Congruencies between photoautotrophic groups in springs of the Italian Alps: implications for conservation strategies

Even though a number of studies have demonstrated the importance of photoautotrophic organisms in spring habitats, investigations that consider several photoautotrophic taxonomic groups are lacking. Within the framework of a multidisciplinary project on springs of the south-eastern Alps, we studied algae, diatoms, lichens, and bryophytes and (1) compared the alpha, beta and gamma diversity, and the composition of the studied groups between carbonate and siliceous springs, (2) estimated the nonrandomness of species combinations within organismal groups, and (3) examined the congruence in species assemblage patterns across taxonomic groups. In 40 springs, 69 species of algae, 110 species of diatoms, 29 species of lichens, and 62 species of bryophytes were found. Diatoms, lichens and bryophytes had higher species-richness in siliceous springs, while other algae had higher richness in carbonate springs. For all taxonomic groups, carbonate and siliceous springs host different assemblages, indicating that both types of substrata contribute to the overall regional diversity of spring photoautotrophs. In individual springs, the photoautotroph groups are characterised by a similar proportion of species of their regional pool, and form relatively speciespoor communities with a high turnover of species among springs. This pattern has important implications for conservation, suggesting that the protection of single sites might not be effective, and that a biodiversity conservation plan for spring habitats should be developed at the regional level, and include a network of sites. Interestingly, the co-occurrence indices suggested that, in individual springs, stochastic processes might the most important mechanisms in the establishment of local assemblages. A weak cross-taxon congruency was found, suggesting that a single taxon surrogate will not adequately represent other photoautotrophic groups. Therefore, spring conservation plans for photoautotrophs should not use one group as a surrogate for overall photoautotrophic diversity, but should adopt the use of different taxonomic groups

Using different epilithic-diatom assemblage metrics for an ecological characterization of the shores of Lake Garda

It has been proved that littoral diatoms provide a useful marker for detecting localised changes resulting from neve anthropogenic disturbances or intermittent releases of sewage along the shorelines of lakes. This study tested the spatial resolution at which this general observation occurs, by selecting areas with different anthropogenic pressures (urbanization) along a latitudinal gradient in Lake Garda, a deep and wide peri-Alpine lake. The sampling design aimed to detect differences in diatom distribution in terms of species diversity, quality indices, proportion of Red List taxa, assemblages, and individual species. Because the extent to which diatom assemblages respond to these gradients was unknown, we used assemblage metrics of different sensitivities. Results showed that the most important environmental factor was the latitudinal gradient, which was revealed by almost all the assemblage metrics. This dominant trend was explained by two co-occurring environmental gradients: concentration of nutrients and thermal gradient. The importance of different levels of urbanization was unevenly partitioned among locations and latitudes because of the different intensities of urbanization pressure. Only the species Brachysira neglectissima, the quality index (Trophic Index), and to a lesser extent, the metric at assemblage level revealed significant effects. Overall, this study comes to two main conclusions: (1) different metrics are needed to detect the multifaceted effects of anthropogenic disturbances, which by their very nature are unevenly distributed and of different intensities, and therefore affect assemblages to different degrees; (2) for any monitoring program in this lake to be effective, the various gradients revealed in this work should be taken into account. Failing to include these sources of variability might lessen the benefits of monitorin

Bryophytes and vascular plants in springs of Italian Alps: biodiversity analysis at large spatial scale and mechanisms of distribution at fine spatial scale

This work at large spatial scale deal with bryophyte and vascular plant biodiversity in the springs of Trentino Province (Italy); at fine spatial scale it deal with several experimental investigations on the mechanisms of bryophytes spatial distribution. 86 springs located uniformly in the Trentino Province have been examined. 167 bryophyte species and 201 vascular plants were identified and this study represent the first accurate check list for these habitats in Trentino and also in Italy. Statistical classification on these environments was able to identify the main groups and even most threatened situation from conservation point of view. Statistical model elaborated to study bryophyte and vascular plant richness showed different patterns for the two groups of plants. Spatial distribution of several bryophyte species at fine spatial scale was experimentally studied investigating the hydrological niche breadth. Theoretical distance from water level was estimated using photosynthetic pigments as indicator of stress. In particular, aquatic species have a wide niche overlapped even though the tails of distribution were different in some species explaining to some extend the species coexistence. With the second experiment, positive and negative interactions among several bryophyte species were studied. In synthesis, this experiment confirmed the correctness of some theoretical models for the balance between competition and facilitation in relation to environmental conditions; moreover, it underlined the importance of natural climatic fluctuations in determining the weight of these interactions.Il lavoro presentato tratta la biodiversità delle briofite e piante vascolari delle sorgenti del Trentino (Italia) a grande scala spaziale e alcuni approfondimenti sperimentali sui meccanismi di distribuzione a piccola scala. Sono state esaminate 86 sorgenti localizzate uniformemente in tutta la provincia di Trento. Sono state identificate 167 specie di briofite e 201 di piante vascolari che vanno a costituire la prima accurata check list per questi ambienti in Trentino e in Italia. La classificazione statistica di questi ambienti ha permesso di identificare i gruppi principali e le situazioni più problematiche dal punto di vista della conservazione. Il modello statistico elaborato per lo studio della ricchezza di specie delle briofite e delle piante vascolari ha evidenziato diversi pattern per i due gruppi. Lo studio della distribuzione spaziale a piccola scala di alcune specie di briofite è stato affrontato sperimentalmente indagando l’ampiezza della nicchia idrologica. Usando i pigmenti fotosintetici come indicatori di stress è stato possibile stabilire l’ordine teorico con cui le specie si dispongono rispetto al livello dell’acqua. In particolare le specie più acquatiche studiate hanno un’ampia sovrapposizione della nicchia idrologica anche se è stato possibile stabilire una diversa ampiezza che ne giustificherebbe la coesistenza. Con il secondo esperimento si è studiato l’interazione positiva e negativa tra alcune specie di briofite. Nel complesso l’esperimento ha potuto confermare la correttezza dei modelli teorici per quanto riguarda il bilancio tra competizione e facilitazione in relazione alle condizioni ambientali e ha inoltre sottolineato l’importanza degli eventi climatici naturali nel determinare il peso delle diverse interazioni

Phytosociological and ecological study of springs in Trentino (south-eastern Alps, Italy)

A phytosociological survey of the crenic vegetation was made in Trentino (south-eastern Alps), combining the field method of the Braun-Blanquet approach with a numerical syntaxonomical analysis. A set of 139 phytosociological releves, including vascular plants and bryophytes, were classified using cluster analysis. The vegetation types were assigned to 7 different phytosociological classes: Platyhypnidio-Fontinalietea antipyreticae, Montio-Cardaminetea, Adiantetea, Scheuchzerio-Caricetea nigrae, Molinio- Arrhenatheretea, Galio-Urticetea, Mulgedio-Aconitetea. The classes Platyhypnidio-Fontinalietea antipyreticae and Montio- Cardaminetea represent the core of crenic vegetation, including permanently or intermittently submerged plant communities, mostly made up of bryophytes, or non-submerged communities dominated by bryophytes or vascular plants. The other classes include chasmophytic bryophyte-rich communities and hygrophilous or tall herb communities lying around the periphery of the springs. 23 vegetation types were identified and, whenever possible, classified at the association level, or as phytocoena. The environmental parameters showed different ranges among vegetation types. A number of environmental variables were recorded during the vegetation survey, including altitude, shading, discharge, flow velocity, with exhaustive hydrochemical sampling. Conductivity, alkalinity and pH showed similar distribution patterns, clearly separating the vegetation types into two distinct groups, differing in the nature of the substratum. The altitudinal range was very broad and shading was also very variable. Nitrate and phosphate levels showed that the majority of vegetation types were irrigated by oligotrophic crenic waters. Finally, the bryophyte-dominated vegetation types belonging to the class Platyhypnidio-Fontinalietea antipyreticae occurred in springs with the highest discharge values and variation. Discriminant analysis confirmed that the environmental descriptors that best accounted for the among-group variation were pH and alkalinity (first variate); the second variate reflected a gradient of altitude and discharge

Diatom species richness in Swiss springs increases with habitat complexity and elevation

Understanding the drivers of species richness gradients is a central challenge of ecological and biodiversity research in freshwater science. Species richness along elevational gradients reveals a great variety of patterns. Here, we investigate elevational changes in species richness and turnover between microhabitats in near-natural spring habitats across Switzerland. Species richness was determined for 175 subsamples from 71 near-natural springs, and Poisson regression was applied between species richness and environmental predictors. Compositional turnover was calculated between the different microhabitats within single springs using the Jaccard index based on observed species and the Chao index based on estimated species numbers. In total, 539 diatom species were identified. Species richness increased monotonically with elevation. Habitat diversity and elevation explaining some of the species richness per site. The Jaccard index for the measured compositional turnover showed a mean similarity of 70% between microhabitats within springs, whereas the Chao index which accounts for sampling artefacts estimated a turnover of only 37%. Thus, the commonly applied method of counting 500 valves led to an undersampling of the rare species and might need to be reconsidered when assessing diatom biodiversity

A new Navicula (Bacillariophyta) species from low-elevation carbonate springs affected by anthropogenic disturbance

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Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the effectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. METHODS: Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15-99 years) and 75,000 children (age 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995-2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. FINDINGS: 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005-09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15-19% in North America, and as low as 7-9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10-20% between 1995-99 and 2005-09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995-99 and 2005-09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005-09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005-09 was high (54-58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18-23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major deficiencies in the management of a largely curable disease. INTERPRETATION: International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide differences that are likely to be attributable to differences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems

Worldwide comparison of survival from childhood leukaemia for 1995–2009, by subtype, age, and sex (CONCORD-2): a population-based study of individual data for 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries

Background Global inequalities in access to health care are reflected in differences in cancer survival. The CONCORD programme was designed to assess worldwide differences and trends in population-based cancer survival. In this population-based study, we aimed to estimate survival inequalities globally for several subtypes of childhood leukaemia. Methods Cancer registries participating in CONCORD were asked to submit tumour registrations for all children aged 0-14 years who were diagnosed with leukaemia between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2009, and followed up until Dec 31, 2009. Haematological malignancies were defined by morphology codes in the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third revision. We excluded data from registries from which the data were judged to be less reliable, or included only lymphomas, and data from countries in which data for fewer than ten children were available for analysis. We also excluded records because of a missing date of birth, diagnosis, or last known vital status. We estimated 5-year net survival (ie, the probability of surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis, after controlling for deaths from other causes [background mortality]) for children by calendar period of diagnosis (1995-99, 2000-04, and 2005-09), sex, and age at diagnosis (< 1, 1-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years, inclusive) using appropriate life tables. We estimated age-standardised net survival for international comparison of survival trends for precursor-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Findings We analysed data from 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries. During 1995-99, 5-year agestandardised net survival for all lymphoid leukaemias combined ranged from 10.6% (95% CI 3.1-18.2) in the Chinese registries to 86.8% (81.6-92.0) in Austria. International differences in 5-year survival for childhood leukaemia were still large as recently as 2005-09, when age-standardised survival for lymphoid leukaemias ranged from 52.4% (95% CI 42.8-61.9) in Cali, Colombia, to 91.6% (89.5-93.6) in the German registries, and for AML ranged from 33.3% (18.9-47.7) in Bulgaria to 78.2% (72.0-84.3) in German registries. Survival from precursor-cell ALL was very close to that of all lymphoid leukaemias combined, with similar variation. In most countries, survival from AML improved more than survival from ALL between 2000-04 and 2005-09. Survival for each type of leukaemia varied markedly with age: survival was highest for children aged 1-4 and 5-9 years, and lowest for infants (younger than 1 year). There was no systematic difference in survival between boys and girls. Interpretation Global inequalities in survival from childhood leukaemia have narrowed with time but remain very wide for both ALL and AML. These results provide useful information for health policy makers on the effectiveness of health-care systems and for cancer policy makers to reduce inequalities in childhood survival

Performance of the STAR_ICMi macroinvertebrate index and implications for classification and biomonitoring of rivers

Although biomonitoring is the core approach adopted by the European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD), many biotic indices still lack a thorough analysis of their performance and uncertainty. The multihabitat sampling and the application of STAR_ICMi index on macroinvertebrates are the standard methods to assess the ecological status of rivers in Italy. Ever since the Italians' implementation, dates back to 2010, few studies have tested the index performance with different sampling efforts, and even rarer are those assessing index uncertainty. However, these are worthwhile topics to investigate because all the Environmental Agencies are applying this index with both ecological and economic consequences. Aims of this study were (i) to assess the effect of subsampling on the STAR_ICMi index, (ii) to propose a standard method to calculate the index precision, and (iii) to test several less time-consuming alternatives to census all the individuals in the sample. I showed that the index is strongly affected by subsampling, and unbiased comparisons of ecological status can only be done at the same sampling effort. The index precision, calculated by bootstrapping the observed abundance of taxa, was so low in some circumstances, to increase the risk of misclassification. Finally, I showed that to avoid counting all the individuals in a sample, it is possible to estimate the most abundant taxa using a rank-abundance model. With this less time-consuming method, the STAR_ICMi index is predicted with sufficient precision