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Although citizenship's literacy in biodiversity is a promising way of confronting its loss, the unawareness about this topic is generalised particularly regarding plants. The latter phenomenon, named Plant Blindness (PB), not only refers to the inability to notice and identify the surrounding plants, but also to the lack of knowledge about the basics of plant biology and to the subsequent ignorance of the value of plants. Hence, the aim of this research has been to assess whether secondary students experience PB and to analyse if this phenomenon can be interrelated with their conceptualisation and attitudes towards biodiversity. For this purpose, 63 secondary students took a mixed closed- and open-ended questionnaire on different aspects of biodiversity and plant biology. The results revealed that, despite conceptualisation of biodiversity and plant literacy increased during secondary education, most students presented PB 'symptoms'. Moreover, some of the dimensions studied were interrelated, such as comprehension of biodiversity and different aspects of plant knowledge. Therefore, these results indicate that PB has multiple branches which are not only related to plant topics sensu stricto, but also include biodiversity; which can provide novel insights into the appropriate approach to the plant blindness issue from an educational perspective.

Species literacy is an important aspect of biodiversity education. This study assesses the ability of secondary students (12/13 years old; n = 944) to list wild animals and plants and aims to determine whether this is linked with their interest in nature, their preferences towards animals and plants and different groups therein, the school type (public or private), per capita income and the size of the students' hometowns. We have observed that students claim to have a very high interest in nature, but they spontaneously recall a worrisome proportion of exotic species (especially animals), as well as domesticated ones (mainly plants). Besides, they present several 'Plant Awareness Disparity' (PAD) symptoms. However, the smaller their hometown is, the more wild native species they list, especially animals, although most PAD symptoms prevail in their answers. Our findings suggest that citizens living in more rural environments may have a higher contact with nature, resulting on a higher spontaneous listing of wild native species. Nevertheless, special efforts must be conducted to counteract PAD as well as 'Native Species Awareness Disparity' wherever they live.

This work presents an assessment of pre-service teachers' argumentative practice, after implementing a novel teaching-learning sequence on soil health including a citizen science programme, which was applied outdoors at the university garden. The sequence was implemented at five Spanish universities with 351 undergraduates studying Early Childhood and Primary Teacher Education. It posed a final assessment task consisting in a real-world situation that involved making decisions on science-related issues: students needed to argue whether it was possible to use a piece of land as a school garden, based on soil data provided in a variety of formats. To assess participants' level of achievement, a rubric was specifically designed by adapting the "Evidence-Explanation Continuum" approach, which was applied to a subsample of 123 answers (35%). Results evidenced that the process of knowledge-building discourse from initial data to final explanations involved a series of transformations of increasing difficulty, since the percentage of students who were able to correctly accomplish them decreased a long the continuum. Including the citizen science programme promoted the development of basic aspects of scientific literacy related to interpreting data and evidence scientifically but, for students to be generally capable of drawing evidence-based conclusions, argumentation practices should be regularly included in science classes.

Carnivores tend to exhibit a lack of (or less pronounced) genetic structure at continental scales in both a geographic and temporal sense and this can confound the identification of post‐glacial colonization patterns in this group. In this study we used genome‐wide data (using genotyping by sequencing [GBS]) to reconstruct the phylogeographic history of a widespread carnivore, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), by investigating broad‐scale patterns of genomic variation, differentiation and admixture amongst contemporary populations in Europe. Using 15,003 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 524 individuals allowed us to identify the importance of refugial regions for the red fox in terms of endemism (e.g., Iberia). In addition, we tested multiple post‐glacial recolonization scenarios of previously glaciated regions during the Last Glacial Maximum using an Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) approach that were unresolved from previous studies. This allowed us to identify the role of admixture from multiple source population post‐Younger Dryas in the case of Scandinavia and ancient land‐bridges in the colonization of the British Isles. A natural colonization of Ireland was deemed more likely than an ancient human‐mediated introduction as has previously been proposed and potentially points to a larger mammalian community on the island in the early post‐glacial period. Using genome‐wide data has allowed us to tease apart broad‐scale patterns of structure and diversity in a widespread carnivore in Europe that was not evident from using more limited marker sets and provides a foundation for next‐generation phylogeographic studies in other non‐model species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shed light on the idea that people who have experiences in natural settings might be more aware of the environment. Learning gardens, as outdoor contexts, might contribute to the development of students' affective relations toward nature, pro-environmental attitudes, and protective actions; neverthless, these aspects begging to be explored. This preliminary research investigates the impact that the use of organic gardens to teach natural sciences at university has on kindergarten pre-service teachers' (KPST) connectedness to and conceptions of nature. The research follows a pre-/post-design and it uses a mixed methods approach. A total of 74 students completed four quantitative scales (INS, CCC, LCN, and NR-6), and 66 of them an open question about the concept of nature. After the garden experience, students scored higher in all the scales, nevertheless the change was significant only for INS and CCC. The phenomenographic analysis evidenced an initial predominant static and non-social concept of nature, biased toward the most obvious biological elements. After the garden-based learning experience, more informed conceptions of nature – including notions of complexity and systemic character – increased from 7 to 19%; however, statistical comparison was not significant. In spite of the absence of concluding results, further research is required to assess the role that learning gardens may play regarding connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and related technologies have revolutionized the field of conservation and population genetics, providing novel tools and the capacity to discover thousands of new Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) for the analysis of population parameters. However, gathering NGS data for organisms with very large genomes, such as amphibians, remains challenging because it is still unclear how the current methods perform. Here, we use the Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) approach to generate SNP data for the genotyping of two amphibian species that are of conservation concern, the Sardinian brook salamander (Euproctus platycephalus) and the Italian stream frog (Rana italica). Both E. platycephalus and R. italica have very large genomes (5.53 Gb and >20 Gb, respectively) so genomic data are not available for either of them. We used 95 individual samples and one Illumina lane for each species, with an additional lane for E. platycephalus. After filtering, we obtained 961 and 854 high-coverage SNPs for E. platycephalus and R. italica , respectively. Our results suggest that GBS can serve as a reliable and cost-effective method for genotyping large amphibian genomes, including non-model species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess niche overlap between the most similar European sympatric carnivores, the pine marten Martes martes and stone marten Martes foina, and outline their potential distributions and connectivity corridors in Central Italy, we applied a multivariate kernel density procedure which allowed to assess both species' ecological hypervolumes based on a set of 16 environmental predictors and used the resulting probability of occurrence map as a resistance surface in electrical circuit theory‐based models. Distance to watercourses and percent cover of deciduous forest and shrubland were the most relevant factors shaping pine marten ecological niche, while stone marten distribution was mainly shaped by human population density and cover of both human settlements and deciduous forest. Overlap between the hypervolumes of the two martens was low‐to‐moderate, while, on average, landscape connectivity was higher for the stone marten. The inclusion in the models of human disturbance‐related variables enabled to define a possible mechanism driving habitat partitioning in human‐altered landscapes. Based on our results, increasing human density and urbanization of European lowland and hilly landscapes are expected to represent a greater threat to the pine marten than the stone marten. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In recent years, the “forest-specialist” pine marten Martes martes has been reported to also occur also in largely fragmented, lowland landscapes of north-western Italy. The colonization of such an apparently unsuitable area provided the opportunity for investigating pine marten ecological requirements and predicting its potential south- and eastwards expansion. We collected available pine marten occurrence data in the flood plain of the River Po (N Italy) and relate them to 11 environmental variables by developing nine Species Distribution Models. To account for inter-model variability we used average ensemble predictions (EP). EP predicted a total of 482 suitable patches (8.31% of the total study area) for the pine marten. The main factors driving pine marten occurrence in the western River Po plain were the distance from watercourses and the distance from woods. EP suggested that the pine marten may further expand in the western lowland, whilst the negligible residual wood cover of large areas in the central and eastern plain makes the habitat unsuitable for the pine marten, except for some riparian corridors and the pine wood patches bordering the Adriatic coast. Based on our results, conservation strategies should seek to preserve remnant forest patches and enhance the functional connectivity provided by riparian corridors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious disease metagenomics is driven by the question: "what is causing the disease?" in contrast to classical metagenome studies which are guided by "what is out there?" In case of a novel virus, a first step to eventually establishing etiology can be to recover a full-length viral genome from a metagenomic sample. However, retrieval of a full-length genome of a divergent virus is technically challenging and can be time-consuming and costly. Here we discuss different assembly and fragment linkage strategies such as iterative assembly, motif searches, k-mer frequency profiling, coverage profile binning, and other strategies used to recover genomes of potential viral pathogens in a timely and cost-effective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stone marten is a widely distributed mustelid in the Palaearctic region that exhibits variable habitat preferences in different parts of its range. The species is a Holocene immigrant from southwest Asia which, according to fossil remains, followed the expansion of the Neolithic farming cultures into Europe and possibly colonized the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Neolithic (ca. 7,000 years BP). However, the population genetic structure and historical biogeography of this generalist carnivore remains essentially unknown. In this study we have combined mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing (621 bp) and microsatellite genotyping (23 polymorphic markers) to infer the population genetic structure of the stone marten within the Iberian Peninsula. The mtDNA data revealed low haplotype and nucleotide diversities and a lack of phylogeographic structure, most likely due to a recent colonization of the Iberian Peninsula by a few mtDNA lineages during the Early Neolithic. The microsatellite data set was analysed with a) spatial and non-spatial Bayesian individual-based clustering (IBC) approaches (STRUCTURE, TESS, BAPS and GENELAND), and b) multivariate methods [discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) and spatial principal component analysis (sPCA)]. Additionally, because isolation by distance (IBD) is a common spatial genetic pattern in mobile and continuously distributed species and it may represent a challenge to the performance of the above methods, the microsatellite data set was tested for its presence. Overall, the genetic structure of the stone marten in the Iberian Peninsula was characterized by a NE-SW spatial pattern of IBD, and this may explain the observed disagreement between clustering solutions obtained by the different IBC methods. However, there was significant indication for contemporary genetic structuring, albeit weak, into at least three different subpopulations. The detected subdivision could be attributed to the influence of the rivers Ebro, Tagus and Guadiana, suggesting that main watercourses in the Iberian Peninsula may act as semi-permeable barriers to gene flow in stone martens. To our knowledge, this is the first phylogeographic and population genetic study of the species at a broad regional scale. We also wanted to make the case for the importance and benefits of using and comparing multiple different clustering and multivariate methods in spatial genetic analyses of mobile and continuously distributed species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coherent ecological networks (EN) composed of core areas linked by ecological corridors are being developed worldwide with the goal of promoting landscape connectivity and biodiversity conservation. However, empirical assessment of the performance of EN designs is critical to evaluate the utility of these networks to mitigate effects of habitat loss and fragmentation. Landscape genetics provides a particularly valuable framework to address the question of functional connectivity by providing a direct means to investigate the effects of landscape structure on gene flow. The goals of this study are (1) to evaluate the landscape features that drive gene flow of an EN target species (European pine marten), and (2) evaluate the optimality of a regional EN design in providing connectivity for this species within the Basque Country (North Spain). Using partial Mantel tests in a reciprocal causal modeling framework we competed 59 alternative models, including isolation by distance and the regional EN. Our analysis indicated that the regional EN was among the most supported resistance models for the pine marten, but was not the best supported model. Gene flow of pine marten in northern Spain is facilitated by natural vegetation, and is resisted by anthropogenic landcover types and roads. Our results suggest that the regional EN design being implemented in the Basque Country will effectively facilitate gene flow of forest dwelling species at regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of southern European peninsulas as glacial refugia for temperate species has been widely established, but the role of cryptic northern refugia has only recently been addressed. Here, we describe the phylogeographic pattern of the forest-dwelling European pine marten ( M artes martes), using a 1600-bp mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) fragment from 287 individuals sampled across the entire distribution range of the species. To clarify the relationships between M. martes and its sister species the sable ( M artes zibellina) in Fennoscandia and Russia, ten M. zibellina samples were also included in the analyses. Our results reveal the presence of 69 different haplotypes for M. martes and ten haplotypes for M. zibellina, which are split into three major assemblages: Mediterranean, central-northern European, and Fennoscandian- Russian clades, showing a global pattern of spatial segregation, with some area of overlap and genetic admixture. It is apparent that the Mediterranean phylogroup did not significantly contribute to the postglacial recolonization of most of the Palaearctic range of the species. Instead, most of Europe was colonized by the central-northern European phylogroup, which probably survived the last glaciations in northern cryptic refugia, as has previously been suggested by palaeontological studies. A highly divergent phylogroup has been discovered in Fennoscandia- Russia, which includes specimens from both Martes species. Calculations of divergence times suggest that the phylogroups split during the Pleistocene. Overall, our study indicates a complex phylogeographic history for M. martes, indicating a mixed pattern of recolonization of northern Europe from both Mediterranean and non- Mediterranean refugia, providing new insights into the existence of cryptic northern glacial refugia for temperate species in Europe. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 109, 1-18. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European pine marten (Martes martes) and stone marten (Martes foina) are two closely related mustelids that live sympatrically over a large area of Europe. In the northern Iberian Peninsula, the distribution ranges of both species overlap extensively. The objectives of this study were (1) to verify whether, on a small scale, both species also live sympatrically and (2) to compare camera traps and scat DNA as methods for detecting marten species. The study was conducted in a protected area (province of Ourense, north-west Spain), which covers 6700 ha. To test the sympatry hypothesis, 90 fresh faecal samples, identified as faeces of genus Martes on the basis of their morphology, were collected from June 2004 to August 2006. The specific identification of faecal samples was conducted using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) techniques. In addition, 20 camera-traps (916 camera-trap-nights) were in operation during the study period. Of the faecal samples collected, 88.8% were attributed to the European pine marten, while the remaining 11.2% were not amplified by PCR and thus could not be assigned. The European pine marten was identified in 57.9% of the photos of carnivores and the stone marten was not detected in any. The faecal DNA analysis and camera-trap results supported previous conclusions about habitat preferences and the distribution of the two species obtained using other methods. The two non-invasive methods that were used in this study were shown to be reliable techniques that can be employed simultaneously, because each method has advantages and disadvantages that are influenced by the size of the area inventoried, sampling effort, and cost and efficiency of the method. The data gathered using these methods provided important information on the understanding of trophic and competitive interactions between the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an interdisciplinary teaching–learning sequence (TLS) about air quality for pre-service primary teachers using an organic learning garden. The design involved a curricular integration of concepts and competences about sustainability, mathematics, and science disciplines following constructivist and active learning strategies, such as problem-based learning and place-based education. In this TLS, both the topic and the learning context act as facilitators of education for sustainable development (ESD). The contents address the overarching STEM and sustainability concepts related to air pollutants, weather, and climate. Our results show that students learned about a STEM topic within a space and context that enables ESD. Several misconceptions related to air quality, weather, and statistics were identified through the evaluation of students' initial ideas. Furthermore, students' attitudes towards the topic of study and self-efficacy and perceived relevance of ESD improved after the implementation. These results will guide further improvements of the designed TLS, which connects STEM education and ESD as a transformative educational experience for pre-service teachers. In this sense, we conclude that such initiatives can improve pre-service primary teachers' self-efficacy as agents of change towards sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serious and growing impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on the planet make it necessary to include this issue with greater determination in educational programs, with the aim of generating citizens capable of dealing with this environmental problem in a sustainable way. Likewise, the management of IAS represents a clear socio-scientific issue (SSI), which gives greater interest to its inclusion in school. At this point, future teachers play a key role, so that their knowledge, perceptions and attitudes on the subject must be evaluated. In order to deal with this objective, a questionnaire was filled out by 400 students of the degrees in early childhood education and primary education of the Universities of La Rioja (UR) and the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain. Our results show that pre-service teachers do not perceive impacts of different types generated by IAS, and they show a clear lack of knowledge about transmission vectors. Likewise, they do not support various control measures, especially slaughter of invasive vertebrates, related to affective dimensions. These results highlight the need to work toward an appropriate integration of this issue at different educational levels, training students and educators, fostering favorable attitudes toward a sustainable management of IAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-service teachers’ mental models of the nature of soil were investigated in a sample of 181 students from four different Spanish universities, using three different methodological approaches: a phenomenographic analysis of definitions, a categorisation of labelled-drawings and the analysis of answers to a questionnaire consisting of both open- and closed-ended questions. Based on the phenomenographic analysis, four explanatory categories were defined: paedological (soil as a highly complex system); anthropocentric (soil from a utilitarian point of view); structural (soil as a layer of Earth) and naive view (soil as a surface of unknown composition and function). The most represented category in the studied sample was the structural one. Based on the questionnaire and the drawing analysis, students have some notions about soil composition, but their understating of its origin and degradation processes is scarce. No significant correlation was found between the analyses conducted using the three different instruments, thus indicating the need to use different approaches to better understand students’ conceptions and their ‘intermediate’ epistemic models of soil. Finally, some implications for soil education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic Learning Gardens are foof gardens which are sustainably managed based on the principles of organic agriculture or permaculture, and whose main purpose is educational. They are currently present at some Spanish universities, generally as the result of isolated initiatives of a particular professor or knowledge area, either belonging to the field of experimental sciences or of science teaching. They constitute educational resources and learning environments of a great value for implementing active methodologies directed towards promoting students' competencies for sustainability. We provide with two educational experiences structured around the use of Organic Learning Gardens in the context of initial teacher training, and framed, respectively, in a project for teaching innovation and a project for innovation in sustainability: firstly, the development of a teaching and learning sequence around the use of biocides for the Degree in Early-Childhood Education, at the Faculty of Education in Soria (University of Valladolid, UVa), and secondly, an educational intervention around the use of composting for organic waste' management for the Degree in Primary Education at the Faculty of Education and Sport in Vitoria-Gasteiz (University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU). Finally, reflections are presented on the use of Organic Learning Gardens as educative contexts in the frame of Higher Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]