholarly journals THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE: THE FLORA IN URBAN BACKYARDS OF DIFFERENT SOCIAL CLASSES

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
FABIO ANGEOLETTO ◽  
JUAN PEDRO RUIZ SANZ ◽  
RICARDO MASSULO ALBERTIN ◽  
FREDERICO FONSECA DA SILVA
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
Endangered Plant ◽  
Diversity Patterns ◽  
Flora Diversity

Abstract Home gardens have considerable biodiversity conservation potential. However, these spaces are unplanned, and there is little information about the flora diversity in the backyards of different social classes. The current study has quantified and compared plant diversity in the backyards of two neighborhoods located in the metropolitan region of Maringá - RMM (Paraná, Brazil), namely, Conjunto Triangulo and Zona 02. The diversity patterns were markedly different when the neighborhoods were compared. Therefore the present study has set some planning guidelines aiming at increasing the presence of woody vegetation, as well as at contributing to biodiversity conservation, including the conservation of endangered plant species, in the backyards of the RMM.

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