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- The Azorean Biodiversity Portal: an internet database for regional biodiversity outreachPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Arroz, Ana Margarida Moura; Costa, Ana C.; Cunha, Regina Tristão da; Silva, Luís; Pereira, Enésima; Martins, António M. de Frias; Reis, Francisco; Cardoso, PedroThere is a growing interest in academia to provide biodiversity data to both the scientific community and the public. We present an internet database of the terrestrial lichens, bryophytes, vascular plants, molluscs, arthropods, vertebrates and coastal invertebrates of the Azores archipelago (Portugal, North Atlantic): the Azorean Biodiversity Portal (ABP, http://www.azoresbioportal.angra.uac.pt/). This is a unique resource for fundamental research in systematics, biodiversity, education and conservation management. The ABP was based on a regional species database (ATLANTIS), comprised of grid-based spatial incidence information for c. 5000 species. Most of the data rely on a comprehensive literature survey (dating back to the 19th century) as well as unpublished records from recent field surveys in the Azores. The ABP disseminates the ATLANTIS database to the public, allowing universal, unrestricted access to much of its data. Complementarily, the ABP includes additional information of interest to the general public (e.g. literature on Macaronesian biodiversity) together with images from collections and/or live specimens for many species. In this contribution we explain the implementation of a regional biodiversity database, its architecture, achievements and outcomes, strengths and limitations; we further include a number of suggestions in order to implement similar initiatives.
- Cheiracanthium floresensePublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Cardoso, PedroCheiracanthium floresense is a single-island endemic species restricted to Flores island in Azores, Portugal (Borges et al. 2010). It has a small Extent of Occurrence (EOO = 20-56 km²) and Area of Occupancy (AOO = 20-56 km²). The species is rare and only known from two subpopulations, at Natural Forest Reserves of Caldeiras Funda e Rasa and Morro Alto e Pico da Sé. The surrounding area is highly invaded by alien plants, and in the past, the species has probably strongly declined due to changes in habitat size and quality. Currently, invasive plants Hydrangea macrophylla, Hedychium gardnerianum and Rubus ulmifolius are changing some of the areas of the species' range and decreasing the quality of the habitat. Based on Ferreira et al. (2016) the habitat will further decline as a consequence of climate change. Based upon the small EOO of the species and continuing decline of its habitat area and quality, it is assessed as Critically Endangered. Therefore, we suggest as future measures of conservation: (1) regular monitoring of the species; and (2) control of invasive species namely Hedychium gardnerianum.
- Towards evidence‐based conservation of subterranean ecosystemsPublication . Mammola, Stefano; Meierhofer, Melissa B.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Colado, Raquel; Culver, David C.; Deharveng, Louis; Delić, Teo; Di Lorenzo, Tiziana; Dražina, Tvrtko; Ferreira, Rodrigo Lopes; Fiasca, Barbara; Fišer, Cene; Galassi, Diana M. P.; Garzoli, Laura; Gerovasileiou, Vasilis; Griebler, Christian; Halse, Stuart; Howarth, Francis G.; Isaia, Marco; Johnson, Joseph S.; Komerički, Ana; Martínez, Alejandro; Milano, Filippo; Moldovan, Oana T.; Nanni, Veronica; Nicolosi, Giuseppe; Niemiller, Matthew L.; Pallarés, Susana; Pavlek, Martina; Piano, Elena; Pipan, Tanja; Sanchez‐Fernandez, David; Santangeli, Andrea; Schmidt, Susanne I.; Wynne, J. Judson; Zagmajster, Maja; Zakšek, Valerija; Cardoso, PedroSubterranean ecosystems are among the most widespread environments on Earth, yet we still have poor knowledge of their biodiversity. To raise awareness of subterranean ecosystems, the essential services they provide, and their unique conservation challenges, 2021 and 2022 were designated International Years of Caves and Karst. As these ecosystems have traditionally been overlooked in global conservation agendas and multilateral agreements, a quantitative assessment of solution-based approaches to safeguard subterranean biota and associated habitats is timely. This assessment allows researchers and practitioners to understand the progress made and research needs in subterranean ecology and management. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature focused on subterranean ecosystems globally (terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater systems), to quantify the available evidence-base for the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We selected 708 publications from the years 1964 to 2021 that discussed, recommended, or implemented 1,954 conservation interventions in subterranean ecosystems. We noted a steep increase in the number of studies from the 2000s while, surprisingly, the proportion of studies quantifying the impact of conservation interventions has steadily and significantly decreased in recent years. The effectiveness of 31% of conservation interventions has been tested statistically. We further highlight that 64% of the reported research occurred in the Palearctic and Nearctic biogeographic regions. Assessments of the effectiveness of conservation interventions were heavily biased towards indirect measures (monitoring and risk assessment), a limited sample of organisms (mostly arthropods and bats), and more accessible systems (terrestrial caves). Our results indicate that most conservation science in the field of subterranean biology does not apply a rigorous quantitative approach, resulting in sparse evidence for the effectiveness of interventions. This raises the important question of how to make conservation efforts more feasible to implement, cost-effective, and long-lasting. Although there is no single remedy, we propose a suite of potential solutions to focus our efforts better towards increasing statistical testing and stress the importance of standardising study reporting to facilitate meta-analytical exercises. We also provide a database summarising the available literature, which will help to build quantitative knowledge about interventions likely to yield the greatest impacts depending upon the subterranean species and habitats of interest. We view this as a starting point to shift away from the widespread tendency of recommending conservation interventions based on anecdotal and expert-based information rather than scientific evidence, without quantitatively testing their effectiveness.
- Threatened and extinct island endemic birds of the world: Distribution, threats and functional diversityPublication . Matthews, Thomas J.; Wayman, Joseph P.; Cardoso, Pedro; Sayol, Ferran; Hume, Julian P.; Ulrich, Werner; Tobias, Joseph A.; Soares, Filipa C.; Thébaud, Christophe; Martin, Thomas E.; Triantis, Kostas A.AIM: The world's islands support disproportionate levels of endemic avian biodiversity despite suffering numerous extinctions. While intensive recent research has focused on island bird conservation or extinction, few global syntheses have considered these factors together from the perspective of morphological trait diversity. Here, we provide a global summary of the status and ecology of extant and extinct island birds, the threats they face and the implications of species loss for island functional diversity. LOCATION: Global. TAXON: Birds. METHODS: We provide a review of the literature on threatened and extinct island birds, with a particular focus on global studies that have incorporated functional diversity. Alongside this, we analyse IUCN Red List data in relation to distribution, threats and taxonomy. Using null models and functional hypervolumes, in combination with morphological trait data, we assess the functional diversity represented by threatened and extinct island endemic birds. RESULTS AND MAIN CONCLUSIONS: We find that almost half of all island endemic birds extant in 1500 CE are currently either extinct or threatened with extinction, with the majority of threatened extant species having declining population trends. We also found evidence of 66 island endemic subspecies extinctions. The primary threats to extant island endemic birds currently are agriculture, biological resource use, and invasive species. While there is overlap between the hotspots of threatened and extinct island endemics birds, there are some notable differences, including the Philippines and Indonesia, which support a substantial number of threatened species but have no recorded post-1500 CE bird extinctions. Traits associated with threatened island endemic birds are large body mass, flightlessness, aquatic predator, omnivorous and vertivorous trophic niches, marine habitat affinity, and, paradoxically, higher dispersal ability. Critically, we find that threatened endemics (i) occupy distinct areas of beak morphospace, and (ii) represent substantial unique areas of the overall functional space of island endemics. We caution that the loss of threatened species may have severe effects on the ecological functions birds provide on islands.
- Perspective The Azorean Biodiversity Portal: An internet database for regional biodiversity outreachPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Arroz, Ana Margarida Moura; Costa, Ana C.; Cunha, Regina Tristão da; Silva, Luís; Pereira, Enésima; Martins, António M. de Frias; Reis, Francisco; Cardoso, PedroThere is a growing interest in academia to provide biodiversity data to both the scientific community and the public. We present an internet database of the terrestrial lichens, bryophytes, vascular plants, molluscs, arthropods, vertebrates and coastal invertebrates of the Azores archipelago (Portugal, North Atlantic): the Azorean Biodiversity Portal (ABP, http://www.azoresbioportal.angra.uac.pt/). This is a unique resource for fundamental research in systematics, biodiversity, education and conservation management. The ABP was based on a regional species database (ATLANTIS), comprised of grid-based spatial incidence information for c. 5000 species. Most of the data rely on a comprehensive literature survey (dating back to the 19th century) as well as unpublished records from recent field surveys in the Azores. The ABP disseminates the ATLANTIS database to the public, allowing universal, unrestricted access to much of its data. Complementarily, the ABP includes additional information of interest to the general public (e.g. literature on Macaronesian biodiversity) together with images from collections and/or live specimens for many species. In this contribution we explain the implementation of a regional biodiversity database, its architecture, achievements and outcomes, strengths and limitations; we further include a number of suggestions in order to implement similar initiatives.
- Extinction debt on oceanic islandsPublication . Triantis, Kostas A.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Ladle, Richard J.; Hortal, Joaquín; Cardoso, Pedro; Gaspar, Clara; Dinis, Francisco; Pereira, Enésima; Silveira, Lúcia M. A.; Gabriel, Rosalina; Melo, Catarina; Santos, Ana M. C.; Amorim, Isabel R.; Ribeiro, Sérvio P.; Serrano, Artur R. M.; Quartau, José A.; Whittaker, Robert J.Habitat destruction is the leading cause of species extinctions. However, there is typically a time-lag between the reduction in habitat area and the eventual disappearance of the remnant populations. These “surviving but ultimately doomed” species represent an extinction debt. Calculating the magnitude of such future extinction events has been hampered by potentially inaccurate assumptions about the slope of species–area relationships, which are habitat- and taxon-specific. We overcome this challenge by applying a method that uses the historical sequence of deforestation in the Azorean Islands, to calculate realistic and ecologically-adjusted species–area relationships. The results reveal dramatic and hitherto unrecognized levels of extinction debt, as a result of the extensive destruction of the native forest:>95%, in<600 yr. Our estimations suggest that more than half of the extant forest arthropod species, which have evolved in and are dependent on the native forest, might eventually be driven to extinction. Data on species abundances from Graciosa Island, where only a very small patch of secondary native vegetation still exists, as well as the number of species that have not been found in the last 45 yr, despite the extensive sampling effort, offer support to the predictions made. We argue that immediate action to restore and expand native forest habitat is required to avert the loss of numerous endemic species in the near future.
- Typhochrestus acoreensisPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Cardoso, PedroJUSTIFICATION: Typhochrestus acoreensis is a single-island endemic species, restricted to Terceira Island (Azores, Portugal) (Borges et al. 2010). It is a rare species, with a restricted Extent of Occurrence (EOO) (4-24 km² ) and Area of Occupancy (AOO) (4-24 km²), but it is likely to be at the upper end of this estimate. The species occurs in a single patch of native forest (at Biscoito da Ferraria Reserve). There is a continuing decline in the EOO, AOO, extent and quality of habitat as well as the number of mature individuals as a result of the invasions of non-native plants and the impact of Cryptomeria japonica plantations, with the destruction of the main original site. Therefore, we suggest as future measures of conservation: (1) a long-term monitoring plan of the species; (2) control of invasive species, and (3) avoid the expansion of Cryptomeria japonica plantations in the Pico Alto area. The species is assessed as Critically Endangered (CR).
- Increase of insular exotic arthropod diversity is a fundamental dimension of the current biodiversity crisisPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Rigal, François; Ros‐Prieto, A.; Cardoso, PedroA dramatic insect decline has been documented on the grasslands and forests of European or North American mainland. Yet, other parts of the world and other ecosystems remain much less studied with unknown patterns. Using a unique time-series dataset, we investigate recent trends on abundance and richness of arthropods sampled in Azorean native forest over 6 years (2013–2018). We test the hypothesis that biodiversity erosion drivers are changing the diversity and relative species abundance structure (species abundance distribution, SAD) of endemics, native non‐endemics and exotic species over time. We also examine temporal trends in abundance for each individual species. In contrast with mainland studies, we observed no decline in overall arthropod diversity, but a clear increase in the diversity of exotic arthropods and some evidence of a tendency for decreasing abundance for some endemic species. We also document stronger species turnover for exotic species, but no specific changes in the SAD. We argue that many changes, particularly in unique systems such as islands, will be noticed not at the richness but mostly at compositional level. Special attention should be given to exotic species which are known to be one of the major drivers of biodiversity erosion on islands.
- A database of functional traits for spiders from native forests of the Iberian Peninsula and MacaronesiaPublication . Macías Hernández, Nuria; Ramos, Cândida; Domènech, Marc; Febles, Sara; Santos, Irene; Arnedo, Miquel A.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Emerson, Brent C.; Cardoso, PedroThere is an increasing demand for databases including species trait information for biodiversity and community ecology studies. The existence of trait databases is useful for comparative studies within taxa or geographical regions, but there is low availability of databases for certain organisms. Here we present an open access functional trait database for spiders from Macaronesia and the Iberian Peninsula, recording several morphological and ecological traits related to the species life histories, microhabitat and trophic preferences.
- Lasaeola oceanicaPublication . Borges, Paulo A. V.; Cardoso, PedroJUSTIFICATION: Lasaeola oceanica is a spider species occurring on all the nine islands of the Azorean archipelago (Azores, Portugal) (Borges et al. 2010). It has a large Extent of Occurrence (EOO = 43,454-44,172 km²) and a relatively large Area of Occupancy (AOO = 244-1,356 km²). The species is abundant in both endemic (e.g. Juniperus brevifolia, Ilex perado subsp. azorica) and exotic plants (Cryptomeria japonica and Pittosporum undulatum). The species is particularly abundant from low to mid elevations. Based upon the large Extent of Occurrence, the good adaptation to human modified habitats, and few threats, the species is assessed as Least Concern (LC).