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Several countries have carried out surveys of managed honeybee colonies, the results of which suggest high loss rates all over the world. Although Latin America is an important apicultural region, estimates of honeybee colony losses are lacking. This study quantified colony losses in Argentina during the 2015-16 season. Overall, the survey included 28,204 honeybee colonies, of which 15.5% were rec
Losses and gains in species diversity affect ecological stability1–7 and the sustainability of ecosystem functions and services8–13. Experiments and models have revealed positive, negative and no effects of diversity on individual components of stability, such as temporal variability, resistance and resilience2,3,6,11,12,14. How these stability components covary remains poorly understood15. Simila
The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) is one of the most widely studied patterns in ecology, yet no consensus has been reached about its underlying causes. We argue that the reasons for this are the verbal nature of existing hypotheses, the failure to mechanistically link interacting ecological and evolutionary processes to the LDG, and the fact that empirical patterns are often consistent with
Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient but may become toxic when present in excess. In Zn-contaminated environments, trees can be protected from Zn toxicity by their root-associated micro-organisms, in particular ectomycorrhizal fungi. The mechanisms of cellular Zn homeostasis in ectomycorrhizal fungi and their contribution to the host tree's Zn status are however not yet fully understood. The ai
The scope of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SustainableDevelopment Goals is unprecedented. So is the broad ambition expressed in thisagreement. While the United Nations has rarely shied away from declaring farreaching policy aspirations in the past, the 2030 Agenda sets the bar high –possibly higher than it has ever been before, with ambitious goals to end hungerand poverty
This chapter focuses on the national level and studies interlinkages, institutional integration and policy coherence in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. After defining key terms, the chapter reviews how perspectives on interlinkages have shaped a new discourse, followed by an analysis of the steering effects of the global goals on in
This chapter provides an overview of the multi-faceted landscape of methods used to study the steering effects of the Sustainable Development Goals. After a discussion of the political use of science and the complex relations between science and politics, the chapter showcases a selection of different methods that are employed to trace the steering effects of the Sustainable Development Goals. Sel
Knowledge of how biodiversity sustains ecosystem function comes predominantly from studies focused on small spatial scales. Thus, we know relatively little about the role of biodiversity at larger scales of space and time where habitats become increasingly heterogeneous. Efforts to upscale the relationship between biodiversity and function have yielded inconclusive results. Given that increasing h
Aim: Understanding how climate conditions influence plant–pollinator interactions at the global scale is crucial to understand how pollinator communities and ecosystem function respond to environmental change. Here, we investigate whether climate drives differences in network roles of the main insect pollinator orders: Diptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera. Location: Global. Time period
Pollinator-mediated reproductive interactions among co-flowering plant species are prime examples of how species interactions may affect fitness and community assembly. Despite considerable interest in these issues, statistical methods for assessing signal of reproductive interactions in observational data on co-flowering species are currently lacking. We propose a flexible method for quantifying
Questions: How do mat thickness, physical structure and allelopathic properties of terricolous mat-forming lichens affect recruitment of vascular plants in dwarf-shrub and lichen heath vegetation?. Location: The mountains of Dovrefjell, central Norway. Methods: In autumn, seeds of ten vascular plant species were collected and sown in a common garden experiment with mats of six lichen species and b
Seed dormancy is considered to be an adaptive strategy in seasonal and/or unpredictable environments because it prevents germination during climatically favorable periods that are too short for seedling establishment. Tropical dry forests are seasonal environments where seed dormancy may play an important role in plant resilience and resistance to changing precipitation patterns. We studied the ge
Premise of the Study: Turnover in biotic communities across heterogeneous landscapes is expected to lead to variation in interactions among plants, their mutualists, and their antagonists. Across a fragmented landscape in northern Costa Rica, populations of the euphorb vine Dalechampia scandens vary widely in mating systems and associated blossom traits. Previous work suggested that populations ar
In the event of a community turnover, population decline, or complete disappearance of pollinators, animal-pollinated plants may respond by adapting to novel pollinators or by changing their mating system. The ability of populations to adapt is determined by their ability to respond to novel selection pressures, i.e. their evolvability. In the short term, evolvability is determined by standing gen
It is well recognized that the capacity of soils to sequester carbon (C) is strongly influenced by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability because of the strong stoichiometric links between these biogeochemical cycles. Human disturbance (e.g., deposition, fertilization, and mining), has, and continue to have, caused large imbalances between the biogeochemical cycles and changing nutrient avai
This book is the first to address the important interrelationship between second homes and climate change, which has become an increasingly relevant issue for many regions around the world. Second homes are often a key source of tourist visitation as well as economic benefit for their host communities. The chapters provide an array of international case studies and climate change impacts, includin
BACKGROUND: The rates of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) graft failure or contralateral ACL rupture range from 17% to 30% in pediatric patients after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). A contributing factor to the high reinjury rate in this population may be the limited evidence regarding appropriate criteria for allowing unrestricted return to activity (RTA) postoperatively.PURPOSE: To review the litera
