Plants are a hyperdiverse clade that plays a key role in maintaining ecological and evolutionary processes as well as human livelihoods. Biases, gaps and uncertainties in plant occurrence information remain a central problem in ecology and conservation, but these limitations remain largely unassessed globally. In this synthesis, we propose a conceptual framework for analysing gaps in information coverage, information uncertainties and biases in these metrics along taxonomic, geographical and temporal dimensions, and apply it to all c. 370 000 species of land plants. To this end, we integrated 120 million point-occurrence records with independent databases on plant taxonomy, distributions and conservation status. We find that different data limitations are prevalent in each dimension. Different metrics of information coverage and uncertainty are largely uncorrelated, and reducing taxonomic, spatial or temporal uncertainty by filtering out records would usually come at great costs to coverage. In light of these multidimensional data limitations, we discuss prospects for global plant ecological and biogeographical research, monitoring and conservation and outline critical next steps towards more effective information usage and mobilisation. Our study provides an empirical baseline for evaluating and improving global floristic knowledge, along with a conceptual framework that can be applied to study other hyperdiverse clades.

Multidimensional biases, gaps and uncertainties in global plant occurrence information

This article presents, for the first time, an overview of all known tree species by scientific name and country level distribution, and describes an online database—GlobalTreeSearch—that provides access to this information. Based on our comprehensive analysis of published data sources and expert input, the number of tree species currently known to science is 60,065, representing 20% of all angiosperm and gymnosperm plant species. Nearly half of all tree species (45%) are found in just 10 families, with the 3 most tree-rich families being Leguminosae, Rubiaceae, and Myrtaceae. Geographically, Brazil, Colombia, and Indonesia are the countries with the most tree species. The countries with the most country-endemic tree species reflect broader plant diversity trends (Brazil, Australia, China) or islands where isolation has resulted in speciation (Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia). Nearly 58% of all tree species are single-country endemics. Our intention is for GlobalTreeSearch to be used as a t...

GlobalTreeSearch: The first complete global database of tree species and country distributions

Plasma protein electrophoresis is now commonly recognized to be a very reliable diagnostic tool in avian medicine. However, the influence of circannual phenomena such as molt on protein electrophoregrams is poorly documented. Yet, the molt is a period of heavy hormonal and metabolic change in birds. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of molt on total protein concentration and electrophoresis patterns in birds. Nineteen bar headed geese (Anser indicus) were blood sampled from mid May to mid August, at 15 day intervals. At the same time, the birds’ molting stage was checked. Total protein concentrations were measured and plasma agarose gel electrophoresis were performed on these samples. The geese were chosen as a model, because these birds molt over a very short period. The total protein concentration, albumin, alpha-2, beta and gamma fractions were at their minimum values during molt, whereas the prealbumin and alpha-1 fractions rose to their maximum levels. This study provides baseline information relevant to changes occurring in avian proteinograms throughout the molt. The increase in the prealbumin and alpha-1 fractions may be related to an increase in plasma thyroid hormones during molt. The decrease observed in albumin, alpha-2, beta and gamma fractions may be related to a protein and energy shift, directed towards feather growth, as well as to an expansion of the circulatory system located around the feather follicles. From a clinical point of view, the observed changes associated with molting were less significant than initially expected, and are not likely to be strong enough to mislead the practitioner.

http://www.afvpz.com/IMG/pdf/These_de_3o_cycle_Yannick_ROMAN.pdf

Museum national d'histoire naturelle

We investigated the aggregation of PMN from 20 psoriasis patients (PP) and 12 health persons (HP) to PAF and the effect of PAF antagonist BN 52021 on the aggregation. PAF induced a dose dependent aggregative response of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) from PP and HP. The aggregative responses of PMN from PP to lower concentrations of PAF were increased (P < 0.05) and to higher concentrations of PAF were not different to that of PMN from HP. BN 52021 could time- and dose-dependently inhibit the aggregation of PMN from PP and HP to PAF, and their IC50 was 1.3 x 10(-6) mol and 1.2 x 10(-6) mol respectively. It is suggested that PAF and PMN play an important pathophysiological role in the development of psoriasis, and application of PAF antagonists may be a new and effective approach to the management of psoriasis.

Effect of BN52021 on platelet activating factor induced aggregation of psoriatic polymorphonuclear neutrophils

Aim Recently developed parametric methods in historical biogeography allow researchers to integrate temporal and palaeogeographical information into the reconstruction of biogeographical scenarios, thus overcoming a known bias of parsimony-based approaches. Here, we compare a parametric method, dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis (DEC), against a parsimony-based method, dispersal-vicariance analysis (DIVA), which does not incorporate branch lengths but accounts for phylogenetic uncertainty through a Bayesian empirical approach (Bayes-DIVA). We analyse the benefits and limitations of each method using the cosmopolitan plant family Sapindaceae as a case study. Location World-wide. Methods Phylogenetic relationships were estimated by Bayesian inference on a large dataset representing generic diversity within Sapindaceae. Lineage divergence times were estimated by penalized likelihood over a sample of trees from the posterior distribution of the phylogeny to account for dating uncertainty in biogeographical reconstructions. We compared biogeographical scenarios between Bayes-DIVA and two different DEC models: one with no geological constraints and another that employed a stratified palaeogeographical model in which dispersal rates were scaled according to area connectivity across four time slices, reflecting the changing continental configuration over the last 110 million years. Results Despite differences in the underlying biogeographical model, Bayes-DIVA and DEC inferred similar biogeographical scenarios. The main differences were: (1) in the timing of dispersal events - which in Bayes-DIVA sometimes conflicts with palaeogeographical information, and (2) in the lower frequency of terminal dispersal events inferred by DEC. Uncertainty in divergence time estimations influenced both the inference of ancestral ranges and the decisiveness with which an area can be assigned to a node. Main conclusions By considering lineage divergence times, the DEC method gives more accurate reconstructions that are in agreement with palaeogeographical evidence. In contrast, Bayes-DIVA showed the highest decisiveness in unequivocally reconstructing ancestral ranges, probably reflecting its ability to integrate phylogenetic uncertainty. Care should be taken in defining the palaeogeographical model in DEC because of the possibility of overestimating the frequency of extinction events, or of inferring ancestral ranges that are outside the extant species ranges, owing to dispersal constraints enforced by the model. The wide-spanning spatial and temporal model proposed here could prove useful for testing large-scale biogeographical patterns in plants.

/pdf/an-evaluation-of-new-parsimony-based-versus-parametric-4ah2i85739.pdf

An evaluation of new parsimony‐based versus parametric inference methods in biogeography: a case study using the globally distributed plant family Sapindaceae

Spatio‐temporal history of the endemic genera of Madagascar

We compare the numbers of vascular plant species in the three major tropical areas. The Afrotropical Region (Africa south of the Sahara Desert plus Madagascar), roughly equal in size to the Latin American Region (Mexico southward), has only 56,451 recorded species (about 170 being added annually), as compared with 118,308 recorded species (about 750 being added annually) in Latin America. Southeast Asia, only a quarter the size of the other two tropical areas, has approximately 50,000 recorded species, with an average of 364 being added annually. Thus, Tropical Asia is likely to be proportionately richest in plant diversity, and for biodiversity in general, for its size. In the animal groups we reviewed, the patterns of species diversity were mostly similar except for mammals and butterflies. Judged from these relationships, Latin America may be home to at least a third of global biodiversity.

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/6/37/eabc6228.full.pdf

The distribution of biodiversity richness in the tropics

Background and aims - The Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar project aims to evaluate and enumerate the native and naturalized vascular plant flora of Madagascar. In light of the past two decades of intensive collecting and taxonomic work, all relevant published literature and available specimens are being reassessed in order to evaluate the taxonomic status and distribution of the native and naturalized taxa of vascular plants. Here we provide current figures for the total numbers of vascular plants and levels of endemism at the order, family, genus and species levels, comparing them to previous historical counts and analyzing the distribution of the non-endemic element of the flora. Key Results - At the time of writing (April 2010), more than a century after Baron first counted 4,100 species of vascular plants in Madagascar, the Madagascar Catalogue database had registered a total of 14,883 accepted names at all taxonomic levels (64 orders, 243 families, 1,730 genera, 11,220 species and 1,626 infraspecific taxa). Of the 11,220 species of vascular plants in Madagascar, 10,650 (95%) are angiosperms, of which 331 are naturalized introduced species. The remaining accepted indigenous angiosperm species total 10,319, of which 8,621 (84%) are endemic to Madagascar (82% endemism for all indigenous vascular plants). Among the 1,698 non-endemic species of indigenous angiosperms, a total of 1,372 (81%) also occur in Africa, of these 654 (39%) are present only in Africa and Madagascar.

The endemic and non-endemic vascular flora of Madagascar updated

The Genus Delonix (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae: Caesalpinieae) in Madagascar

A synopsis of the genera Coleus Lour, Equilabium A.J.Paton, Mwany. & Culham and Plectranthus L'Her. (Lamiaceae, Tribe Ocimeae, Subtribe Plecranthinae) is presented. Generic delimitation follows a recently published molecular phylogeny which identified Coleus as the sister of the remaining genera of Subtribe Plectranthinae; Plectranthus as sister to Tetradenia Benth. and Thorncroftia N.E.Br., and a separate phylogenetically distinct genus Equilabium comprising species previously placed in Plectranthus. In this treatment, 294 species of Coleus, 42 of Equilabium, and 72 of Plectranthus are recognized. All but one of the combinations in Equilabium are new as only the genus and type species have been previously published. Two-hundred and twelve names are changed to combinations in Coleus from Plectranthus, Pycnostachys Hook. and Anisochilus Benth.

Peter B. Phillipson

Papers

Spatio‐temporal history of the endemic genera of Madagascar

The distribution of biodiversity richness in the tropics

The endemic and non-endemic vascular flora of Madagascar updated

The Genus Delonix (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae: Caesalpinieae) in Madagascar

Nomenclatural changes in Coleus and Plectranthus (Lamiaceae): a tale of more than two genera.