MINOR IMPROVEMENTS <code>gbif_issues()</code> changes: three new occurrence issues ad... more MINOR IMPROVEMENTS <code>gbif_issues()</code> changes: three new occurrence issues added; one name issue removed that's deprecated (#423) <code>gbif_citation()</code> rights field was empty unless pulling from a downloaded file; now fill in with <code>license</code> key; also a fix for when occurrence key passed to the function (#424) <code>establishmentMeans</code> now supported in <code>occ_download</code>/<code>pred</code> (#420) BUG FIXES fix for <code>occ_download_get()</code>: response content-type header changed recently, fixed (#422)
NEW FEATURES Gains new functions occ_download_datasets and occ_download_dataset_activity to list ... more NEW FEATURES Gains new functions occ_download_datasets and occ_download_dataset_activity to list datasets for a download, and list the downloads activity of a dataset (#275) (#276) Gains a new vignette covering working with GBIF downloads in rgbif (#262) MINOR IMPROVEMENTS Guidance added to docs for downloads functions on length of the request body (#263) Changed authentication details (user name, password, email) for downloads to allow any of the options: pass in as arguments, store as R options, store as environment variables (#187) gbif_citation() function gains an S3 method for passing the output of occ_download_meta() to it. In addition, for downloads gbif_citation() now returns a citation for the entire download (including) its DOI, in addition to citations for each dataset (#274) thanks @dnoesgaard BUG FIXES Fix documentation bug in occ_count() : georeferenced had a misleading description of what the value FALSE did (#265) Fixed bug in gbifmap() - was failing in some cases - better error handlingn now (#271) thanks @TomaszSuchan Fixed occ_download_cancel_staged() : it wasn't passing on authentication parameters correctly (#280)
New Features Add <code>predict_proba</code> kwarg to bootstrap methods, to allow boot... more New Features Add <code>predict_proba</code> kwarg to bootstrap methods, to allow bootstrapping of scoring functions that take in probability values. (#700 via Adam Li) Add a <code>cell_values</code> parameter to <code>mlxtend.plotting.heatmap()</code> to optionally suppress cell annotations by setting <code>cell_values=False</code>. (#703 Changes Implemented both <code>use_clones</code> and <code>fit_base_estimators</code> (previously <code>refit</code> in <code>EnsembleVoteClassifier</code>) for <code>EnsembleVoteClassifier</code> and <code>StackingClassifier</code>. (#670 via Katrina Ni) Switched to using raw strings for regex in <code>mlxtend.text</code> to prevent deprecation warning in Python 3.8 (#688) Slice data in sequential forward selection before sending to parallel backend, reducing memory consumption. Bug Fixes Fixes axis DeprecationWarning in matplotlib v3.1.0 and newer. (#673) Fixes an issue with using <code>meshgrid</code> in <code>no_information_rate</code> function used by the <code>bootstrap_point632_score</code> function for the .632+ estimate. (#688) Fixes an issue in <code>fpmax</code> that could lead to incorrect support values. (#692 via Steve Harenberg)
The Cactaceae with c. 1,435 species are the most important plant family of the arid regions of th... more The Cactaceae with c. 1,435 species are the most important plant family of the arid regions of the Americas. Recent revisions and molecular studies resulted in an improved knowledge of the phylogeny and taxonomy of this group. Due to their high value as ornamental plants, countless publications with data on ecological preferences and geographic occurrence of the species are available. In this volume, the distribution areas of all cactus species are mapped. On this basis, we identified and characterized seven geographical centers of cactus diversity. Overall diversity patterns of the family, as well as, diversity patterns of all taxonomic subgroups, growth forms, and pollination syndromes are presented and mapped on the phylogeny of the Cactaceae. More than 50% of the species have extremely small distribution ranges, resulting in potential threat and insufficient coverage by existing protected areas. This volume presents the most comprehensive biogeographical analysis of one of the larger plant families, illustrated by 333 colored maps and c. 60 color figures on c. 200 pages.
Marine industries face a number of risks that necessitate careful analysis prior to making decisi... more Marine industries face a number of risks that necessitate careful analysis prior to making decisions on the siting of operations and facilities. An important emerging regulatory framework on environmental sustainability for business operations is the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standard 6 (IFC PS6). Within PS6, identification of biodiversity significance is articulated through the concept of “Critical Habitat”, a definition developed by the IFC and detailed through criteria aligned with those that support internationally accepted biodiversity designations. No publicly available tools have been developed in either the marine or terrestrial realm to assess the likelihood of sites or operations being located within PS6-defined Critical Habitat. This paper presents a starting point towards filling this gap in the form of a preliminary global map that classifies more than 13 million km2 of marine and coastal areas of importance for biodiversity (protected areas, Key Biodiversity Areas [KBA], sea turtle nesting sites, cold- and warm-water corals, seamounts, seagrass beds, mangroves, saltmarshes, hydrothermal vents and cold seeps) based on their overlap with Critical Habitat criteria, as defined by IFC. In total, 5798×103 km2 (1.6%) of the analysis area (global ocean plus coastal land strip) were classed as Likely Critical Habitat, and 7526×103 km2 (2.1%) as Potential Critical Habitat; the remainder (96.3%) were Unclassified. The latter was primarily due to the paucity of biodiversity data in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction and/or in deep waters, and the comparatively fewer protected areas and KBAs in these regions. Globally, protected areas constituted 65.9% of the combined Likely and Potential Critical Habitat extent, and KBAs 29.3%, not accounting for the overlap between these two features. Relative Critical Habitat extent in Exclusive Economic Zones varied dramatically between countries. This work is likely to be of particular use for industries operating in the marine and coastal realms as an early screening aid prior to in situ Critical Habitat assessment; to financial institutions making investment decisions; and to those wishing to implement good practice policies relevant to biodiversity management. Supplementary material (available online) includes other global datasets considered, documentation and justification of biodiversity feature classification, detail of IFC PS6 criteria/scenarios, and coverage calculations.
The availability and appropriate use of marine and coastal data form the foundation of effective ... more The availability and appropriate use of marine and coastal data form the foundation of effective decision-making. This manual aims to provide an overview of global marine and coastal datasets of biodiversity importance. The intention is to address the fragmented information and guidance for users of marine data. Although not exhaustive, this review has resulted in the identification of 78 datasets and/or databases and data portals. The report also includes detailed standardised metadata for 45 of these reviewed datasets (annex 3). The various challenges, gaps and limitations which can be presented by coastal and marine data are also discussed. If you have any comments or queries, please contact marine@unep-wcmc.org.
We have analysed the global patterns of moss species diversity based on a dataset created from ch... more We have analysed the global patterns of moss species diversity based on a dataset created from checklists, online databases, and herbarium records. We collected more than 100 000 distribution records for over 400 different geographical units and standardized species taxonomy using the TROPICOS database of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Maps of overall moss species richness, as well as individual maps for taxonomic orders of mosses, are provided. Based on our dataset, we did not find a general latitudinal gradient of increasing moss diversity with decreasing latitude. Several areas of temperate broadleaf forests, boreal forests, and tundra show relatively high species richness that is comparable to tropical regions. Centres of moss diversity include the northern Andes, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Japan, as well as the Himalayan region, Madagascar, the East African Highlands, central Europe, Scandinavia, and British Columbia. Our dataset presents the first collection of moss species inventories with global coverage. It contributes to documentation and understanding of global biogeographic patterns in mosses, helps to identify gaps in floristic knowledge, and could prove to be a valuable resource to aid taxonomic and systematic revisions or assessments of species and genera, by quickly and easily supplying an overview of the geographic distribution of a given taxon.
We analysed documented moss species numbers on a global scale with the aim to identify regions or... more We analysed documented moss species numbers on a global scale with the aim to identify regions or countries with possibly under-documented moss floras. European units (countries, administrative units) in general have much higher documented species numbers than extra-European units with similar area sizes. Especially South American and African units have relatively low documented species numbers. This is in contrast to the overall continental moss floras of these regions, which are almost twice as species rich compared to Europe. We identified possibly under-documented geographical units in each continent based on negative outliers in species-area plots. There is a negative correlation of species richness with the area of desert or grassland biomes in a geographical unit. Based on our dataset, the question of the existence of a general latitudinal gradient of increasing moss diversity with decreasing latitude has to be denied.
This book summarizes the outcomes of the conference on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of th... more This book summarizes the outcomes of the conference on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Right Livelihood Award in Bonn, Germany from September 14 – 19. Government agencies at the international, federal, state and local levels, businesses and NGOs assembled alongside academia, activists, entrepreneurs and students to have a dialogue with some 75 Right Livelihood Award (RLA) “Alternative Nobel Prize” laureates. The conference discussed and debated the most urgent crises facing humankind as well as offering creative solutions that can help us change course and reclaim our future.
"The Cactaceae are a characteristic element of the dry vegetation of the New World and the second... more "The Cactaceae are a characteristic element of the dry vegetation of the New World and the second largest family of succulent plants with 1,433 species (Hunt 2006). However, the virtually only hypotheses concerning the biogeography and evolutionary history of the complete family date back to Backeberg (1942), though there are recent analyses for sub-groups or above-family analyses with preliminary datasets (Barthlott 1983, Mutke & Barthlott 2005), we are now going to publish the first distribution atlas covering all Cactaceae species and additional analyses (Barthlott et al. 2011). The distribution data for all species have been revised with the help of several members of the International Organization for Succulent Plant Studies (IOS), especially David Hunt and Nigel Taylor.
Here, we present first biogeographical and macroecological analyses of the diversity patterns of this plant family. The main centres of species richness are Mexico (1. Chihuahua and adjacent deserts; 2. Puebla-Oaxaca), the dry Montane Forests and Puna of Bolivia and northern Argentina (Tucuman-Bolivian Centre) and South-Eastern Brazil (1. Caatinga, 2. Mata Atlantica) - each with different taxonomic groups dominating.
Though most species are easily recognized as being a cactus, the different clades of the family evolved to a high variety of life forms and ecological preferences. Analyzing the diversity patterns of taxonomical vs.. ecological subsets of species, the role of current environment and evolutionary history is currently investigated."
MINOR IMPROVEMENTS <code>gbif_issues()</code> changes: three new occurrence issues ad... more MINOR IMPROVEMENTS <code>gbif_issues()</code> changes: three new occurrence issues added; one name issue removed that's deprecated (#423) <code>gbif_citation()</code> rights field was empty unless pulling from a downloaded file; now fill in with <code>license</code> key; also a fix for when occurrence key passed to the function (#424) <code>establishmentMeans</code> now supported in <code>occ_download</code>/<code>pred</code> (#420) BUG FIXES fix for <code>occ_download_get()</code>: response content-type header changed recently, fixed (#422)
NEW FEATURES Gains new functions occ_download_datasets and occ_download_dataset_activity to list ... more NEW FEATURES Gains new functions occ_download_datasets and occ_download_dataset_activity to list datasets for a download, and list the downloads activity of a dataset (#275) (#276) Gains a new vignette covering working with GBIF downloads in rgbif (#262) MINOR IMPROVEMENTS Guidance added to docs for downloads functions on length of the request body (#263) Changed authentication details (user name, password, email) for downloads to allow any of the options: pass in as arguments, store as R options, store as environment variables (#187) gbif_citation() function gains an S3 method for passing the output of occ_download_meta() to it. In addition, for downloads gbif_citation() now returns a citation for the entire download (including) its DOI, in addition to citations for each dataset (#274) thanks @dnoesgaard BUG FIXES Fix documentation bug in occ_count() : georeferenced had a misleading description of what the value FALSE did (#265) Fixed bug in gbifmap() - was failing in some cases - better error handlingn now (#271) thanks @TomaszSuchan Fixed occ_download_cancel_staged() : it wasn't passing on authentication parameters correctly (#280)
New Features Add <code>predict_proba</code> kwarg to bootstrap methods, to allow boot... more New Features Add <code>predict_proba</code> kwarg to bootstrap methods, to allow bootstrapping of scoring functions that take in probability values. (#700 via Adam Li) Add a <code>cell_values</code> parameter to <code>mlxtend.plotting.heatmap()</code> to optionally suppress cell annotations by setting <code>cell_values=False</code>. (#703 Changes Implemented both <code>use_clones</code> and <code>fit_base_estimators</code> (previously <code>refit</code> in <code>EnsembleVoteClassifier</code>) for <code>EnsembleVoteClassifier</code> and <code>StackingClassifier</code>. (#670 via Katrina Ni) Switched to using raw strings for regex in <code>mlxtend.text</code> to prevent deprecation warning in Python 3.8 (#688) Slice data in sequential forward selection before sending to parallel backend, reducing memory consumption. Bug Fixes Fixes axis DeprecationWarning in matplotlib v3.1.0 and newer. (#673) Fixes an issue with using <code>meshgrid</code> in <code>no_information_rate</code> function used by the <code>bootstrap_point632_score</code> function for the .632+ estimate. (#688) Fixes an issue in <code>fpmax</code> that could lead to incorrect support values. (#692 via Steve Harenberg)
The Cactaceae with c. 1,435 species are the most important plant family of the arid regions of th... more The Cactaceae with c. 1,435 species are the most important plant family of the arid regions of the Americas. Recent revisions and molecular studies resulted in an improved knowledge of the phylogeny and taxonomy of this group. Due to their high value as ornamental plants, countless publications with data on ecological preferences and geographic occurrence of the species are available. In this volume, the distribution areas of all cactus species are mapped. On this basis, we identified and characterized seven geographical centers of cactus diversity. Overall diversity patterns of the family, as well as, diversity patterns of all taxonomic subgroups, growth forms, and pollination syndromes are presented and mapped on the phylogeny of the Cactaceae. More than 50% of the species have extremely small distribution ranges, resulting in potential threat and insufficient coverage by existing protected areas. This volume presents the most comprehensive biogeographical analysis of one of the larger plant families, illustrated by 333 colored maps and c. 60 color figures on c. 200 pages.
Marine industries face a number of risks that necessitate careful analysis prior to making decisi... more Marine industries face a number of risks that necessitate careful analysis prior to making decisions on the siting of operations and facilities. An important emerging regulatory framework on environmental sustainability for business operations is the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standard 6 (IFC PS6). Within PS6, identification of biodiversity significance is articulated through the concept of “Critical Habitat”, a definition developed by the IFC and detailed through criteria aligned with those that support internationally accepted biodiversity designations. No publicly available tools have been developed in either the marine or terrestrial realm to assess the likelihood of sites or operations being located within PS6-defined Critical Habitat. This paper presents a starting point towards filling this gap in the form of a preliminary global map that classifies more than 13 million km2 of marine and coastal areas of importance for biodiversity (protected areas, Key Biodiversity Areas [KBA], sea turtle nesting sites, cold- and warm-water corals, seamounts, seagrass beds, mangroves, saltmarshes, hydrothermal vents and cold seeps) based on their overlap with Critical Habitat criteria, as defined by IFC. In total, 5798×103 km2 (1.6%) of the analysis area (global ocean plus coastal land strip) were classed as Likely Critical Habitat, and 7526×103 km2 (2.1%) as Potential Critical Habitat; the remainder (96.3%) were Unclassified. The latter was primarily due to the paucity of biodiversity data in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction and/or in deep waters, and the comparatively fewer protected areas and KBAs in these regions. Globally, protected areas constituted 65.9% of the combined Likely and Potential Critical Habitat extent, and KBAs 29.3%, not accounting for the overlap between these two features. Relative Critical Habitat extent in Exclusive Economic Zones varied dramatically between countries. This work is likely to be of particular use for industries operating in the marine and coastal realms as an early screening aid prior to in situ Critical Habitat assessment; to financial institutions making investment decisions; and to those wishing to implement good practice policies relevant to biodiversity management. Supplementary material (available online) includes other global datasets considered, documentation and justification of biodiversity feature classification, detail of IFC PS6 criteria/scenarios, and coverage calculations.
The availability and appropriate use of marine and coastal data form the foundation of effective ... more The availability and appropriate use of marine and coastal data form the foundation of effective decision-making. This manual aims to provide an overview of global marine and coastal datasets of biodiversity importance. The intention is to address the fragmented information and guidance for users of marine data. Although not exhaustive, this review has resulted in the identification of 78 datasets and/or databases and data portals. The report also includes detailed standardised metadata for 45 of these reviewed datasets (annex 3). The various challenges, gaps and limitations which can be presented by coastal and marine data are also discussed. If you have any comments or queries, please contact marine@unep-wcmc.org.
We have analysed the global patterns of moss species diversity based on a dataset created from ch... more We have analysed the global patterns of moss species diversity based on a dataset created from checklists, online databases, and herbarium records. We collected more than 100 000 distribution records for over 400 different geographical units and standardized species taxonomy using the TROPICOS database of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Maps of overall moss species richness, as well as individual maps for taxonomic orders of mosses, are provided. Based on our dataset, we did not find a general latitudinal gradient of increasing moss diversity with decreasing latitude. Several areas of temperate broadleaf forests, boreal forests, and tundra show relatively high species richness that is comparable to tropical regions. Centres of moss diversity include the northern Andes, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Japan, as well as the Himalayan region, Madagascar, the East African Highlands, central Europe, Scandinavia, and British Columbia. Our dataset presents the first collection of moss species inventories with global coverage. It contributes to documentation and understanding of global biogeographic patterns in mosses, helps to identify gaps in floristic knowledge, and could prove to be a valuable resource to aid taxonomic and systematic revisions or assessments of species and genera, by quickly and easily supplying an overview of the geographic distribution of a given taxon.
We analysed documented moss species numbers on a global scale with the aim to identify regions or... more We analysed documented moss species numbers on a global scale with the aim to identify regions or countries with possibly under-documented moss floras. European units (countries, administrative units) in general have much higher documented species numbers than extra-European units with similar area sizes. Especially South American and African units have relatively low documented species numbers. This is in contrast to the overall continental moss floras of these regions, which are almost twice as species rich compared to Europe. We identified possibly under-documented geographical units in each continent based on negative outliers in species-area plots. There is a negative correlation of species richness with the area of desert or grassland biomes in a geographical unit. Based on our dataset, the question of the existence of a general latitudinal gradient of increasing moss diversity with decreasing latitude has to be denied.
This book summarizes the outcomes of the conference on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of th... more This book summarizes the outcomes of the conference on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Right Livelihood Award in Bonn, Germany from September 14 – 19. Government agencies at the international, federal, state and local levels, businesses and NGOs assembled alongside academia, activists, entrepreneurs and students to have a dialogue with some 75 Right Livelihood Award (RLA) “Alternative Nobel Prize” laureates. The conference discussed and debated the most urgent crises facing humankind as well as offering creative solutions that can help us change course and reclaim our future.
"The Cactaceae are a characteristic element of the dry vegetation of the New World and the second... more "The Cactaceae are a characteristic element of the dry vegetation of the New World and the second largest family of succulent plants with 1,433 species (Hunt 2006). However, the virtually only hypotheses concerning the biogeography and evolutionary history of the complete family date back to Backeberg (1942), though there are recent analyses for sub-groups or above-family analyses with preliminary datasets (Barthlott 1983, Mutke & Barthlott 2005), we are now going to publish the first distribution atlas covering all Cactaceae species and additional analyses (Barthlott et al. 2011). The distribution data for all species have been revised with the help of several members of the International Organization for Succulent Plant Studies (IOS), especially David Hunt and Nigel Taylor.
Here, we present first biogeographical and macroecological analyses of the diversity patterns of this plant family. The main centres of species richness are Mexico (1. Chihuahua and adjacent deserts; 2. Puebla-Oaxaca), the dry Montane Forests and Puna of Bolivia and northern Argentina (Tucuman-Bolivian Centre) and South-Eastern Brazil (1. Caatinga, 2. Mata Atlantica) - each with different taxonomic groups dominating.
Though most species are easily recognized as being a cactus, the different clades of the family evolved to a high variety of life forms and ecological preferences. Analyzing the diversity patterns of taxonomical vs.. ecological subsets of species, the role of current environment and evolutionary history is currently investigated."
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Here, we present first biogeographical and macroecological analyses of the diversity patterns of this plant family. The main centres of species richness are Mexico (1. Chihuahua and adjacent deserts; 2. Puebla-Oaxaca), the dry Montane Forests and Puna of Bolivia and northern Argentina (Tucuman-Bolivian Centre) and South-Eastern Brazil (1. Caatinga, 2. Mata Atlantica) - each with different taxonomic groups dominating.
Though most species are easily recognized as being a cactus, the different clades of the family evolved to a high variety of life forms and ecological preferences. Analyzing the diversity patterns of taxonomical vs.. ecological subsets of species, the role of current environment and evolutionary history is currently investigated."
Here, we present first biogeographical and macroecological analyses of the diversity patterns of this plant family. The main centres of species richness are Mexico (1. Chihuahua and adjacent deserts; 2. Puebla-Oaxaca), the dry Montane Forests and Puna of Bolivia and northern Argentina (Tucuman-Bolivian Centre) and South-Eastern Brazil (1. Caatinga, 2. Mata Atlantica) - each with different taxonomic groups dominating.
Though most species are easily recognized as being a cactus, the different clades of the family evolved to a high variety of life forms and ecological preferences. Analyzing the diversity patterns of taxonomical vs.. ecological subsets of species, the role of current environment and evolutionary history is currently investigated."