Leucobryum aduncum is a moss species reported in many Southeast Asian regions, often found in forests with a high humidity. Climate change may impact the future distribution of this species. This ...study aimed to model the current distribution and predict the impact of climate change on L. aduncum distribution in the next 50 years across Southeast Asia. In the process, relevant climate variables in the distribution of the species were also identified. The occurrence data of this species with current and future climate models from CMIP6 under moderate (SSP2) scenarios were used to predict current and future L. aduncum distributions. Under the current climate, the predicted suitable areas for L. aduncum included most mountainous areas. However, many Southeast Asian areas showed a lower probability of finding this species in the next 50 years. The distribution area of this species will dramatically decrease by 50.16% in the current area. The most important ecological variables included the “mean temperature of the driest quarter” and the “annual temperature range”. This study suggests the possible impacts of an increased temperature and the scale of climate change on the distribution of sensitive plants like bryophytes.
Background
The genus
Aneura
Dumort. is a simple thalloid liverwort with cosmopolitan distributions. Species circumscription is problematic in this genus due to a limited number of morphological ...traits. Two species are currently reported from Thailand, including
A. maxima
and
A. pinguis
. At the global scale,
A. pinguis
is considered a cryptic species, as the species contains several distinct genetic groups without clear morphological differentiation. At the same time, the identity of
A. maxima
remains unclear. In this work, we examined the level of diversity of
Aneura
species found in Thailand using both morphological and molecular data.
Methods
We measured the morphological traits and generated the molecular data (four markers:
trnL
–
F
,
trnH
–
psbA
,
rbcL,
and ITS2) from the Thai specimens. The concatenated dataset was then used to reconstruct phylogeny. Species delimitation with GMYC, bPTP, ASAP, and ABGD methods was performed to estimate the number of putative species within the genus.
Results
The samples of
A. pinguis
formed several clades, while
A. maxima
sequences from Poland were grouped in their clade and nested within another
A. pinguis
clade. We could not recover a sample of
A. maxima
from Thailand, even from the reported locality. Two putative species were detected among Thai
Aneura
samples. However, no morphological trait could distinguish the specimens from the two observed genetic groups.
Discussion
The previously observed paraphyletic nature of
A. pinguis
globally was also found among Thai samples, including several putative species. However, we could not confirm the identity of
A. maxima
from Thai specimens. The previous report could result from misidentification and problematic species circumscription within
Aneura
. The results highlighted the need to include multiple lines of evidence for the future taxonomic investigation of the group.
Microbial symbionts are instrumental to the ecological and long‐term evolutionary success of their hosts, and the central role of symbiotic interactions is increasingly recognized across the vast ...majority of life. Lichens provide an iconic group for investigating patterns in species interactions; however, relationships among lichen symbionts are often masked by uncertain species boundaries or an inability to reliably identify symbionts. The species‐rich lichen‐forming fungal family Parmeliaceae provides a diverse group for assessing patterns of interactions of algal symbionts, and our study addresses patterns of lichen symbiont interactions at the largest geographic and taxonomic scales attempted to date. We analysed a total of 2356 algal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequences collected from lichens representing ten mycobiont genera in Parmeliaceae, two genera in Lecanoraceae and 26 cultured Trebouxia strains. Algal ITS sequences were grouped into operational taxonomic units (OTUs); we attempted to validate the evolutionary independence of a subset of the inferred OTUs using chloroplast and mitochondrial loci. We explored the patterns of symbiont interactions in these lichens based on ecogeographic distributions and mycobiont taxonomy. We found high levels of undescribed diversity in Trebouxia, broad distributions across distinct ecoregions for many photobiont OTUs and varying levels of mycobiont selectivity and specificity towards the photobiont. Based on these results, we conclude that fungal specificity and selectivity for algal partners play a major role in determining lichen partnerships, potentially superseding ecology, at least at the ecogeographic scale investigated here. To facilitate effective communication and consistency across future studies, we propose a provisional naming system for Trebouxia photobionts and provide representative sequences for each OTU circumscribed in this study.
Forage plants, as primary producers, play an essential role in maintaining populations of large herbivores. The availability and quality of these forage plants can affect the health and viability of ...these animals. Seasonally dry forests of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary and Huai Thab Salao-Huai Rabum Non-Hunting Area are recognized as one of the largest contiguous pieces of forests in mainland Southeast Asia and serve as a home to many large herbivore species, particularly banteng (Bos javanicus birmanicus). However, our understanding of forage plants and their dynamics is still limited. Therefore, the current study was undertaken to understand the dynamics of forage plants, prescribed burning effects, and the associated environmental factors. During 2018–2019, the results showed that the highest forage availability was in June after the prescribed burns at 156.2–252.6 kg ha−1 and the lowest in February before the burning at 16.8–39.8 kg ha−1. Environmental factors that impacted the forage availability include canopy cover, tree density, tree basal area, soil bulk density, soil pH, and topography. However, the impacts of these factors varied among the studied plant life forms, suggesting the importance of active habitat management through prescribed burns and stand improvement to maintain sufficient forage for large herbivores in the future.
Seedlings are an important stage for plant populations, as the abundance and rigor of seedlings can indicate a changing forest structure in the future. Studying the different traits of the seedling ...can represent how the plant grows. Biomass is one of the traits that can represent the plant’s performance and many other growth processes of the seedling. Several allometric equations have been developed to estimate tree biomass. However, allometric equations for the biomass of seedlings remains poorly studied, especially those from the tropics. The objective of this research is to create and develop a model that can be used to predict the biomass of seedlings, including total biomass, aboveground biomass, and belowground biomass, from root collar diameter, shoot height, main stem length, and wood density from 205 two-year-old seedlings from twenty tree species found in dry evergreen forest in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Uthai Thani, Thailand. The results showed that the root collar diameter, shoot height, and wood density could be used to create a model to best predict the seedling biomass. This model should be tested with other seedlings in the wild and other datasets to evaluate the performance of the model. To our knowledge, this study is among the first to provide the first allometry for seedlings in tropical dry evergreen forest. The results from this study will allow ecologists to monitor and examine the growth of the seedlings at all stages of life in dynamic tropical environments in the future.
is a pioneer species in mangrove. It can naturally grow in both saltwater and freshwater. The study was aimed at investigating and comparing the anatomical character of the
plants growing in ...different conditions and how they coped with salinity. The anatomical characteristics of roots, stems, petioles and leaf blade were investigated. The plant samples were prepared into permanent slides using a paraffin method, while the wood samples were made into permanent slides using a sliding microtome technique. Tissue clearing of leaf blade and scanning electron microscopic analysis of wood were performed. In addition, sodium chloride content in various organs and tissues was examined. It was found that cable root, stem and leaf blade showed some different anatomical characteristics between the two conditions. Periderm is a prominent tissue in saltwater roots. Tanniferous cells were observed in pneumatophores, petioles, stems and leaf blades of saltwater plants, but not found in pneumatophores and lamina of freshwater plants. Mesophyll thickness was lower in the saltwater condition. The vessel density was significantly higher in the saltwater condition than in the freshwater condition, whereas the vessel diameters in the freshwater condition were significantly higher than those in the saltwater condition. From the results, it can be concluded that root periderm plays an important role in salt exclusion, and the occurrence of tanniferous cells is associated with salt elimination.
Although classification at supra-specific ranks is inherently arbitrary, comparable taxonomic ranks within clades can facilitate more consistent classifications and objective comparisons among taxa. ...Different circumscriptions of the hyper-diverse lichen-forming fungal family Parmeliaceae and widely different generic circumscriptions among authors have been proposed. For this study, we use a recently developed temporal approach that uses time-calibrated chronograms to identify temporal bands for specific ranks in Parmeliaceae and allied groups with the overarching goal of establishing a consistent, stable classification. A data set of 330 species, representing 73 genera in the family and 52 species of related families was used to address the circumscription of Parmeliaceae and its genera following the proposed temporal approach. Based on the results of this study, we propose a revised, temporal-based classification for Parmeliaceae, including all clades that share a common ancestor 102.13–112.88 Ma for families and a time window of 29.45–32.55 Ma for genera. Forty-five of the currently accepted genera in Parmeliaceae were supported in their current circumscription. Two subfamilies are accepted within Parmeliaceae: Protoparmelioideae Divakar et al. subfam. nov., including
Protoparmelia
and the resurrected genus
Maronina,
and Parmelioideae, including the bulk of genera in the family. The new genus
Austromelanelixia
Divakar et al. is proposed to accommodate a clade of southern Hemisphere species previously included in
Melanelixia. Eumitria
and tentatively
Dolichousnea
are resurrected as genera separate from
Usnea
. The following genera are reduced to synonymy:
Allocetraria, Cetrariella, Usnocetraria
, and
Vulpicida
with
Cetraria; Arctocetraria, Cetreliopsis, Flavocetraria, Kaernefeltia, Masonhalea, Tuckermanella
, and
Tuckermannopsis
with
Nephromopsis
; and the lichenicolous genera
Nesolechia
and
Raesaenenia
with the lichen-forming genera
Punctelia
and
Protousnea,
respectively. A total of 47 new combinations and three new names at the species level are proposed.
The North African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) is a significant species in aquaculture, which is crucial for ensuring food and nutrition security. Their high adaptability to diverse environments has ...led to an increase in the number of farms that are available for their production. However, long-term closed breeding adversely affects their reproductive performance, leading to a decrease in production efficiency. This is possibly caused by inbreeding depression. To investigate the root cause of this issue, the genetic diversity of captive North African catfish populations was assessed in this study. Microsatellite genotyping and mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequencing were applied to 136 catfish specimens, collected from three populations captured for breeding in Thailand. Interestingly, extremely low inbreeding coefficients were obtained within each population, and distinct genetic diversity was observed among the three populations, indicating that their genetic origins are markedly different. This suggests that outbreeding depression by genetic admixture among currently captured populations of different origins may account for the low productivity of the North African catfish in Thailand. Genetic improvement of the North African catfish populations is required by introducing new populations whose origins are clearly known. This strategy should be systematically integrated into breeding programs to establish an ideal founder stock for selective breeding.
The fragmentation of habitats and hunting have impacted the Asian woolly-necked stork (Ciconia episcopus), leading to a serious risk of extinction in Thailand. Programs of active captive breeding, ...together with careful genetic monitoring, can play an important role in facilitating the creation of source populations with genetic variability to aid the recovery of endangered species. Here, the genetic diversity and population structure of 86 Asian woolly-necked storks from three captive breeding programs Khao Kheow Open Zoo (KKOZ) comprising 68 individuals, Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo (NRZ) comprising 16 individuals, and Dusit Zoo (DSZ) comprising 2 individuals were analyzed using 13 microsatellite loci, to aid effective conservation management. Inbreeding and an extremely low effective population size (Ne) were found in the KKOZ population, suggesting that deleterious genetic issues had resulted from multiple generations held in captivity. By contrast, a recent demographic bottleneck was observed in the population at NRZ, where the ratio of Ne to abundance (N) was greater than 1. Clustering analysis also showed that one subdivision of the KKOZ population shared allelic variability with the NRZ population. This suggests that genetic drift, with a possible recent and mixed origin, occurred in the initial NRZ population, indicating historical transfer between captivities. These captive stork populations require improved genetic variability and a greater population size, which could be achieved by choosing low-related individuals for future transfers to increase the adaptive potential of reintroduced populations. Forward-in-time simulations such as those described herein constitute the first step in establishing an appropriate source population using a scientifically managed perspective for an in situ and ex situ conservation program in Thailand.
PDF
