7 documents found, page 1 of 1
Perspectives and pitfalls in preserving subterranean biodiversity through prote...
Mammola, Stefano; Altermatt, Florian; Alther, Roman; Rosário, Isabel Amorim Do; Bancila, Raluca; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Brad, Traian; Brankovits, DavidSubterranean 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 bou...
EU needs groundwater ecosystems guidelines
Di Lorenzo, Tiziana; Lunghi, Enrico; Aanei, Cristina Mihaela Tereza; Altermatt, Florian; Alther, Roman; Rosário, Isabel Amorim Do; Bancila, RalucaNegotiations 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 F...
A collaborative backbone resource for comparative studies of subterranean evolu...
Saclier, Nathanaelle; Duchemin, Louis; Konecny‐Dupré, Lara; Grison, Philippe; Eme, David; Martin, Chloé; Callou, Cécile; Lefébure, TristanTransition to novel environments, such as groundwater colonization by surface organisms, provides an excellent research ground to study phenotypic evolution. However, interspecific comparative studies on evolution to groundwater life are few because of the challenge in assembling large ecological and molecular resources for species-rich taxa comprised of surface and subterranean species. Here, we make available...
Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem
Saccò, Mattia; Mammola, Stefano; Altermatt, Florian; Alther, Roman; Bolpagni, Rossano; Brancelj, Anton; Brankovits, David; Fišer, CeneGroundwater is a vital ecosystem of the global water cycle, hosting unique biodiversity and providing essential services to societies. Despite being the largest unfrozen freshwater resource, in a period of depletion by extraction and pollution, groundwater environments have been repeatedly overlooked in global biodiversity conservation agendas. Disregarding the importance of groundwater as an ecosystem ignores ...
Novel Protocol for Acute In Situ Ecotoxicity Test Using Native Crustaceans Appl...
Castaño-Sánchez, Andrea; Malard, Florian; Kalčíková, Gabriela; Reboleira, Ana SofiaCurrent standardized laboratory test protocols use model species that have limitations to accurately assess native species responses to stressors. We developed and tested a novel acute in situ protocol for testing field-collected organisms. We used Asellus aquaticus and NaCl as a reference toxicant to test for the effects of location (laboratory vs. in situ), medium (synthetic vs. field water), substrate (prese...
Fundamental research questions in subterranean biology
Mammola, Stefano; Amorim, Isabel R.; Bichuette, Maria E.; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Cheeptham, Naowarat; Cooper, Steven J. B.; Culver, David C.Five decades ago, a landmark paper in Science titled The Cave Environment heralded caves as ideal natural experimental laboratories in which to develop and address general questions in geology, ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. Although the 'caves as laboratory' paradigm has since been advocated by subterranean biologists, there are few examples of studies that successfully translated their resul...
Fundamental research questions in subterranean biology
Mammola, Stefano; Amorim, Isabel R.; Bichuette, Maria E.; Borges, P.A.V.; Cheeptham, Naowarat; Cooper, Steven J. B.; Culver, David C.; Deharveng, LouisFive decades ago, a landmark paper in Science titled The Cave Environment heralded caves as ideal natural experimental laboratories in which to develop and address general questions in geology, ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. Although the ‘caves as laboratory’ paradigm has since been advocated by subterranean biologists, there are few examples of studies that successfully translated their resul...