Predictive habitat suitability models to aid conservation of elasmobranch diversity in the central Mediterranean Sea

Commercial fisheries have dramatically impacted elasmobranch populations worldwide. With high capture and bycatch rates, the abundance of many species is rapidly declining and around a quarter of the world’s sharks and rays are threatened with extinction. At a regional scale this negative trend has also been evidenced in the central Mediterranean Sea, where bottom-trawl fisheries have affected the biomass of certain rays (e.g. Raja clavata) and sharks (e.g. Mustelus spp.). Detailed knowledge of elasmobranch habitat requirements is essential for biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, but this is often hampered by a poor understanding of their spatial ecology. Habitat suitability models were used to investigate the habitat preference of nine elasmobranch species and their overall diversity (number of species) in relation to five environmental predictors (i.e. depth, sea surface temperature, surface salinity, slope and rugosity) in the central Mediterranean Sea. Results showed that depth, seafloor morphology and sea surface temperature were the main drivers for elasmobranch habitat suitability. Predictive distribution maps revealed different species-specific patterns of suitable habitat while high assemblage diversity was predicted in deeper offshore waters (400–800 m depth). This study helps to identify priority conservation areas and diversity hot-spots for rare and endangered elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean Sea

Evidence for increasing global wheat yield potential

Wheat is the most widely grown food crop, with 761 Mt produced globally in 2020. To meet the expected grain demand by mid-century, wheat breeding strategies must continue to improve upon yield-advancing physiological traits, regardless of climate change impacts. Here, the best performing doubled haploid (DH) crosses with an increased canopy photosynthesis from wheat field experiments in the literature were extrapolated to the global scale with a multi-model ensemble of process-based wheat crop models to estimate global wheat production. The DH field experiments were also used to determine a quantitative relationship between wheat production and solar radiation to estimate genetic yield potential. The multi-model ensemble projected a global annual wheat production of 1050 ± 145 Mt due to the improved canopy photosynthesis, a 37% increase, without expanding cropping area. Achieving this genetic yield potential would meet the lower estimate of the projected grain demand in 2050, albeit with considerable challenges.Fil: Guarin, Jose Rafael. National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Estados Unidos. Columbia University; Estados Unidos. Florida State University; Estados UnidosFil: Martre, Pierre. Institut Agro Montpellier SupAgro; FranciaFil: Ewert, Frank. Universitat Bonn; Alemania. Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research; AlemaniaFil: Webber, Heidi. Universitat Bonn; Alemania. Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research; AlemaniaFil: Dueri, Sibylle. Institut Agro Montpellier SupAgro; FranciaFil: Calderini, Daniel Fernando. Universidad Austral de Chile; ChileFil: Reynolds, Matthew. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center ; MéxicoFil: Molero, Gemma. KWS; FranciaFil: Miralles, Daniel Julio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Slafer, Gustavo Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universitat de Lleida; España. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats; EspañaFil: Giunta, Francesco. Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche. Istituto Di Scienze Dell Atmosfera E del Clima.; ItaliaFil: Pequeno, Diego N.L.. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center; MéxicoFil: Stella, Tommaso. Universitat Bonn; Alemania. Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research; AlemaniaFil: Ahmed, Mukhtar. University Of Pakistan; PakistánFil: Alderman, Phillip D.. Oklahoma State University; Estados UnidosFil: Basso, Bruno. Michigan State University; Estados UnidosFil: Berger, Andres G.. Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Agropecuaria;Fil: Bindi, Marco. Università degli Studi di Firenze; ItaliaFil: Bracho-Mujica, Gennady. Universität Göttingen; AlemaniaFil: Cammarano, Davide. Purdue University; Estados UnidosFil: Chen, Yi. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de ChinaFil: Dumont, Benjamin. Université de Liège; BélgicaFil: Rezaei, Ehsan Eyshi. Leibniz Institute Of Plant Genetics And Crop Plant Research.; AlemaniaFil: Fereres, Elias. Universidad de Córdoba; EspañaFil: Ferrise, Roberto. Michigan State University; Estados UnidosFil: Gaiser, Thomas. Universitat Bonn; AlemaniaFil: Gao, Yujing. Florida State University; Estados UnidosFil: Garcia Vila, Margarita. Universidad de Córdoba; EspañaFil: Gayler, Sebastian. Universidad de Hohenheim; Alemani

A high-yielding traits experiment for modeling potential production of wheat: field experiments and AgMIP-Wheat multi-model simulations

Grain production must increase by 60% in the next four decades to keep up with the expected population growth and food demand. A significant part of this increase must come from the improvement of staple crop grain yield potential. Crop growth simulation models combined with field experiments and crop physiology are powerful tools to quantify the impact of traits and trait combinations on grain yield potential which helps to guide breeding towards the most effective traits and trait combinations for future wheat crosses. The dataset reported here was created to analyze the value of physiological traits identified by the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP) to improve wheat potential in high-yielding environments. This dataset consists of 11 growing seasons at three high-yielding locations in Buenos Aires (Argentina), Ciudad Obregon (Mexico), and Valdivia (Chile) with the spring wheat cultivar Bacanora and a high-yielding genotype selected from a doubled haploid (DH) population developed from the cross between the Bacanora and Weebil cultivars from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). This dataset was used in the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) Wheat Phase 4 to evaluate crop model performance when simulating high-yielding physiological traits and to determine the potential production of wheat using an ensemble of 29 wheat crop models. The field trials were managed for non-stress conditions with full irrigation, fertilizer application, and without biotic stress. Data include local daily weather, soil characteristics and initial soil conditions, cultivar information, and crop measurements (anthesis and maturity dates, total above-ground biomass, final grain yield, yield components, and photosynthetically active radiation interception). Simulations include both daily in-season and end-of-season results for 25 crop variables simulated by 29 wheat crop models

Evidence for increasing global wheat yield potential

Wheat is the most widely grown food crop, with 761 Mt produced globally in 2020. To meet the expected grain demand by mid-century, wheat breeding strategies must continue to improve upon yield-advancing physiological traits, regardless of climate change impacts. Here, the best performing doubled haploid (DH) crosses with an increased canopy photosynthesis from wheat field experiments in the literature were extrapolated to the global scale with a multi-model ensemble of process-based wheat crop models to estimate global wheat production. The DH field experiments were also used to determine a quantitative relationship between wheat production and solar radiation to estimate genetic yield potential. The multi-model ensemble projected a global annual wheat production of 1050 +/- 145 Mt due to the improved canopy photosynthesis, a 37% increase, without expanding cropping area. Achieving this genetic yield potential would meet the lower estimate of the projected grain demand in 2050, albeit with considerable challenges

Impact of Patent Co-Operation Treaty Data on Epo Patent Statistics and Improving the Timeliness of EPO Indicators

The Patent Cooperation Treaty provides the possibility to seek patent rights in a large number of countries by filing a single international application with a single patent office. Since the mid-1980s, the patent cooperation treaty (PCT) procedure has become a popular method for filing patent applications, as is reflected in the substantial increase in PCT applications over the past 15 years. This paper analyses the impact of the PCT data on the European Patent Office (EPO) patent statistics, and explores methods to improve the timeliness of the EPO indicators by estimating the number of PCT applications which enter the EPO regional phase (see Annex A for details). This paper shows the following main impacts of PCT data in the EPO patent statistics: Including all EPO designated PCT applications data will overestimate the total number of EPO patent applications; and It will introduce a bias in favour of non-EPC countries (countries that are not signatory ... Répercussions du traité de coopération en matière de brevets sur les statistiques des brevets de l'oeb et possibilités d'amélioration de ces indicateurs Le Traité de coopération en matière de brevets permet, en déposant une seule demande internationale de brevet, d’obtenir la protection d’une invention conférée par un brevet dans un grand nombre de pays. Depuis le milieu des années 80, la procédure en vertu du traité de coopération en matière de brevets (PCT) connaît un succès grandissant, ainsi qu’en témoigne l’augmentation considérable du nombre de demandes PCT au cours des 15 dernières années. Le présent document analyse les répercussions des données du PCT sur les statistiques de l’Office européen des brevets (OEB) et étudie les possibilités d’améliorer la disponibilité de ces indicateurs pour les années récentes en effectuant des estimations du nombre de demandes PCT entrant dans la phase régionale de l’OEB (voir l’Annexe A pour plus de détails). Le présent document met en évidence les répercussions principales suivantes: Si l’on inclut les données relatives à la totalité des demandes PCT désignant ...

Modeling the Combined Effect of Nutrients and Pyrene on the Plankton Population: Validation Using Mesocosm Experiment Data and Scenario Analysis

A new integrated model that includes a hydrodynamic model coupled with a contaminant fate and effect sub-model and an ecological sub-model is presented and validated using data from mesocosm experiments. The experiments were carried out in the Isefjord (Denmark) and include the combined effects of nutrients and pyrene addition on the lower trophic levels of bacteria, zooplankton and phytoplankton. The model was able to correctly represent the main dynamics observed in the mesocosms during the 11 days of the experiment and thereby confirmed that it is possible to represent short-term changes in the system with a simplified food-web model on a small spatial and temporal scale. Finally, the validated model was used to carry out a scenario analysis to investigate the effects of a contaminant pulse at different pyrene concentrations and different release timings. Results showed that the ecosystem's vulnerability to a pyrene pulse depends on the initial condition of the system. Stronger biomass reduction was observed when the pulse was released during the zooplankton bloom. Conversely, when the pulse was added at low biomass and before the bloom, the system showed a tendency to behave non-linearly.JRC.H.1-Water Resource

An integrated approach for bioaccumulation assessment in mussels: Towards the development of Environmental Quality Standards for biota

International audienceThe possibleuseofchemicalconcentrationsmeasuredinmussels(Mytillus galloprovincialis) forcompliancecheckingagainstEnvironmentalQualityStandards(EQS)establishedforbiotaisanalyzedwith thehelpofanintegratedmodel.Themodelconsistsofa3Dplanktonicmodulethatprovidesbiomassesinthedifferentcompartments,i.e.,phytoplankton,zooplanktonandbacteria;a3Dfatemodulethat providestheconcentrationsofcontaminantsinthewatercolumnandinthesediments;anda3Dbioaccumulationmodulethatcalculatesinternalconcentrationsinrelevantbioticcompartments.Thesemodulesfeeda0Dgrowthandbioaccumulationmoduleformussels,basedontheDynamicEnergyBudget(DEB)approach.Theintegratedmodelhasbeenappliedtostudythebioaccumulationofpersistentorganicpollutants(POPs)intheThaulagoon(France).Themodelcorrectlypredictstheconcentrationsofpolychlorinatedbiphenyls(PCBs)andpolychlorinateddibenzodioxinsanddibenzofurans(PCDD/Fs)inmusselsasafunctionoftheconcentrationsinthewatercolumnandinphytoplankton.Italsoshedslighton theoriginofthecomplexityassociatedwiththeuseofEQSforbiotaandtheirconversiontowatercolumn concentrations.Theintegratedmodelispotentiallyusefulforregulatorypurposes,forexampleinthe contextoftheEuropeanWaterFramework(WFD)andMarineStrategyFrameworkDirectives(MSFD)