Imminent Extinction of Australian Myrtaceae by Fungal Disease

Fensham, R. J.; Carnegie, Angus J.; Laffineur, Boris; Makinson, R. O.; Pegg, Geoff S.; Wills, Jarrah

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2020.03.012

Cited by 20 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We have severely reduced the biodiversity of food plants. As global climate changes expand the growth of pathogenic fungi and their vectors (Müller et al, 2009), conifers are being severely damaged by fungi that are expanding their ranges, and plants such as Australian myrtles and bananas may be severely endangered or rendered extinct by fungal invasions (Fensham et al, 2020; Comeau et al, 2014; Ploetz, 2015).…”

Section: The Destruction Of the Webs: How Environmental Changes Can Alter Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary developmental biology and sustainability: A biology of resilience

Gilbert

2021

Evolution and Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evolutionary developmental biology, and especially ecological developmental biology, is essential for discussions of sustainability and the responses to global climate change. First, this paper explores examples of animals that have successfully altered their development to accommodate human‐made changes to their environments. We next document the ability of global warming to disrupt the development of those organisms with temperature‐dependent sex‐determination or with phenologies coordinating that organism's development with those of other species. The thermotolerance of Homo sapiens is also related to key developmental factors concerning brain development and maintenance, and the development of corals, the keystone organisms of tropical reefs, is discussed in relation to global warming as well as to other anthropogenic changes. While teratogenic and endocrine‐disrupting compounds are not discussed in this essay, the ability of glyphosate herbicides to block insect development is highlighted. Last, the paper discusses the need to creatively integrate developmental biology with ecological, political, religious, and economic perspectives, as the flourishing of contemporary species may require altering the ways that Western science has considered the categories of nature, culture, and self.

show abstract

Section: The Destruction Of the Webs: How Environmental Changes Can Alter Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary developmental biology and sustainability: A biology of resilience

Gilbert

2021

Evolution and Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent evidence indicates that biotic and abiotic stresses may contribute to the decline in the population of tree species and may even lead to extinction. A good example for this is the fungal pathogen Austropuccinia psidii, which has caused a rapid decline in Rhodomyrtus psidioides population in Australia since 2012 (Fensham et al, 2020). The coupling of biotic stresses with weather extremes may be beyond the capability of some species to adapt to a changing climate (Schaberg et al, 2008;Sáenz-Romero et al, 2020).…”

Section: Economic and Ecological Impacts Of Combined Biotic And Abiotmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The coupling of biotic stresses with weather extremes may be beyond the capability of some species to adapt to a changing climate (Schaberg et al, 2008;Sáenz-Romero et al, 2020). This may result in a selective massive death of certain vulnerable species (Suarez et al, 2004) and may lead to local extirpations (Alfaro et al, 2014) and even extinction in the case of endemic species (Fensham et al, 2020). Thus, if the episodes of massive tree mortality caused by combined biotic and abiotic stresses (section The Effect of Combined Biotic and Abiotic Stresses on the Growth and Mortality of Forest Trees) continue even at current pace, the direct and indirect contribution of such stresses to the extinction of tree species may become a real threat at least to the already endangered species.…”

Section: Economic and Ecological Impacts Of Combined Biotic And Abiotmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the possible risk of increased outbreaks of domestic pests and diseases due to climate change (section Weather Extremes and Forest Disease/Pest Outbreaks) calls for better coping mechanisms. Thus, ex situ conservation and selection of resistant trees should be considered for endangered species of vulnerable natural forests (Fensham et al, 2020;Sáenz-Romero et al, 2020).…”

Section: Mitigation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Threat of the Combined Effect of Biotic and Abiotic Stress Factors in Forestry Under a Changing Climate

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plants encounter several biotic and abiotic stresses, usually in combination. This results in major economic losses in agriculture and forestry every year. Climate change aggravates the adverse effects of combined stresses and increases such losses. Trees suffer even more from the recurrence of biotic and abiotic stress combinations owing to their long lifecycle. Despite the effort to study the damage from individual stress factors, less attention has been given to the effect of the complex interactions between multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. In this review, we assess the importance, impact, and mitigation strategies of climate change driven interactions between biotic and abiotic stresses in forestry. The ecological and economic importance of biotic and abiotic stresses under different combinations is highlighted by their contribution to the decline of the global forest area through their direct and indirect roles in forest loss and to the decline of biodiversity resulting from local extinction of endangered species of trees, emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds, and reduction in the productivity and quality of forest products and services. The abiotic stress factors such as high temperature and drought increase forest disease and insect pest outbreaks, decrease the growth of trees, and cause tree mortality. Reports of massive tree mortality events caused by “hotter droughts” are increasing all over the world, affecting several genera of trees including some of the most important genera in plantation forests, such as Pine, Poplar, and Eucalyptus. While the biotic stress factors such as insect pests, pathogens, and parasitic plants have been reported to be associated with many of these mortality events, a considerable number of the reports have not taken into account the contribution of such biotic factors. The available mitigation strategies also tend to undermine the interactive effect under combined stresses. Thus, this discussion centers on mitigation strategies based on research and innovation, which build on models previously used to curb individual stresses.

show abstract

“…The capacity to provide such services has been found to be greatest in areas of highest diversity (Brandt et al 2014) yet rainforest diversity around the world continues to decline under pressure from logging and clearing for agriculture and mining (Corlett and Primack 2008;FAO 2015;Sommerville et al 2018). Additional pressures from drought, fire, disease and climate change are driving some species towards extinction (Costion et al 2015;Makinson 2018;Sommerville et al 2019;Amigo 2020;Fensham et al 2020;Halofsky et al 2020). There is a need to act quickly to conserve rainforest diversity in ex situ collections, both to guard against the extinction of individual species and to provide a source of material for restoring rainforest habitats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the storage potential of Australian rainforest seeds: a decision-making key to aid rapid conservation

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seed banking of rainforest species is hindered by lack of knowledge as to which species are tolerant of desiccation and freezing. We assessed 313 Australian rainforest species for seed banking suitability by comparing the germination percentage of fresh seeds to seeds dried at 15% RH and seeds stored at −20 °C after drying. We then compared desiccation responses to environmental, habit, fruit and seed characteristics to identify the most useful predictors of desiccation sensitivity. Of 162 species with ≥ 50% initial germination, 22% were sensitive to desiccation, 64% were tolerant and 10% were partially tolerant; the responses of 4% were uncertain. Of 107 desiccation tolerant species tested for response to freezing, 24% were freezing sensitive or short-lived in storage at −20 °C. Median values for fresh seed moisture content (SMC), oven dry weight (DW) and the likelihood of desiccation sensitivity (PD-S) were significantly greater for desiccation sensitive than desiccation tolerant seeds. Ninety-four to 97% of seeds with SMC < 29%, DW < 20 mg or PD-S < 0.01 were desiccation tolerant. Ordinal logistic regression of desiccation response against environmental, habit, fruit and seed characteristics indicated that the likelihood of desiccation sensitivity was significantly increased by a tree habit, fleshy fruit, increasing fresh SMC and increasing PD-S. The responses observed in this study were combined with earlier studies to develop a simple decision key to aid prediction of desiccation responses in untested rainforest species.

show abstract

Imminent Extinction of Australian Myrtaceae by Fungal Disease

Cited by 20 publications

References 10 publications

Evolutionary developmental biology and sustainability: A biology of resilience

Evolutionary developmental biology and sustainability: A biology of resilience

The Threat of the Combined Effect of Biotic and Abiotic Stress Factors in Forestry Under a Changing Climate

Assessing the storage potential of Australian rainforest seeds: a decision-making key to aid rapid conservation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About