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Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre
Newsletter | June 2022
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Thank you for joining "Hylla myllret"!
On May 21 and 22 GGBC partners including the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, Slottsskogen, Gothenburg Natural History Museum, Nordens Ark, and the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, together with several other organisations, came together to celebrate biodiversity day. Workshops, guided walks and lectures took place at Trädgårdsföreningen, Slottsskogen and Botaniska.
Hylla myllret can be loosely translated as "praise the swarm," and many of the events were set around the theme of pollination. Thank you to all who participated for this biodiversity celebration! We are already planning to be back next year.
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Celebrate Nordic wildflowers
with Västkuststiftelsen this Sunday
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June 19th is " De vilda blommornas dag" (The Day of Wild Flowers). To celebrate the day, Västkuststiftelsen will offer seven guided walks in areas of high botanical interest across Western Sweden in Uddevalla, Karlsborg, Vårgårda, Vänersborg, Götene and Orust municipalities.
This initiative started in 1980 in Denmark, with an aim of offering guided walks with a botanical focus across the Nordic countries. Sweden joined the initiative in 2002 with Svenska Botaniska Föreningen (Swedish Botanical Society) as the main organiser. |
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You can find Västkuststiftelsen's program here.
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Why do birch and common mugwort cause allergies? Åslög Dahl explains
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Åslög Dahl has created a model for predicting the severity of next year's birch pollen season already in July using phenology and weather data. However, the model is more reliable in Western Sweden, than on the East Coast due to occasional waves of pollen arriving from Poland and Ukraine. Åslög also explains why birch pollen - but not pollen from spruce or pine - causes allergies.
Listen to the program on pollen from Sveriges Radio here (in Swedish), and listen to Åslög from 02:24 to 05:12.
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Kennet Lundin casts light on a mysterious mollusc
on Naturmorgon
On the popular Swedish Radio program Naturmorgon Kennet Lundin answers a question from a listener who has spotted an unusual marine mollusc off the west coast of Sweden. The creature is a Nassarius nitidus (stor nätsnäcka) - a scavenger that can do somersaults, smell its food with a long siphon and spends a lot of time buried in sand. Find out more about this unusual organism by listening to the interview (in Swedish). |
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IVL's John Munthe reflects on Stockholm+50
The UN's international environmental meeting Stockholm+50 took place on June 2nd and 3rd with the theme ”A healthy planet for all – our responsibility, our opportunity." The meeting celebrates 50 years of environmental action taken since the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, also held in Stockholm.
Among the attendees was GGBC'er John Munthe from IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute. IVL interviewed John before the meeting, where he spoke about positive developments, as well as the challenges in addressing multiple goals at once in light of the conference programme.
The conference resulted in a statement from the host nations, Sweden and Kenya, which highlights a number of calls for concrete measures. John reflected that "...the statement is quite generally formulated and with a focus on human welfare, but points in the right direction. Biodiversity is included as an underlying condition for our welfare. The future will show if the meeting was fruitful!" |
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Only 25% of Sweden's environmental goals reached
Preceding the Stockholm+50 meeting, Dagens Nyheter (DN) spoke to leading Swedish scientists to map and review Sweden’s environmental commitments since 1972. According to researchers, just over 25% of the goals have been met and some of the goals that have been met are considered to be vague and unambitious.
Alexandre Antonelli is quoted in the article, calling the situation a catastrophe, with widespread clear-cutting, eutrophication of water bodies and uncontrolled invasive species among major ongoing challenges.
Read the whole article (in Swedish) here (subscription required). |
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Should ecocide be an international crime?
Ecocide, the ecological and environmental destruction on a large scale, is a concept that was proposed as an international crime already in the 1970s. While support for the proposal is increasing in the EU and among various organisations in Sweden, legislation that would make ecocide a crime is not popular among the majority of the Swedish government, according to Dagens Nyheter (DN).
Alexandre Antonelli believes that the legislation should have been introduced a long time ago. In an interview with DN he says, “this would allow for the responsibility for environmental degradation to shift from the collective to the individual leaders and decision makers and for the subject to receive due attention.”
Read the whole article (in Swedish) here (subscription required).
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A Biodiversity Guide for Business:
a new report from WWF
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The biodiversity crisis cannot be solved by research and conservation efforts alone. Trade and industry must also step up making nature-positive business models part of the solution. A new report by the WWF aims to support transition to more sustainable business practices.
Read the full report from WWF here.
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In June Adrian Hill held his introductory PhD seminar entitled "Patterns of diversification and abundance in neotropical palm" and Rhonda Ridley held her final MSc presentation on "Species delimitation in Genipa L., Rubiaceae using an integrative taxonomy approach". Both projects were supervised by Christine Bacon at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Gothenburg.
Congratulations Rhonda and Adrian!
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On June 8th, four master’s thesis projects on various aspects of biodiversity and production supervised by Ulrika Palme were presented at the Department od Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers University of Technology:
- Alina Ridderstad and Hanna Comstedt (pictured above with Ulrika): Biodiversity at Nudie Jeans - case study on the impacts of cotton farming on biodiversity
- Maja Häggström and Viktor Lundmark: Assessing biodiversity impact from food biobased production – the case of pork (in cooperation with RISE)
- Linnéa Rydin and Victoria Svensson: Production of biomethanol from renewable resources – a life cycle assessment with incorporation of biodiversity (in cooperation with Södra Skogsägarna
- Jenny Eberger and Katrin Amann: Possibilities and challenges when preserving biodiversity in Swedish forestry – a case study with individual forest owners
The first two of the projects were also supported by Allison Perrigo. The finalized reports will be available through Chalmers later this summer.
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PhD position in evolutionarily sustainable approaches to pest control
Luc Bussière at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BioEnv) is searching for a doctoral student to explore effects of dose-dependent heritability on biopesticide resistance in heterogeneous environments, carry out quantitative genetic experiments and metapopulation modelling. Does this sound like the perfect job for you or someone you know? Apply and/or share widely!
Read more and apply here. Deadline: July 4th 2022
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Postdoc in computational ecology
Are you interested in quantifying the effects of herbivory on vegetation structure under natural conditions and the potential implications for global climate? If so, check out this three-year postdoctoral position with Søren Faurby at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Senckenberg Research Institute in Germany, Lund University in Sweden and the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate (BECC) strategic research area. Does this sound like the perfect job for you or someone you know? Apply and/or share widely!
Read more and apply here. Deadline: July 15th 2022 |
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Professorship in botany with a focus on systematics, taxonomy, and plant geography
Herbarium GB at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Gothenburg and the Gothenburg Botanical Garden have announced a position as full professor in Botany, with a focus on systematics, taxonomy, and plant geography. The tasks include developing collaboration between the University of Gothenburg and the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, developing research and activities around digital accessibility of collections, communicating the importance of herbaria and botanical gardens for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity to the general public, authorities, decision-makers and media. Does this sound like the perfect job for you or someone you know?
Read more and apply and/or share widely! Deadline: September 30th 2022 |
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Member Research Highlights
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Growth rings show limited evidence for ungulates’ potential to suppress shrubs across the Arctic
Global warming leads to shrubification of tundra vegetation. This study, led by Katariina Vuorinen and including Mats Björkman and Robert Björk, investigated the suppression of shrub growth by grazing by large mammals. Data on birch and willow stem radial growth as well as herbivore density and climate data were analysed. Effect of herbivore density on variation in radial growth of the shrubs was much less pronounced than climatic factors, especially temperatures. The study shows that compensation of climate change-induced vegetation changes by grazing cannot be taken for granted as it depends on climate, among other factors.
Read the publication in Environmental Research Letters
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Winters are changing: snow effects on Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems
Christian Rixen et al. including Mats Björkman review the role of snow cover in the ecology of cold biomes. They also compare natural snow gradient studies and snow manipulation studies. They find that experimental removal or addition of snow leads to only a limited amount of days of advance or delay of snow melt. Meanwhile, melt time variation across natural gradients related to topography can be as much as two months and is just as, if not more, dependent on temperature and radiation as snow cover. Snow and changes in snow cover are key drivers of ecological processes in cold ecosystems and the mismatch between snow manipulation experiments and natural variabilities needs to be considered in snow cover projections and when drawing ecological conclusions.
Read the publication in Arctic Science
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Molecular taxonomic identification and species-level phylogeny of the narrow-mouthed frogs of the genus Rhombophryne (Anura: Microhylidae: Cophylinae) from Madagascar
The diversity of Madagascar’s diamond frogs (genus Rhombophryne) is likely to be underestimated due to limited available specimens. Likewise, the phylogenetic relationships within the genus are poorly understood. A team led by Francesco Belluardo and including Alexandre Antonelli generated DNA sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA as well as a multi-locus dataset to revise the existing taxonomic assignments of published records and to infer a species-level phylogenetic hypothesis. In addition to 20 already described species the authors identify 10 candidate species. They also propose six main species groups.
Read the publication in Systematics and Biodiversity
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Ontogeny, Phylotypic Periods, Paedomorphosis, and Ontogenetic Systematics
In commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the British zoologist Walter Garstang's theory of paedomorphosis, Alexander Martynov and colleagues including Kennet Lundin review key terms linking ontogeny and evolution. One of the main achievements of evolutionary developmental biology is the understanding that in the Metazoa, changes in the different developmental stages in ontogeny, known as phylotypic periods, are among the driving forces in speciation. This is especially evident in marine invertebrates. However, the basic concept of ontogeny as a central process in shaping biodiversity is often neglected in modern methods of phylogenetic inference. The view of ontogeny as a secondary reflection of phylogeny largely persists, even though phylogeny is a modification of ontogenetic cycles throughout time. Thus, there is a need to revisit Garstang's work and refine the concepts.
Read the publication in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Statement concerning collaboration with Russian researchers: The Västra Götaland regional administration has cancelled all formal collaboration with research institutions in Russia, but it is still possible for staff to have contact with individual Russian researchers, the latter who are in a difficult situation. Thus, I find it reasonable to continue to finish papers that are in a late stage of process of publication, such as this one. /Kennet Lundin 2022-06-13
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Re-establishment of Silene neglecta Ten. (Caryophyllaceae) with taxonomic notes on some related taxa
Llorenç Sáez, Melilia Mesbah, Bengt Oxelman and collaborators show that the name Silene neglecta Ten. should be applied to a species occurring in the Central and Western Mediterranean area. This is contrary to a recent study that argued that the name Silene mutabilis should be applied to this taxon, but morphometric studies strongly rejected this. Furthermore, the study supported that Silene mutabilis, in accordance with most contemporary taxonomic treatments, can be considered conspecific to the globally widespread weed Silene nocturna. Finally, the recently described Silene martinolii Bocchieri & Mulas, an alleged endemic species to south-western Sardinia, was considered a taxonomic synonym of Silene neglecta. In botanical nomenclature, the oldest validly published name has priority, starting with Linnaeus ”Species Plantarum” from 1753.
Read the publication in PhytoKeys
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The role of phenotypic plasticity in the establishment of range margins
In this study Martin Eriksson and Marina Rafajlović use a population genetics model to investigate how evolution of phenotypic plasticity influences the establishment of range limits for an arbitrary population. Under the assumption that there is a fitness cost of plasticity, an analytical formula is derived that describes how the locally optimal plasticity increases with local environmental heterogeneity. It is argued that when no costs or limitations of plasticity exist, the population eventually evolves a completely plastic phenotype, and the population may expand its range without limits. Furthermore, costs of plasticity, if present, are likely to be very small for low plasticity (and hence potentially hard to detect) but increasing in an accelerating manner as plasticity increases (i.e., cost-functions for plasticity are likely to be concave). The analytical calculations are complemented with individual-based simulations.
Read the publication in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
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Recent and local diversification of Central American understorey palms
Understorey palms are a key component of the hyper-diverse Central American tropical rain forests. Ángela Cano and colleagues including Tobias Andermann, Christine Bacon, Mats Töpel and Alexandre Antonelli set out to elucidate when the group reached its diversity and whether it evolved locally or arrived from adjacent regions. Based on a target sequence-capture analysis of genomic DNA from 218 live specimens, they conclude that most understorey palms characteristic of tropical rain forests hyper-diversified starting 12 million years ago and evolved locally following repeated dispersal events, primarily from South America. Together with fossil record and data on 54 other angiosperm lineages, this supports relatively recent origins of Central American tropical rain forest diversity compared with that of South America’s, which dates back 58 million years.
Read the publication in Global Ecology and Biogeography
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Have you recently published using your GGBC affiliation?
Email the publication link to anna.pielach@bioenv.gu.se and we will share your paper!
Are you a GGBC member publishing biodiversity-related research?
Don't forget to use this affiliation in addition to your main employment affiliation(s):
Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Box 461, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Seagrass Posidonia australis is the largest known plant on the planet
A seagrass polyploid clone that has spread by rhizomes over 200 sq km of seafloor in Shark Bay off Australia’s west coast is believed to be 4,500 years old and is yet another organism laying claim to the "largest known plant" title. The find was made by scientists who looked for genetic differences between the species' populations and instead found that samples taken 180 km apart were genetically identical. Read more on the University of Western Australia's website. |
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Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre
Box 461, 40530, Gothenburg, SWEDEN
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