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Carex section Junciformes is one of the most diverse groups of the genus in South America, consisting of approximately 30 species. Here we describe a new species, Carex recondita, belonging to this section. We studied its placement within a molecular phylogeny of the group and found it to constitute an independent lineage. The new species is morphologically very close to C. austroamericana, from southern Patagonia, despite being phylogenetically divergent to the rest of Patagonian species of sect. Junciformes. So far, this species is known only from a few specimens recently collected in its type locality, despite growing in a well-collected area in the Andes of Metropolitana Region of Santiago, the most populated administrative region of Chile. We provide a detailed morphological description, comments on its relationship with other Southern Cone species of sect. Junciformes and relevant ecological notes.

Carex hartmaniorum (sect. Racemosae, Cyperaceae) is reported for the first time for Spain, from a single known population in the Cerdanya region (Eastern Pyrenees, Girona province). The main differences with closely related taxa are highlighted, a dichotomous key to differentiate this species from members of section Racemosae inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees is presented, and some comments on its distribution and ecology are made. A preliminary conservation assessment for Spain resulted in the proposal of the Endangered category of C. hartmaniorum for Spain.

The knowledge of the genus Carex L. (Cyperaceae) in South America is scattered, without recent comprehensive treatments for any country. Within the continent, Chile is the country that harbors the most diversity, being the second in species richness and the first in endemic taxa. However, Chilean botanists must resort to several Argentinian floras for species identification, although these works leave uncovered many Chilean species. This has led many researchers and amateurs to neglect the amazing diversity of the genus in the country. In this work, we summarize the results of several years of research on the genus Carex in Chile. We here formally report six new national records, including the reinstatement of the Nahuelbuta endemism Carex reicheana Boeckeler. Also, relevant changes (regional additions or significant distributional changes) are reported for another 33 species, and nomenclatural comments on problematic names are given. The catalogue of Carex for Chile is updated with our own findings and previous published reports from 82 to 96 species.

Knowledge of Carex L. (true sedges) and Hypericum L. (St. John's wort) in the Neotropics is fragmentary.As a result of a fieldwork campaign in Ecuador and revision of herbarium collections (K, QCA and QCNE), we present here relevant records of twelve Carex (Cyperaceae) and four Hypericum (Hypericaceae) species. Regarding Carex, we present the novel report for South America of C. aztecica, as well as the first Ecuadorian records for C. brehmeri, C. collumanthus, C. fecunda, C. melanocystis and C. punicola. The three later records have additional biogeographical significance, as they represent the new northern limit of these species. We also include observations for another five species included in the Ecuadorian Red List of Endemic Plants. As a result, the list of native Carex reported for Ecuador would now include 52 taxa. With regard to Hypericum, we include the new report of H. sprucei for the province of Bolívar, and the confirmation of the presence of three rare species (H. acostanum, H. matangense, H. prietoi) in their type localities, although with extremely low population sizes. We discuss their conservation status and implications.

Despite centuries of work, the basic taxonomic knowledge of the flora of the Iberian Peninsula is still incomplete, especially for highly diverse and/or difficult genera such as Carex. In this study, we conducted an integrative systematic study based on molecular, morphological and cytogenetic data to elucidate the taxonomic status of several problematic Carex populations from La Mancha region (S Spain) belonging to Carex sect. Phacocystis. These populations have been traditionally considered of uncertain taxonomic adscription, but close to C. reuteriana due to their morphological appearance and ecological preferences. A detailed morphological and cytogenetic study was performed on 16 La Mancha’s problematic populations (Sierra Madrona and Montes de Toledo) to compare them with the other Iberian sect. Phacocystis species. In addition, a phylogenetic analysis was conducted using two nuclear (ITS, ETS) and two plastid (rpl32‐trnLUAG, ycf6‐psbM) DNA regions, including representatives from all species of sect. Phacocystis. We found a significant degree of molecular and morphological differentiation that supports the recognition of La Mancha’s problematic populations as a new Iberian endemic species, described here as Carex quixotiana Ben.Benítez, Martín-Bravo, Luceño & Jim.Mejías. Our results reveal that C. quixotiana, unexpectedly, is more closely related to C. nigra than to C. reuteriana on the basis of phylogenetic relationships and chromosome number. These contrasting patterns reflect the taxonomic complexity in sect. Phacocystis and highlight the need for integrative systematic approaches to disentangle such complicated evolutionary scenarios.

Geographic isolation and chromosome evolution are two of the major drivers of diversification in eukaryotes in general, and specifically, in plants. On one hand, range shifts induced by Pleistocene glacial oscillations deeply shaped the evolutionary trajectories of species in the Northern Hemisphere. On the other hand, karyotype variability within species or species complexes may have adaptive potential as different karyotypes may represent different recombination rates and linkage groups that may be associated with locally adapted genes or supergenes. Organisms with holocentric chromosomes are ideal to study the link between local adaptation and chromosome evolution, due to their high cytogenetic variability, especially when it seems to be related to environmental variation. Here, we integrate the study of the phylogeography, chromosomal evolution and ecological requirements of a plant species complex distributed in the Western Euro‐Mediterranean region (Carex gr. laevigata, Cyperaceae). We aim to clarify the relative influence of these factors on population differentiation and ultimately on speciation. We obtained a well‐resolved RADseq phylogeny that sheds light on the phylogeographic patterns of molecular and chromosome number variation, which are compatible with south‐to‐north postglacial migration. In addition, landscape genomics analyses identified candidate loci for local adaptation, and also strong significant associations between the karyotype and the environment. We conclude that karyotype distribution in C. gr. laevigata has been constrained by both range shift dynamics and local adaptation. Our study demonstrates that chromosome evolution may be responsible, at least partially, for microevolutionary patterns of population differentiation and adaptation in Carex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archer's sedge (Carex archeri Boott) is a small, rare (or possibly overlooked by collectors due to the diminutive size) species restricted to alpine and subalpine habitats in south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. The systematic placement has been obscure with the species having been historically associated with sections in four of the six recognised Carex subgenera. We investigated the placement of C. archeri by addition to the available Carex molecular phylogenetic framework. Our results support C. archeri belonging to sect. Junciformes (in subg. Psyllophorae), making this the only representative of the subgenus in Australia. This placement was first proposed by Kükenthal (1909) who regarded C. archeri as a synonym of the New Zealand endemic C. acicularis Boott but our phylogenetic analyses support C. archeri as a separate taxon. Our approach highlights the utility of molecular barcoding for elucidating systematic relationships of poorly known taxa. Biogeographic reconstruction suggests Late Miocene dispersal from South America to the south-western Pacific but does not clarify whether New Zealand or Australia was colonised first. We evaluate the conservation status of Carex archeri using IUCN criteria as Endangered at the global level. At the state level, we propose Critically Endangered status in New South Wales, Endangered in Victoria and Data Deficient in Tasmania. The systematic affinities and biogeographic history of the Australian endemic Carex archeri are assessed for the first time. This species has traditionally been associated with different sections belonging to four of the six currently recognised Carex subgenera, however our robust results imply that C. archeri is the only representative of the subgenus in Australia. We discuss the biogeographic pattern and present a complete conservation assessment following IUCN categories and criteria. (Image credit: Ana Morales-Alonso.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Calibration of hydrologic models estimates parameter values that cannot be measured and enable the rainfall-runoff processes simulation. Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms can make the calibration faster and more efficient through an iterative process. However, the standard stopping criterion used to stop the iterative process is to reach a pre-defined number of iterations defined by the modeller. Alternatively, the Ticona stopping criterion is based on the minimum number of iterations required to achieve a determined number of non-dominated solutions in the Pareto front, resulting in a reduction of the computational time without losing performance during the calibration processes. We evaluated the Ticona stopping criterion in the Tank Model calibration. The calibration processes were performed using data from two river basins, with three genetic algorithms and two objective functions. The Ticona stopping criterion required a computational time 27.4% to 44.1% lower than using the standard stopping criterion and were obtaining similar results in simulated streamflow time series and similar values of the best set of parameters.

Carex camposii Boiss. & Reut., endemic to high mountain ranges in Southern Iberian Peninsula (Sierra Nevada, Sierra de los Filabres and Sierra de Baza), is a morphologically and molecularly well-defined species included in Carex gr. laevigata (subg. Carex, sect. Spirostachyae). We have discovered a population of a morphologically similar species to C. camposii in a different mountain range (Sierra de Tejeda), that displayed some deviant morphological characters and was found in a different habitat from that typical of the species. In order to disentangle the taxonomic status of this population, we have conducted a phylogenetic analysis using five nuclear (ITS, ETS, G3PDH, CATP and GZF) and three plastid (matK, rpS16 and 5’trnK intron) DNA regions. In addition, a morphological analysis including the population from Sierra de Tejeda was carried out. The resulting phylogenetic trees show that the samples of the problematic population are closely related to C. camposii, while the morphological study revealed that a total of nine morphological features did not match those of typical C. camposii. Even though the samples from Sierra de Tejeda are genetically not well differentiated from C. camposii, the morphological and ecological differentiation supports its recognition as a new subspecies, C. camposii subsp. tejedensis. An assessment of its conservation status using IUCN categories and criteria suggests that it could be critically endangered (CR).

Anticipating the evolutionary responses of species to ongoing climate change is essential to propose effective management and conservation measures. The Western Mediterranean Basin constitutes one of the hotspots of biodiversity where the effects of climate change are expected to be more dramatic. Plant species with ecological relevance constitute ideal models to evaluate and predict the impact of climate change on ecosystems. Here we investigate these impacts through the spatio-temporal comparison of genetic diversity/structure (AFLPs), potential distribution under different future scenarios of climate change, and ecological space in two Western Mediterranean sister species of genus Carex. Both species are ecologically key in their riparian habitats, but display contrasting distribution patterns, with one widespread in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa (C. reuteriana), while the other (C. panormitana) is a restricted, probably endangered, Central Mediterranean endemic. At present, we found a strong genetic structure driven by geography in both species, and lower values of genetic diversity and a narrower ecological space in C. panormitana than in C. reuteriana, while the allelic rarity was higher in the former than in C. reuteriana subspecies. Future projections predict an overall dramatic reduction of suitable areas for both species under all climate change scenarios, which could be almost total for C. panormitana. In addition, gene diversity was inferred to decrease in all taxa, with genetic structure reinforcing in C. reuteriana by the loss of admixture among populations. Our findings stress the need for a reassessment of C. panormitana conservation status under IUCN Red List criteria and the implementation of conservation measures.

In this paper we report the presence of Carex olbiensis (Cyperaceae) in the CW Iberian Peninsula (Sierra de Gredos, Extremadura region), which represents an important disjunction in relation to the known range of the species and its westernmost new limit. We revised the distribution of this species, which resulted in the likely exclusion of the species from the floras of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Morocco. Finally, we provide an illustration of the species and discuss some aspects of its ecology, morphology, and conservation status.

Carex subgenus Psyllophorae is an engaging study group due to its early diversification compared to most Carex lineages, and its remarkable disjunct distribution in four continents corresponding to three independent sections: sect. Psyllophorae in Western Palearctic, sect. Schoenoxiphium in Afrotropical region, and sect. Junciformes in South America (SA) and SW Pacific. The latter section is mainly distributed in Patagonia and the Andes, where it is one of the few Carex groups with a significant in situ diversification. We assess the role of historical geo-climatic events in the evolutionary history of the group, particularly intercontinental colonization events and diversification processes, with an emphasis on SA. We performed an integrative study using phylogenetic (four DNA regions), divergence times, diversification rates, biogeographic reconstruction, and bioclimatic niche evolution analyses. The crown age of subg. Psyllophorae (early Miocene) supports this lineage as one of the oldest within Carex. The diversification rate probably decreased over time in the whole subgenus. Geography seems to have played a primary role in the diversification of subg. Psyllophorae. Inferred divergence times imply a diversification scenario away from primary Gondwanan vicariance hypotheses and suggest long-distance dispersal-mediated allopatric diversification. Section Junciformes remained in Northern Patagonia since its divergence until Plio-Pleistocene glaciations. Andean orogeny appears to have acted as a northward corridor, which contrasts with the general pattern of North-to-South migration for temperate-adapted organisms. A striking niche conservatism characterizes the evolution of this section. Colonization of the SW Pacific took place on a single long-distance dispersal event from SA. The little ecological changes involved in the trans-Pacific disjunction imply the preadaptation of the group prior to the colonization of the SW Pacific. The high species number of the section results from simple accumulation of morphological changes (disparification), rather than shifts in ecological niche related to increased diversification rates (radiation).

“Educate about resilience from painting, film and theater” aims to show the need to connect these disciplines to complex problems. In this sense, the present communication starts from the idea that it is possible to: A) Educate in resilience from painting; we choose Géricault’s painting, “The raft of the jellyfish” to analyze. B) Educate in resilience from cinema; this time we introduce the thought of a great film director, John Ford, one of his best movies: “ The young Lincoln”. And C) Educate in resilience from theater, Aristophanes, a prominent playwright of the classical period, his wonderful work “The cloud” is our chioce. This communication ends up with a debate that highlights the usefulness of resilient responses to the dramas that are collected (situations of cannibalism, accusation of murder and elder abuse) and its usefulness in current situations.

Carex section Schoenoxiphium (Cariceae, Cyperaceae) is endemic to the Afrotropical biogeographic region and is mainly distributed in southern and eastern Africa, with its center of diversity in eastern South Africa. The taxon was formerly recognized as a distinct genus and has a long history of taxonomic controversy. It has also an important morphological and molecular background in particular dealing with the complexity of its inflorescence and the phylogenetic relationships of its species. We here present a fully updated and integrative monograph of Carex section Schoenoxiphium based on morphological, molecular and cytogenetic data. A total of 1,017 herbarium specimens were examined and the majority of the species were studied in the field. Previous molecular phylogenies based on Sanger-sequencing of four nuclear and plastid DNA regions and RAD-seq were expanded. For the first time, chromosome numbers were obtained, with cytogenetic counts on 44 populations from 15 species and one hybrid. Our taxonomic treatment recognizes 21 species, one of them herein newly described (C. gordon-grayae). Our results agree with previous molecular works that have found five main lineages in Schoenoxiphium. We provide detailed morphological descriptions, distribution maps and analytical drawings of all accepted species in section Schoenoxiphium, an identification key, and a thorough nomenclatural survey including 19 new typifications and one nomen novum.

ABSTRACT Hydrological models (HMs) can be applied for different purposes, and a key step is model calibration using objective functions (OF) to quantify the agreement between observed and calculated discharges. Fully understanding the OF is important to properly take advantage of model calibration and interpret the results. This study evaluates 36 OF proposed in the literature, considering two watersheds of different hydrological regimes. Daily simulated streamflow time-series, using a distributed hydrological model (MGB-IPH), and ten daily streamflow synthetic time-series, generated from the observed and calculated streamflows, were used in the analysis of each watershed. These synthetic data were used to evaluate how does each metric evaluate hypothetical cases that present isolated very well known error behaviors. Despite of all NSE-derived (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency) metrics that use the square of the residuals in their formulation have shown higher sensitivity to errors in high flows, the ones that use daily and monthly averages of flow rates in absolute terms were more stringent than the others to assess HMs performance. Low flow errors were better evaluated by metrics that use the flow logarithm. The constant presence of zero flow rates deteriorate them significantly, with the exception of the metrics TRMSE (Transformed root mean square error) did not demonstrate this problem. An observed limitation of the formulations of some metrics was that the errors of overestimation or underestimation are compensated. Our results reassert that each metric should be interpreted specifically thinking about the aspects it has been proposed for, and simultaneously taking into account a set of metrics would lead to a broader evaluation of HM ability (e.g. multiobjective model evaluation). We recommend that the use of synthetic time series as those proposed in this work could be useful as an auxiliary step towards better understanding the evaluation of a calibrated hydrological model for each study case, taking into account model capabilities and observed hydrologic regime characteristics.

Carex section Junciformes is one of the most diverse groups of the genus in South America, consisting of approximately 30 species. Here we describe a new species, Carex recondita, belonging to this section. We studied its placement within a molecular phylogeny of the group and found it to constitute an independent lineage. The new species is morphologically very close to C. austroamericana, from southern Patagonia, despite being phylogenetically divergent to the rest of Patagonian species of sect. Junciformes. So far, this species is known only from a few specimens recently collected in its type locality, despite growing in a well-collected area in the Andes of Metropolitana Region of Santiago, the most populated administrative region of Chile. We provide a detailed morphological description, comments on its relationship with other Southern Cone species of sect. Junciformes and relevant ecological notes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Poales are one of the most species‐rich, ecologically and economically important orders of plants and often characterise open habitats, enabled by unique suites of traits. We test six hypotheses regarding the evolution and assembly of Poales in open and closed habitats throughout the world, and examine whether diversification patterns demonstrate parallel evolution.We sampled 42% of Poales species and obtained taxonomic and biogeographic data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants database, which was combined with open/closed habitat data scored by taxonomic experts. A dated supertree of Poales was constructed. We integrated spatial phylogenetics with regionalisation analyses, historical biogeography and ancestral state estimations.Diversification in Poales and assembly of open and closed habitats result from dynamic evolutionary processes that vary across lineages, time and space, most prominently in tropical and southern latitudes. Our results reveal parallel and recurrent patterns of habitat and trait transitions in the species‐rich families Poaceae and Cyperaceae. Smaller families display unique and often divergent evolutionary trajectories.The Poales have achieved global dominance via parallel evolution in open habitats, with notable, spatially and phylogenetically restricted divergences into strictly closed habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Vertical slot fishways allow energy dissipation as a function of the pool, longitudinal slope, baffle and vertical slot design. The mean and turbulent flow patterns in these structures must be compatible with the fish target. The design of these structures is commonly based on previous successful fishways as well as simplified theoretical equations and empirical relationships. To aid in the design of these structures, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was used to simulate the flow, and experimental studies were used to validate the model. The mean velocities, pressures and parameters indicative of turbulence were analyzed. The maximum flow velocities were up to 32% higher than the values obtained using a simplified theoretical equation. The evaluation of the volumetric dissipated power indicated that the mean value for the pool was lower than 150 W/m3; however, analysis of the spatial distribution showed that in some areas, the values can exceed 1000 W/m3. The results indicate that the numerical simulation was able to adequately represent the flow considering the computational cost involved. Accordingly, it can be used as a complementary tool for the design of new fishways and for the analysis of modifications in existing ones.