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- EU needs groundwater ecosystems guidelinesPublication . Di Lorenzo, Tiziana; Lunghi, Enrico; Aanei, Cristina Mihaela Tereza; Altermatt, Florian; Alther, Roman; Rosário, Isabel Amorim Do; Bancila, Raluca; Bellvert, Adrià; Blomberg, Anna; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Brad, Traian; Brancelj, Anton; Brankovits, David; Cardoso, Pedro; Cerasoli, Francesco; Chauveau, Claire A.; Crespo, Luís; Csader, Michael; Delić, Teo; Di Cicco, Mattia; Douady, Christophe J.; Duchemin, Louis; Faille, Arnaud; FIASCA, BARBARA; Fišer, Cene; Flot, Jean-François; Gabriel, Rosalina; Galassi, Diana M.P.; Garzoli, Laura; Griebler, Christian; Karwautz, Clemens; Kenesz, Marius I.; Konecny-Dupré, Lara; Lilley, Thomas; Malard, Florian; Martínez, Alejandro; Meierhofer, Melissa B.; Messana, Giuseppe; Millán, Andrés; Mizerakis, Vangelis; Mori, Nataša; Nanni, Veronica; Nicolosi, Giuseppe; Oromí, Pedro; Pallarés, Susana; Pereira, Fernando; Reboleira, Ana Sofia; Saccò, Mattia; Salussolia, Alice; Sánchez-Fernández, David; Sarbu, Serban M; S̗tefan, Andrei; Stoch, Fabio; Camillo, Agostina Tabilio Di; TAITI, STEFANO; Vaccarelli, Ilaria; Valanne, Valeria; Zagmajster, Maja; Zakšek, Valerija; Zittra, Carina; Mammola, StefanoNegotiations are underway on the new European Union (EU) Water Directive (1), which will regulate the protection and sustainable use of Europe’s water resources. However, the proposal foregoes environmental quality standards specifically tailored to sensitive groundwater species and fails to require biomonitoring for groundwater ecosystems. Despite repeated calls for consideration (2, 3) since the first Water Framework Directive in 2000 (4), groundwater ecosystems are at risk of being overlooked yet again.
- Calculating functional diversity metrics using neighbor‐joining treesPublication . Cardoso, Pedro; Guillerme, Thomas; Mammola, Stefano; Matthews, Thomas J.; Rigal, François; Graco‐Roza, Caio; Stahls, Gunilla; Carvalho, José CarlosThe study of functional diversity (FD) provides ways to understand phenomena as complex as community assembly or the dynamics of biodiversity change under multiple pressures. Different frameworks are used to quantify FD, either based on dissimilarity matrices (e.g. Rao entropy, functional dendrograms) or multidimensional spaces (e.g. convex hulls, kernel-density hypervolumes), each with their own strengths and limits. Frameworks based on dissimilarity matrices either do not enable the measurement of all components of FD (i.e. richness, divergence, and regularity), or result in the distortion of the functional space. Frameworks based on multidimensional spaces do not allow for comparisons with phylogenetic diversity (PD) measures and can be sensitive to outliers. We propose the use of neighbor-joining trees (NJ) to represent and quantify FD in a way that combines the strengths of current frameworks without many of their weaknesses. Importantly, our approach is uniquely suited for studies that compare FD with PD, as both share the use of trees (NJ or others) and the same mathematical principles. We test the ability of this novel framework to represent the initial functional distances between species with minimal functional space distortion and sensitivity to outliers. The results using NJ are compared with conventional functional dendrograms, convex hulls, and kernel-density hypervolumes using both simulated and empirical datasets. Using NJ, we demonstrate that it is possible to combine much of the flexibility provided by multidimensional spaces with the simplicity of tree-based representations. Moreover, the method is directly comparable with taxonomic diversity (TD) and PD measures, and enables quantification of the richness, divergence and regularity of the functional space.
- Perspectives and pitfalls in preserving subterranean biodiversity through protected areasPublication . Mammola, Stefano; Altermatt, Florian; Alther, Roman; Rosário, Isabel Amorim Do; Bancila, Raluca; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Brad, Traian; Brankovits, David; Cardoso, Pedro; Cerasoli, Francesco; Chauveau, Claire A.; Delić, Teo; Di Lorenzo, Tiziana; Faille, Arnaud; Fišer, Cene; Flot, Jean-François; Gabriel, Rosalina; Galassi, Diana M.P.; Garzoli, Laura; Griebler, Christian; Konecny-Dupré, Lara; Martínez, Alejandro; Mori, Nataša; Nanni, V.; Ogorelec, Žiga; Pallarés, Susana; Salussolia, Alice; Saccò, Mattia; Stoch, Fabio; Vaccarelli, Ilaria; Zagmajster, Maja; Zittra, Carina; Meierhofer, Melissa; Sánchez-Fernández, David; Malard, FlorianSubterranean ecosystems (comprising terrestrial, semi-aquatic, and aquatic components) are increasingly threatened by human activities; however, the current network of surface-protected areas is inadequate to safeguard subterranean biodiversity. Establishing protected areas for subterranean ecosystems is challenging. First, there are technical obstacles in mapping three-dimensional ecosystems with uncertain boundaries. Second, the rarity and endemism of subterranean organisms, combined with a scarcity of taxonomists, delays the accumulation of essential biodiversity knowledge. Third, establishing agreements to preserve subterranean ecosystems requires collaboration among multiple actors with often competing interests. This perspective addresses the challenges of preserving subterranean biodiversity through protected areas. Even in the face of uncertainties, we suggest it is both timely and critical to assess general criteria for subterranean biodiversity protection and implement them based on precautionary principles. To this end, we examine the current status of European protected areas and discuss solutions to improve their coverage of subterranean ecosystems.