Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), allowing DNA sequences alone (of any region and extent) to serve as types of taxon names for voucherless fungi (mainly putative taxa from environmental DNA sequences), have been submitted to be voted on at the 11th International Mycological Congress (Puerto Rico, July 2018). We consider various genetic processes affecting the distribution of alleles among taxa and find that alleles may not consistently and uniquely represent the species within which they are contained. Should the proposals be accepted, the meaning of nomenclatural types would change in a fundamental way from physical objects as sources of data to the data themselves. Such changes are conducive to irreproducible science, the potential typification on artefactual data, and massive creation of names with low information content, ultimately causing nomenclatural instability and unnecessary work for future researchers that would stall future explorations of fungal diversity. We conclude that the acceptance of DNA sequences alone as types of names of taxa, under the terms used in the current proposals, is unnecessary and would not solve the problem of naming putative taxa known only from DNA sequences in a scientifically defensible way. As an alternative, we highlight the use of formulas for naming putative taxa (candidate taxa) that do not require any modification of the ICN.
Since 1998 the Valencian Community (Spain) has pioneered the establishment of plant micro-reserves (PMR), which has resulted in a network currently comprising 299 sites. The PMR are compatible with large protected areas including natural parks (NP, 22 areas). In fact, 73 PMR are included within the NP network (internal subnet of PMR) and 226 PMR are outside NP (external subnet). Here we analyze how the PMR network complements that of NP in capturing rare (RS, twp categories), endemic (ES, three categories) and endangered (TS, four categories) plants. The external subnet increases the number of plant species with territorial protection by 10.8% in RS, 15.8% in ES and 21.0% in TS categories. Additionally, when comparing number of species in the external and internal PMR subnets not shared with the alternative subnet type, the former has higher absolute and relative values for the nine categories analyzed. We propose that the internal network should be increased only to capture populations of the species that are not included in the external subnet.
(Clerc 1984a(Clerc , b, 1987a(Clerc , b, c, 1991(Clerc , 1992(Clerc , 1994(Clerc , 1997(Clerc , 1998Myllys 1994; Halonen & Puolasmaa, 1995;Halonen 1997) and have provided valuable information on this difficult genus of fruticose lichens, so that accurate identification of especially SW European species is now possible. Usnea species are frequent and abundant in cork-oak forests on Quercus suber, where they attain a high degree of coverage on branches and a scattered growth on boles. The lack of updated studies on the systematics, floristic and ecology of the genus Usnea in Spain prompted us to focus on this genus.Quercus suber is a Western Mediterranean endemic, distributed both in Europe and North Africa. It occurs preferentially in siliceous areas with a warm Mediterranean climate with oceanic influence. Its distributional area covers a total of 2-35 M Ha, of which about 1-18 M Ha are found in Spain and Portugal (Montoya 1988). Cork-oak forests are mainly distributed in the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula, although scattered localities are numerous, including the Catalonian (Barcelona and Girona) and Valencian (Valencia and Castellon) areas. The cork oak can be found in several biogeographic provinces, in the thermo-and mesomediterranean vegetation belts with dry to hyperhumid ombroclimates (terminology of bioclimatic zones follows Rivas-Martinez 1987). This biogeographical and bioclimatological
The influence on uptake and water loss of the structural changes experienced by Parmelia acetabulum during thallus development were investigated. Small specimens were characterized by flat lobes and a thin thallus and cortex. Large specimens appeared strongly rugose, imbricate and irregularly folded, and had a significantly thicker cortex and medulla than small thalli. Maximum water storage capacity did not differ between large and small thalli, although water retention was much higher in large thalli, presumably due to the interaction of structural characteristics and a higher boundary layer resistance. This translated into a longer duration of the period of thallus hydration in large thalli compared to small thalli. Incubation of thalli in water-vapour-saturated atmospheres induced full recovery of photosynthetic electron transport to the values before desiccation in small thalli but only induced a partial recovery in large thalli. The close correlation between photosynthetic electron transport and net photosynthesis during desiccation found in this species suggested that carbon-fixation activity could be regained to a larger extent by incubation of thalli in water vapour in small compared to large thalli. The higher ability for water vapour uptake of small thalli might allow them to efficiently use small amounts of intermittently available water or periods of high relative humidity. The significance of this differential ability to utilize water is discussed with regard to the known ecological preferences of the species.
The Valencian Community (eastern Spain) was the pioneer territory establishing plant micro-reserves (PMRs). Its model to protect small sites for endemic and endangered plants has been exported to several countries around the globe. This paper highlights 1) the role of PMRs to complement the protection provided by large protected areas, 2) how the establishment of PMRs fosters the increase of floristic knowledge, and 3) the fact that continuous monitoring of PMRs also yields new records of endangered species found within the same PMRs. The flexibility of the PMR approach -it can be adapted to other national and regional legislations- allows its transfer to other rich-biodiversity regions and countries such as China.
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