Artificial Water Troughs Use by the Mountain Ungulate Ovis gmelini ophion (Cyprus Mouflon) at Pafos Forest.

For large herbivores inhabiting arid/semi-arid environments, water can be a limiting resource affecting their distribution and abundance for periods when water requirements are not met via forage. The Cyprus mouflon (Ovis gmelini ophion) is such a species, which is endemic to the mountain habitats of Cyprus. Recognizing water scarcity to be a major pressure to the mouflon, and with global warming projected to intensify hot and dry periods in the region, the Game and Fauna Service has been maintaining a network of locally designed watering troughs in Pafos Forest-the mouflon's stronghold-since 1997. This study describes the mouflon's use of the water troughs and examines whether visitation rates differed at the daily or weekly scale in response to environmental, climatic or anthropogenic parameters. Using camera traps, ten troughs were monitored from September 2017 to March 2018 (1,065 days; range 29-164 days per trough). Mouflon were detected at seven troughs (mean herd size 1.5 ± 1.2) during 373 independent detections (≥30 min interval between photographs), with visits peaking during late morning and midday hours. Generalized mixed-effect models showed mouflon visiting water troughs more frequently during hotter days, regardless of recent precipitation. Visits were also more frequent at water troughs located close to tar roads. Moreover, there was no evidence of mouflon avoiding water troughs used by predators (red foxes, feral dogs) at either daily or weekly scale, or during hunting days. The study supports the value of artificial water troughs for mediating, partially at least, the effects of climate change on mountain ungulates such as the Cyprus mouflon. Additional studies are proposed that will examine both mouflon drinking patterns across all seasons and ways of improving the effectiveness of the current water trough grid.

Chemical Characterization, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Different Types of Tissue of Cedrus brevifolia Henry Extracts.

This study aimed to determine the chemical composition of different types of tissue of Cedrus brevifolia Henry (Pinaceae) methanolic extracts, namely needles, twigs, branches, and bark. Cedrus brevifolia is a narrow endemic coniferous tree species of Cyprus, growing in a sole population in the mountainous area of Paphos Forest. Chemical analysis of the extracts was performed using liquid chromatography combined with time-of-flight high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC/Q-TOF/HRMS). The majority of the 36 compounds tentatively identified belonged to the flavonoids family. The extract of needles was the richest extract in terms of secondary metabolites. The extracts were studied for their antioxidant activity using the DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Additionally, the antibacterial activity was evaluated by determining both the minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. All extracts demonstrated antioxidant property, while bark gave the highest antioxidant capacity (IC50 value of 0.011 mg/mL) compared to the other tissues. Antibacterial activity was observed against both types of bacteria, with the extract of branches presenting the strongest activity against S. aureus (MIC, 0.097 mg/mL and MBC, 0.195 mg/mL). This is the first time that extracts of needles, twigs, branches, and bark of C. brevifolia are compared regarding their chemical composition as well as their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties.

Integrated conservation of important plant taxa through the improvement of the original plant micro-reserve (PMR) approach: The intensive PMR monitoring case of Ophrys kotschyi.

Developing a monitoring system and a conservation strategy against the negative impact of global change on threatened plant species, is nowadays the challenge for conservation experts. The Plant Micro-Reserve (PMR) approach became a highly effective approach in protecting plant species, since mild active management of vegetation plots and protection of plant populations takes place. The PMR has greatly evolved since its initial concept of managing a large network of PMRs, to having fewer protected areas subject to intensive scientific monitoring (e.g. Intensive Monitoring PMR; IM-PMR). This study further improved the IM-PMR approach by focusing on the threatened plant species of Ophrys kotschyi in Cyprus. The proposed IM-PMR enhances the available knowledge on the biology, physiology and ecology of the targeted plant species, through implementing an intensive monitoring system and assessing its genetic diversity. Within the framework of IM-PMR, the population size of O. kotschyi recorded statistically significant differentiation during the monitoring period, most likely due to the vegetative dormancy of the species. The subpopulation size and dormancy in O. kotschyi was correlated with precipitation and air temperature for specific months. In addition, the different local climatic conditions and the species dormancy between years seem to influence the flowers production among individuals, in the four monitoring years. Nevertheless, the low natural fecundity compared to the artificially pollinated plants and the absent correlation with any of the climatic parameters, might be closely related to the lack of pollinators at this site. The genetic diversity (HT = 0.456) is higher compared to other endemic and short-lived perennial species, while the genetic differentiation among the subpopulations of O. kotschyi showed significant substructure (FSTFIS=0.5 = 0.097*). The subpopulation within IM-PMR showed relatively lower genetic diversity among the largest subpopulations of O. kotschyi, and the highest percentage of linked loci. Such observations support the non-random association of different loci in this subpopulation, and the ineffective pollen flow within this single subpopulation. The improvement of the original PMR approach in the current IM-PMR proposal denotes that different ecological aspects are taken into account towards gaining a holistic knowledge on a target species. The IM-PMR approach as implemented for O. kotschyi, could lead to the development of an integrated conservation approach for rare, threatened, or endangered species.