Tallinna Tehnikaülikooli Raamatukogu = The Library of the Tallinn University of Technology / Margit Mutso

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Mutso, Margit, 1966-

2010-01-01

Tallinnas Akadeemia tee 1 / Ehitajate tee 7 asuva raamatukoguhoone arhitektuursest lahendusest. Hoone on projekteerinud arhitektuuribüroo Agabus, Endjärv & Truverk Arhitektid. Žürii liikme Kalle Komissarovi hinnang kultuurkapitali aastapreemiale esitatud hoonele

EXPO : hoiupõrsad ja triibud / Tanel Veenre

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Veenre, Tanel, 1977-

2009-01-01

Shanghais toimuva EXPO 2010 Eesti paviljoni konkursi võitis töö "Savecity.org", mille autorid on Ionel Lehari, Kristian Paljasma (agentuur Identity), Illimar Truverk, Priit Hamer (Agabus, Endjärv & Truverk Arhitektid), Janno Roos, Andres Labi (Ruumilabor)

Tallinna Tehnikaülikooli raamatukogu = Tallinn University of Technology library

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2010-01-01

Tallinnas Akadeemia tee 1 asuva raamatukoguhoone sisekujundusest. Sisearhitektid Kristi Lents, Hannelore Kääramees, hoone arhitektid Priit Pent ja Eero Endjärv (Agabus, Endjärv & Truverk Arhitektid). Sisearhitektide tähtsamate koos tehtud tööde loetelu

Tule paistel : kaminast ahjuni, lõõrist korstnani / Piret Veigel

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Veigel, Piret, 1961-

2005-01-01

Priit Hamer firmast Agabus, Endjärv & Truverk Arhitektid vastuseks lugejate küsimustele kamina ja küttesüsteemi valikust, tõmbeprobleemidest, avatud, disain- ja küttekaminast, ahjudest, valmiskaminatest, küttepuudest, tuleohutusest. 6 värv. ill.: Andrus Tuisu projekteeritud kamin loft-korteris jm.

Modelling the adaptive behaviour of migrating white storks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shamoun-Baranes, J.; van Loon, E.E.; Bouten, W.

2006-01-01

White storks (Ciconia ciconia) are soaring migrants whose western Palearctic populations use several migration routes, concentrating mainly over Gibraltar and Israel to cross between their Palearctic breeding grounds and wintering grounds in Africa. A wealth of data has been collected during the

Uus trend - kortermajade (rohelised) ühisruumid / Aivo Vahemets

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Vahemets, Aivo

2006-01-01

Arhitekt Liis Keskküla ja kinnisvaraspetsialist Üllar Hinno hindavad uuselamute ümbrust ja sisehoove Tallinnas Kaupmehe 6 (arh. Kalle Vellevoog, Velle Kadalipp), Sõpruse pst. 9 (arh. Tõnu Laigu, Tõnu Laanemäe) ja Tammeõue elurajoonis (arh. Agabus, Endjärv, Truverk Arhitektid OÜ, haljastus Ülle Grishakov - OÜ Kivisilla). Lk. 91 majaelanike kommentaarid

Eesti Vabariigi paviljon : EXPO 2010 Shanghai = Pavilion of the Republic of Estonia, EXPO 2010 in Shanghai / Illimar Truverk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Truverk, Illimar, 1967-

2010-01-01

Üks autoreid Eesti paviljonist 1.05.-31.10. 2010 avatud maailmanäitusel EXPO 2010 teemal "Better city, better life". Eesti projekti "Savecity.org" autorid: Illimar Truverk, Ionel Lehari, Janno Roos, Andres Labi, kaasautorid: Priit Hamer, Kristian Paljasmaa, projekteerijad, sisekujundus: Agabus, Endjärv & Truverk Arhitektid, Ruumilabor, Identity. Konstruktor (Hiina): CCI Engineering Design & Consultant Co. Ltd. Projekt: 2009

Kamuflaažmaja / Mihkel Karu

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Karu, Mihkel, 1983-

2013-01-01

Oskuslikult mändide vahele sobitatud eramu Tallinna lähedal. Arhitektid Illimar Truverk ja Priit Hamer (Arhitekt11/Agabus, Endjärv & Truverj Arhitektid). Sisearhitektid Külli Salum ja Riina Harik (Saha In). Veel lõplikult teostamata maastikuarhitektuurse lahenduse kavandasid Kätlin Ölluk ja Kadi Markna. Ehitusaeg: 2010-2012. Elamispind: 409/160 m²

Sadamaala konkurss : Tallinna kesklinnaga piirneva mereäärse ala parima linnaehitusliku kontseptsiooni saamiseks korraldatud arhitektuurivõistlus / Andres Alver, Margus Koot, Arvo Rikkinen...[jt.] ; interv. Triin Ojari

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2000-01-01

Zürii liikmed konkursist, premeeritud töödest. Preemiad: I - Villem Tomiste, Veronika Valk; II - Illimar Truverk, Indrek Järve, Mattias Agabus, Tiit Sild, Karri Tiigisoon ning Toomas Paaver, Lauri Saar; III - Ivar Lubjak, Maria Pukk; ostud: Ott Kadarik, Rene Valner ning Siiri Vallner, Indrek Peil; täiendav ost (Muinsuskaitseamaet): Nikolai Serebrjakov, Leonid Tozil, Sergei Sevtsenko, Sulev Roosmaa. 6 illustratsiooni

Mõeldes arhitektuuri välkloengutele = Considering flash lectures on architecture / Margit Mutso

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Mutso, Margit, 1966-

2010-01-01

7. veebruaril 2008 Von Krahli Teatris alanud arhitektuuri välkloengutest, mille eesmärk oli haarata avalikkust kaasa mõtlema, rääkima meid ümbritsevast keskkonnast ning viia ühiskonda arusaamist, et arhitektuur on meie kõigi asi. Arhitektuurist kutsuti rääkima tuntud äri- ja kultuuriinimesi. Välkloenguid modereerisid Ülar Mark, Margit Mutso ja Mattias Agabus

A new species of the ant genus Bothriomyrmex Emery, 1869 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae from the Caribbean region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Prebus

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Bothriomyrmex enigmaticus sp. nov. is described from the island of Hispañola based on one nest collection. This is the first collection of the genus Bothriomyrmex (Emery, 1869 from the Caribbean region, and the second species to be described from the Americas. While sharing several characters with B. paradoxus (Dubovikoff & Longino, 2004 from Costa Rica and Honduras, B. enigmaticus sp. nov. diverges in several key characters, including palp formula. However, a morphometric comparison to Palearctic species of the tribe Bothriomyrmecini suggests affinities to B. paradoxus, Chronoxenus wroughtoni (Forel, 1895 of the eastern Palearctic, and to a lesser extent an undescribed species of Arnoldius (Dubovikoff, 2005 from Australia and B. corsicus (Santschi,1923 of the western Palearctic.

Архитектурная прогулка / Любовь Маклеренко

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Маклеренко, Любовь

2010-01-01

Tutvustatakse 2009. aastal ehitatud hooneid Tallinnas: Tammsaare Ärimaja (arhitekt Andres Kariste), Nordea maja (arhitektid Emil Urbel ja Indrek Erm), Scala City büroohoone (Nord Projekt), Marienthali keskus (arhitektid Andri Kirsima ja Hannes Niineväli), Metro Plaza ja tornidega maja Rotermanni kvartalis (KOKO Arhitektid), Tehnikaülikooli raamatukoguhoone (arhitektid Eero Endjärv, Priit Pent, Mattias Agabus, Illimar Truverk), kortermaja Aia tänaval (Kosmos)

Viimsi kool = School in Viimsi

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2007-01-01

Harjumaal Haabneemes Randvere tee 8 asuva Viimsi koolimaja sisekujundus, mille eest sisearhitektid Kristi Lents ja Hannelore Pihlak (Agabus, Endjärv & Truverk Arhitektid) pälvisid Eesti Sisearhitektide Liidu 2006. a. ühiskondliku interjööri preemia. Osa sisustusest on valminud sisearhitektide jooniste järgi eritellimusena. Sisearhitektidest, nende tähtsamad tööd. I, II ja III korruse plaan, värv. välisvaade, 10 sisevaadet, fotod sisearhitektidest

Protein expression parallels thermal tolerance and ecologic changes in the diversification of a diving beetle species complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Hidalgo-Galiana, A; Monge, M; Biron, D G; Canals, F; Ribera, I; Cieslak, A

2016-01-01

Physiological changes associated with evolutionary and ecological processes such as diversification, range expansion or speciation are still incompletely understood, especially for non-model species. Here we study differences in protein expression in response to temperature in a western Mediterranean diving beetle species complex, using two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis with one Moroccan and one Iberian population each of Agabus ramblae and Agabus brunneus. We identified proteins with significant expression differences after thermal treatments comparing them with a reference EST library generated from one of the species of the complex (A. ramblae). The colonisation during the Middle Pleistocene of the Iberian peninsula by A. ramblae, where maximum temperatures and seasonality are lower than in the ancestral north African range, was associated with changes in the response to 27 °C in proteins related to energy metabolism. The subsequent speciation of A. brunneus from within populations of Iberian A. ramblae was associated with changes in the expression of several stress-related proteins (mostly chaperons) when exposed to 4 °C. These changes are in agreement with the known tolerance to lower temperatures of A. brunneus, which occupies a larger geographical area with a wider range of climatic conditions. In both cases, protein expression changes paralleled the evolution of thermal tolerance and the climatic conditions experienced by the species. However, although the colonisation of the Iberian peninsula did not result in morphological change, the speciation process of A. brunneus within Iberia involved genetic isolation and substantial differences in male genitalia and body size and shape.

Ecological drivers of community assembly across taxonomic groups and trophic levels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Özkan, Korhan

assembly is a complex phenomenon driven by the interplay between environmental species sorting, ecological interactions between species and dispersal, linking local communities with the surrounding communities as well as with their regional populations. Although the research on community assembly....... Local bird abundance was strongly linked with occupancy across the metacommunity (the bird communities in the Istranca landscape) as well as the species’ regional population and range size across the western Palearctic. Null model analyses showed that bird occupancy was non-randomly related to species...... environmental niche. Furthermore, species abundance and occupancy across both the metacommunity and the whole western Palearctic were significantly related to an independent species specialization index calculated for the French birds. Together these results indicated that forest bird community assembly...

Resource tracking within and across continents in long-distance bird migrants

KAUST Repository

Thorup, Kasper; Tø ttrup, Anders P.; Willemoes, Mikkel; Klaassen, Raymond H. G.; Strandberg, Roine; Vega, Marta Lomas; Dasari, Hari Prasad; Araú jo, Miguel B.; Wikelski, Martin; Rahbek, Carsten

2017-01-01

spatial and temporal mapping of long-distance movement of birds. We show that three Palearctic-African species track vegetation greenness throughout their annual cycle, adjusting the timing and direction of migratory movements with seasonal changes

Vertical distribution of earwigs (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) in a temperate lowland forest, based on sampling with a mobile aerial lift platform

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kirstová, M.; Pyszko, P.; Šipoš, Jan; Drozd, P.; Kočárek, P.

2017-01-01

Roč. 20, č. 1 (2017), s. 57-64 ISSN 1343-8786 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : Apterygida media * Palearctic region * riparian hardwood forest Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Entomology Impact factor: 1.262, year: 2016

The euonymus leaf-notcher, Pryeria sinica Moore (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) - alive and well in Fairfax County, Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Pryeria sinica Moore, a species native to the eastern Palearctic, was first detected in North America in 2001, where the conspicuous, gregariously-feeding larvae were noticed on ornamental Euonymous (Celastraceae) in a residential area of Fairfax County, Virginia. Although the species was moderatel...

Bat study in the Kharaa region, Mongolia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariunbold Jargalsaikhan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Our study objectives were to determine bat species composition and to study the genetic variations and sound characteristics in bats of the Kharaa, Shatan, and Ulgii areas of Mongolia. This study is the first bat survey in this area. Nineteen species were from Mongolia. Six bat species belonged to three genera. We performed mitochondrial DNA sequencing of Myotis bombinus, Myotis gracilis, and Myotis petax to confirm the morphological identification of these species. We also determined the sound frequencies of the six bat species, based on their echolocation calls. The conservation status was determined using World Conservation Union red list categories and criteria. Sixteen bats from three species were ringed during this study and three artificial boxes were placed on trees in the Kharaa River Valley. Other than the northern bat, all species were eastern Palearctic. The northern bat (Eptesicus nilssonii species is widespread in the northern Palearctic region.

Na pjatom konkurse derevjannoi arhitekturõ pobedili individualnõje zhilõje doma / Märt Riistop

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Riistop, Märt

2008-01-01

Konkursist "Eesti parim puitehitis 2007", premeeritud töödest. Parim puitehitis 2007 - eramu Kiili vallas (arhitekt ja tellija Karmo Tõra, projekteerijad K. Tõra, Andres Sokk, Tõnu Peipmam). Äramärgitud - eramu Mähel (arhitekt Raul Vaiksoo, projekteerija Raul Vaiksoo Arhitektuuribüroo), Eesti Kunstiakadeemia üliõpilaste ehitised Pedaspeal (juhendajad Andres Alver ja Jaan Tiidemann, üliõpilased Anu Arm, 2006 ja Ivan Sergejev, 2007). Liimpuidu kasutamise eriauhind - AS Palmako tootmishoone Tartumaal Kavastus (projekteerija AS Resand, Villu Leppik ja Alar Just, arhitektuuriprojekt: Tartu Arhitektuuribüroo, Roman Smushkin). Voodrilaua kasutamise eriauhind - Tammeõue kortermajad Viimsis (arhitekt: Agabus, Endjärv, Truverk Arhitektid, projekteerimine: Pikoprojekt OÜ, ehitaja: AS NCC Ehitus). Žürii koosseis

Seasonal changes in english walnut (Juglans regia L.) (Juglandaceae), fruit properties and host use patterns by Rhagoletis zoqui (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Rhagoletis zoqui Bush is a Neosubtropical, univoltine, frugivorous tephritid fly that exploits both native Juglans spp. and the introduced, Palearctic English walnut, Juglans regia. The seasonal development of commercial J. regia fruit and the pattern of host exploitation by R. zoqui were tracked ov...

Bionomy of the laurel scale Aonidia lauri (Bouche (Hemiptera: Diaspididae in Podgorica, Montenegro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graora Draga

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aonidia lauri (Bouche (Hemiptera: Diaspididae is a serious pest of laurel (Laurus nobilis L. in urban parts of the City of Podgorica (Montenegro. Severe infestation causes chlorotic spots and necrotic rings around feeding spots, drying and dieback of leaves and buds. In addition, plants become physiologically weak and lose in aesthetic quality, while continuous infestation in urban areas often leads to partial or complete drying of plants. This study of the biology of A. lauri on L. nobilis was carried out at three locations in Podgorica ('Stara Varoš', 'Centar' and 'Preko Morače', Montenegro, in 2010 and 2011. A. lauri developed three generations annually and overwintered on laurel leaves and branches as the second-instar nymph-larval stage. An extended period of larval development ensures a continuous presence of all development stages on plants, which leads to overlapping of generations. Sporadic predatory ladybirds, Chilocorus bipustulatus (L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae, whose larvae and adults feed on scales, were detected inside A. lauri colonies.

Raptor habitat use in the lake Chad basin: insights into the effect of flood-plain transformation on afrotropical and paleartic raptors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buij, R.; Croes, B.M.

2013-01-01

West African flood-plains have undergone major land-use transformations in the second half of the 20th century. To obtain insight in the effect of flood-plain development for irrigated rice cultivation on the abundance, richness, and diversity of Palearctic and Afrotropical raptors, we conducted

A new species of Ormocerus Walker (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) from North America and a range expansion for Ormocerus latus Walker

Science.gov (United States)

Ormocerus dirigoius, n. sp. is described and compared to the North American O. americanus Dzhanokmen and Grissell and European species O. latus Walker and O. vernalis Walker. A range expansion into the Nearctic is reported for O. latus, previously only known from the Palearctic. Specimens were colle...

Immature stages and phylogenetic importance of Astrapaeus, a rove beetle genus of puzzling systematic position (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylinini)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pietrykowska-Tudruj, E.; Staniec, B.; Wojas, T.; Alexey, A.

2014-01-01

For the first time eggs, larvae and pupae obtained by rearing are described for Astrapaeus, a monotypic West Palearctic rove beetle genus of a puzzling phylogenetic position within the megadiverse tribe Staphylinini. Morphology of the immature stages of Astrapaeus ulmi is compared to that of other

West meets East: How do rainforest beetles become circum-Pacific? Evolutionary origin of Callipogon relictus and allied species (Cerambycidae: Prioninae) in the New and Old Worlds.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sangil; de Medeiros, Bruno A S; Byun, Bong-Kyu; Lee, Seunghwan; Kang, Jung-Hoon; Lee, Bongwoo; Farrell, Brian D

2018-03-07

The longhorn beetle genus Callipogon Audinet-Serville represents a small group of large wood-boring beetles whose distribution pattern exhibits a unique trans-Pacific disjunction between the East Asian temperate rainforest and the tropical rainforest of the Neotropics. To understand the biogeographic history underlying this circum-Pacific disjunct distribution, we reconstructed a molecular phylogeny of the subfamily Prioninae with extensive sampling of Callipogon using multilocus sequence data of 99 prionine and four parandrine samples (ingroups), together with two distant outgroup species. Our sampling of Callipogon includes 18 of the 24 currently accepted species, with complete representation of all species in our focal subgenera. Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed the purported affinity between the Palearctic Callipogon relictus and its Neotropical congeners. Furthermore, based on molecular dating under the fossilized birth-death (FBD) model with comprehensive fossil records and probabilistic ancestral range reconstructions, we estimated the crown group Callipogon to have originated in the Paleocene circa 60 million years ago (Ma) across the Neotropics and Eastern Palearctics. The divergence between the Palearctic C. relictus and its Neotropical congeners is explained as the result of a vicariance event following the demise of boreotropical forest across Beringia at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. As C. relictus represents the unique relictual species that evidentiates the lineage's expansive ancient distribution, we evaluated its conservation importance through species distribution modelling. Though we estimated a range expansion for C. relictus by 2050, we emphasize a careful implementation of conservation programs towards the protection of primary forest across its current habitats, as the species remains highly vulnerable to habitat disturbance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

COMMON EURASIAN FISH TAPEWORM, CARYOPHYLLAEIDES FENNICA (CESTODA), IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA: FURTHER EVIDENCE OF 'AMPHI-PACIFIC' VICARIANCE IN FRESHWATER FISH PARASITES

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Oros, M.; Choudhury, A.; Scholz, Tomáš

2017-01-01

Roč. 103, č. 5 (2017), s. 486-496 ISSN 0022-3395 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP505/12/G112 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : phylogenetic-relationships * palearctic region * platyhelminthes * identification * biogeography * oligochaeta * morphology * sequences * patterns Subject RIV: EG - Zoology OBOR OECD: Zoology Impact factor: 1.326, year: 2016

Attraction of Hylastes opacus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) to nonanal

Science.gov (United States)

Peter de Groot; Therese M. Poland

2003-01-01

Hylastes opacus Erichson is a recently introduced bark beetle in North America (Bright and Skidmore 1997; Hoebeke 1994; Rabaglia and Cavey 1994; Wood 1992). It is widely distributed in the Palearctic region, where it usually breeds in stumps and roots of dead or dying pines (Pinus) and occasionally other conifers (Hoebeke 1994)....

Changing Names with Changed Address: Integrated Taxonomy and Species Delimitation in the Holarctic Colymbetes paykulli Group (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcus K Drotz

Full Text Available Species delimitation of geographically isolated forms is a long-standing problem in less studied insect groups. Often taxonomic decisions are based directly on morphologic variation, and lack a discussion regarding sample size and the efficiency of migration barriers or dispersal/migration capacity of the studied species. These problems are here exemplified in a water beetle complex from the Bering Sea region that separates North America from Eurasia. Only a few sampled specimens occur from this particular area and they are mostly found in museum and private collections. Here we utilize the theory of integrated taxonomy to discuss the speciation of the Holarctic Colymbetes paykulli water beetle complex, which historically has included up to five species of which today only two are recognized. Three delimitation methods are used; landmark based morphometry of body shape, variation in reticulation patterns of the pronotum exo-skeleton and sequence variation of the partial mitochondrial gene Cyt b. Our conclusion is that the Palearctic and Nearctic populations of C. paykulli are given the status of separate species, based on the fact that all methods showed significant separation between populations. As a consequence the name of the Palearctic species is C. paykulli Erichson and the Nearctic species should be known as C. longulus LeConte. There is no clear support for delineation between Palearctic and Nearctic populations of C. dahuricus based on mtDNA. However, significant difference in size and reticulation patterns from the two regions is shown. The combined conclusion is that the C. dahuricus complex needs a more thorough investigation to fully disentangle its taxonomic status. Therefore it is here still regarded as a Holarctic species. This study highlights the importance to study several diagnosable characters that has the potential to discriminate evolutionary lineage during speciation.

A new western nearctic species of Calameuta konow (Hymenoptera: cephidae)

Science.gov (United States)

David R. Smith; Nathan M. Schiff

2005-01-01

Calameuta middlekauffi, n. sp., is described from southern Oregon and California. It is the second species of Calarneuta in North America and is differentiated from C. clnvnta (Norton) by head shape and coloration. Illustrations, descriptions, and a key are given to separate the two species. The food plant is unknown, but Palearctic species of...

Cross-continental migratory connectivity and spatiotemporal migratory patterns in the great reed warbler

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Koleček, Jaroslav; Procházka, Petr; El-Arabany, N.; Tarka, M.; Ilieva, M.; Hahn, S.; Honza, Marcel; de la Puente, J.; Bermejo, A.; Gürsoy, A.; Bensch, S.; Zehtindjiev, P.; Hasselquist, D.; Hansson, B.

2016-01-01

Roč. 47, č. 6 (2016), s. 756-767 ISSN 0908-8857 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-06451S Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : Light-level geolocators * Acrocephalus arundinaceus * Bird migration * Palearctic passerines * Wintering ground * Migrant birds * Wide tracking * Complete molt * Annual cycle * West Africa Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 2.228, year: 2016

Ophiotaenia bungari n. sp. (Cestoda), a parasite of Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider) (Ophidia: Elapidae) from Vietnam, with comments on relative ovarian size as a new and potentially useful diagnostic character for proteocephalidean tapeworms

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

de Chambrier, A.; Binh, T. T.; Scholz, Tomáš

2012-01-01

Roč. 81, č. 1 (2012), s. 39-50 ISSN 0165-5752 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC522; GA ČR GA524/08/0885 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518 Keywords : PALEARCTIC REGION * EUCESTODA * identification * COLUBRIDAE * PHYLOGENY * EVOLUTION * PARAGUAY * FISHES Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine Impact factor: 1.260, year: 2012

A New Genus and Species of Proteocephalidean Tapeworm (Cestoda) From Pangasius larnaudii (Siluriformes: Pangasiidae) In Southeast Asia

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Scholz, Tomáš; de Chambrier, A.

2012-01-01

Roč. 98, č. 3 (2012), s. 648-653 ISSN 0022-3395 R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP505/12/G112 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60220518 Keywords : PALEARCTIC REGION * REDESCRIPTION * EUCESTODA * PARASITES * FISHES Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine Impact factor: 1.321, year: 2012 http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1645/GE-2992.1

Medical Entomology Studies - III. A Revision of the Subgenus Culex in the Oriental Region (Diptera: Culicidae) (Contributions of the American Entomological Institute. Volume 12, Number 2)

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

Subgroup with quinquefasciatus which is widespread throughout tropical parts of the world, (2) TrifiZatus Subgroup with vegans and hutchinsoni, both...region; torrentium Martini 1925 from the western Palearctic; vegans Wiedemann 1828 from the eastern Pale- arctic; pervigiluns Bergroth 1889, pacificus...discovered when the fauna is thoroughly examined. 2. C ULEX (C ULEX) VAGANS WIEDEMANN (Figs. 4, 5, 14) Culex vegans Wiedemann 1828: 545 (d, 0

Predaceous diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae from Montenegro with new records and description of the female of Hydroporus Macedonicus Fery & Pešić, 2006

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavićević Ana

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the aquatic beetle species of the family Dytiscidae collected from various freshwaters habitats in Montenegro. In total 39 water beetle species were collected from 56 localities in Montenegro between 2007 and 2010. Twelve species and one subspecies are reported for the first time for Montenegro: Agabus sturmii (Gyllenhal, 1808, A. paludosus (Fabricius, 1801, Deronectes moestus inconspectus (Leprieur, 1876, D. platynotus (Germar, 1834, Dytiscus circumcinctus Ahrens, 1811, D. dimidiatus Bergstrдsser, 1778, Hydroporus macedonicus Fery & Pešić, 2006, H. pubescens (Gyllenhal, 1808, Ilybius chalconatus (Panzer, 1797, I. fuliginosus fuliginosus (Fabricius, 1792, I. pseudoneglectus (Franciscolo, 1972, Liopterus haemorrhoidalis (Fabricius, 1787 and Nebrioporus luctuosus (Aubй, 1838. The female genitalia of Hydroporus macedonicus Fery & Pešić, 2006, a rare water beetle previously known only from southern Macedonia, are illustrated. The present state of knowledge of the Montenegrin diving beetle fauna and its ecological characteristics is discussed.

History and Structure of Sub-Saharan Populations of Drosophila melanogaster

OpenAIRE

Pool, John E.; Aquadro, Charles F.

2006-01-01

Drosophila melanogaster is an important model organism in evolutionary genetics, yet little is known about the population structure and the demographic history of this species within sub-Saharan Africa, which is thought to contain its ancestral range. We surveyed nucleotide variation at four 1-kb fragments in 240 individual lines representing 21 sub-Saharan and 4 Palearctic population samples of D. melanogaster. In agreement with recent studies, we find a small but significant level of geneti...

Distribution of the longhorned beetle Callipogon relictus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Northeast Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Dae-Am; Kuprin, Alexander V; Bae, Yeon Jae

2018-01-02

The distribution of the longhorned beetle Callipogon (Eoxenus) relictus Semenov, 1899 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Northeast Asia was summarized for the first time, based on the examination of comprehensive material. Callipogon relictus is the only representative of the genus Callipogon in the Palearctic region. Its distribution ranges from Shanxi province (China) in the south, northward through the Korean Peninsula to Amur Oblast (Russia), and from Inner Mongolia (China) in the west to the coastal area of the Russian Far East.

White-nose syndrome pathology grading in Nearctic and Palearctic bats

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pikula, J.; Amelon, S. K.; Banďouchová, H.; Bartonička, T.; Berková, Hana; Brichta, J.; Hooper, S.; Kokurewicz, T.; Kolařík, Miroslav; Köllner, B.; Kováčová, V.; Linhart, P.; Piaček, V.; Turner, G. G.; Zukal, Jan; Martínková, Natália

2017-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 8 (2017), č. článku e0180435. E-ISSN 1932-6203 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP506/12/1064; GA ČR(CZ) GA17-20286S Institutional support: RVO:68081766 ; RVO:61388971 Keywords : white-nose syndrome * bats Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine; EE - Microbiology, Virology (MBU-M) OBOR OECD: Veterinary science; Microbiology (MBU-M) Impact factor: 2.806, year: 2016

White-nose syndrome pathology grading in Nearctic and Palearctic bats

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pikula, J.; Amelon, S. K.; Banďouchová, H.; Bartonička, T.; Berková, Hana; Brichta, J.; Hooper, S.; Kokurewicz, T.; Kolařík, Miroslav; Köllner, B.; Kováčová, V.; Linhart, P.; Piacek, V.; Turner, G. G.; Zukal, Jan; Martínková, Natália

2017-01-01

Roč. 12, č. 8 (2017), č. článku e0180435. E-ISSN 1932-6203 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP506/12/1064; GA ČR(CZ) GA17-20286S Institutional support: RVO:68081766 ; RVO:61388971 Keywords : white-nose syndrome * bat s Subject RIV: GJ - Animal Vermins ; Diseases, Veterinary Medicine; EE - Microbiology, Virology (MBU-M) OBOR OECD: Veterinary science; Microbiology (MBU-M) Impact factor: 2.806, year: 2016

On the feeding ecology of Pelophylax saharicus (Boulenger 1913) from Morocco

OpenAIRE

Zaida Ortega; Valentín Pérez-Mellado; Pilar Navarro; Javier Lluch

2016-01-01

The Sahara frog is the most common amphibian found in North Africa. However, the knowledge of its natural history is rather fragmentary. In the present work we studied the trophic ecology of Pelophylax saharicus at some areas of Morocco through the analysis of 130 gastric contents. We did not find any significant sexual dimorphism in body size of adult individuals. Consumed prey show similar sizes in both sexes, while bigger frogs normally eat larger prey. As in other Palearctic frogs, the di...

Responses to playback of different subspecies songs in the Reed Bunting (Emberiza s. schoeniclus)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Matessi, Giuliano; Dabelsteen, Torben; Pilastro, A.

2000-01-01

Populations of Reed Buntings Emberiza schoeniclus in the western Palearctic are classified in two major subspecies groups according to morphology: northern migratory schoeniclus and Mediterranean resident intermedia. Songs of the two groups differ mainly in complexity and syllable structure......, with intermedia songs being more complex. We explored the possibilities of song as a subspecies isolating mechanism by testing if male schoeniclus Reed Buntings reacted differently to field playbacks of songs from their own subspecies group, from the foreign subspecies group and from a control species...

Remarks on the thermopreferendum of palearctic bats in their natural habitats

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaisler, Jiří

1970-01-01

This contribution comprises two remarks of ecological rather than physiological character. Contrary to Herter (1952), Herreid (1967), and Harmata (1969), I did not examine the temperature preference, or thermopreferendum, of bats under experimental conditions but concluded on it only on grounds of

Intra-tropical movements as a beneficial strategy for Palearctic migratory birds

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Koleček, Jaroslav; Hahn, S.; Emmenegger, T.; Procházka, Petr

2018-01-01

Roč. 5, č. 171675 (2018), č. článku 171675. ISSN 2054-5703 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-06451S Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : geolocator * habitat deterioration * NDVI * passerines * sub-Saharan Africa * vegetation conditions Subject RIV: EG - Zoology OBOR OECD: Ornithology Impact factor: 2.243, year: 2016

Contribution to the myrmecofauna (Formicidae, Hymenoptera of the Banat province, Serbia

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Petrov Ivan Z.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Ant species collected in the season of 1997, with some specimens of earlier years are presented. Collected species belong to the four subfamilies with the following number of species: Ponerinae (1 species, Myrmicinae (30 Dolichoderinae (6, Formicinae (30. Collected species are mostly Palearctic, European, and Southeuropean. Three Holarctic (Lasius alienus, L. flavus and L. niger and four Mediterranean (Messor structor, Bothriomyrmex meridionalis Camponotus piceus and Cataglyphis aenescens species were also registered. Mediterranean species are probably the remnants of the fauna of the region of Pannonian sea.

Degree of protandry reflects level of extrapair paternity in migratory songbirds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coppack, Timothy; Tøttrup, Anders Peter; Spottiswoode, Claire

2006-01-01

Males of most migratory organisms, including many birds, precede female conspecifics on their journey to the breeding areas. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of protandrous migration, yet they have rarely been tested at the interspecific level. Here, we provide...... that the time-lag in spring passage between males and females of five Palearctic migratory songbird species is positively associated with levels of extrapair paternity available from the literature. This suggests that males arrive relatively more in advance of females in species with high sperm competition...

Resolution VII International Conference Working Group on Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia “Birds of Prey of Northern Eurasia: Problems and Adaptation Under Modern Conditions”

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Igor V. Karyakin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available From 19 to 24 September, 2016 VII International Conference of the Working Group on Raptors of Northern Eurasia “Birds of prey of Northern Eurasia: problems and adaptation under modern conditions” was held on the basis of the Sochi National Park. Materials for the conference were presented by 198 ornithologists from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, Estonia and the USA, who published 148 articles in two collections “Birds of prey of Northern Eurasia” and “Palearctic Harriers”.

Emergence of long distance bird migrations: a new model integrating global climate changes

Science.gov (United States)

Louchart, Antoine

2008-12-01

During modern birds history, climatic and environmental conditions have evolved on wide scales. In a continuously changing world, landbirds annual migrations emerged and developed. However, models accounting for the origins of these avian migrations were formulated with static ecogeographic perspectives. Here I reviewed Cenozoic paleoclimatic and paleontological data relative to the palearctic paleotropical long distance (LD) migration system. This led to propose a new model for the origin of LD migrations, the ‘shifting home’ model (SHM). It is based on a dynamic perspective of climate evolution and may apply to the origins of most modern migrations. Non-migrant tropical African bird taxa were present at European latitudes during most of the Cenozoic. Their distribution limits shifted progressively toward modern tropical latitudes during periods of global cooling and increasing seasonality. In parallel, decreasing winter temperatures in the western Palearctic drove shifts of population winter ranges toward the equator. I propose that this induced the emergence of most short distance migrations, and in turn LD migrations. This model reconciliates ecologically tropical ancestry of most LD migrants with predominant winter range shifts, in accordance with requirements for heritable homing. In addition, it is more parsimonious than other non-exclusive models. Greater intrinsic plasticity of winter ranges implied by the SHM is supported by recently observed impacts of the present global warming on migrating birds. This may induce particular threats to some LD migrants. The ancestral, breeding homes of LD migrants were not ‘northern’ or ‘southern’ but shifted across high and middle latitudes while migrations emerged through winter range shifts themselves.

Circumpolar variation in morphological characteristics of Greater White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons

Science.gov (United States)

Ely, Craig R.; Fox, A.D.; Alisauskas, R.T.; Andreev, A.; Bromley, R.G.; Degtyarev, Andrei G.; Ebbinge, B.; Gurtovaya, E.N.; Kerbes, R.; Kondratyev, Alexander V.; Kostin, I.; Krechmar, A.V.; Litvin, K.E.; Miyabayashi, Y.; Moou, J.H.; Oates, R.M.; Orthmeyer, D.L.; Sabano, Yutaka; Simpson, S.G.; Solovieva, D.V.; Spindler, Michael A.; Syroechkovsky, Y.V.; Takekawa, John Y.; Walsh, A.

2005-01-01

Capsule: Greater White-fronted Geese show significant variation in body size from sampling locations throughout their circumpolar breeding range. Aims: To determine the degree of geographical variation in body size of Greater White-fronted Geese and identify factors contributing to any apparent patterns in variation. Methods: Structural measures of >3000 geese from 16 breeding areas throughout the Holarctic breeding range of the species were compared statistically. Results: Palearctic forms varied clinally, and increased in size from the smallest forms on the Kanin and Taimyr peninsulas in western Eurasia to the largest forms breeding in the Anadyr Lowlands of eastern Chukotka. Clinal variation was less apparent in the Nearctic, as both the smallest form in the Nearctic and the largest form overall (the Tule Goose) were from different breeding areas in Alaska. The Tule Goose was 25% larger than the smallest form. Birds from Greenland (A. a. flavirostris) were the second largest, although only slightly larger than geese from several North American populations. Body size was not correlated with breeding latitude but was positively correlated with temperature on the breeding grounds, breeding habitat, and migration distance. Body mass of Greater White-fronted Geese from all populations remained relatively constant during the period of wing moult. Morphological distinctness of eastern and western Palearctic forms concurs with earlier findings of complete range disjunction. Conclusions: Patterns of morphological variation in Greater White-fronted Geese across the Holarctic can be generally attributed to adaptation to variable breeding environments, migration requirements, and phylo-geographical histories. 

Limno-terrestrial Tardigrada of the Nearctic Realm

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Juliana G. HINTON

2007-09-01

Full Text Available We examined all available records of limno-terrestrial tardigrade distribution in the Nearctic realm (Greenland, Canada, Alaska, the continental United States of America, and northern Mexico, both to compare this fauna with other realms and to investigate distribution within North America. We included only those records in which tardigrades had been identified to species. Of 204 Nearctic limno-terrestrial tardigrade species, 38 were cosmopolitan, while 55 were unique to the Nearctic realm. The Nearctic tardigrade fauna is most similar to the Palearctic, with 135 species in common, 39 of which have not been reported elsewhere. The Nearctic realm shares 82 species with the Neotropical realm, only 10 which are not also Palearctic. These data are consistent with the geological history of the three realms, and indicate a distinction between Laurasian and Gondwanan tardigrade faunas. Although little is known about limno-terrestrial tardigrade distribution in much of North America, there are several excellent regional or local surveys. Many species are distributed widely throughout the continent, but 30.0% of Nearctic species have been reported from a single site. Cluster analysis of the fauna of 11 Nearctic regions shows that the Arctic and sub-Arctic fauna constitute a regional fauna distinct from the rest of the continent. Ecological analysis is hampered by inconsistent reporting of tardigrade substrate, though available data suggest little substrate specificity in terrestrial tardigrades. Most species are found in both mosses and lichens. Many are also present in soil and leaf litter, but few are found only in these substrates.

Examining the relationship between local extinction risk and position in range.

Science.gov (United States)

Boakes, Elizabeth H; Isaac, Nicholas J B; Fuller, Richard A; Mace, Georgina M; McGowan, Philip J K

2018-02-01

Over half of globally threatened animal species have experienced rapid geographic range loss. Identifying the parts of species' distributions most vulnerable to local extinction would benefit conservation planning. However, previous studies give little consensus on whether ranges decline to the core or edge. We built on previous work by using empirical data to examine the position of recent local extinctions within species' geographic ranges, address range position as a continuum, and explore the influence of environmental factors. We aggregated point-locality data for 125 Galliform species from across the Palearctic and Indo-Malaya into equal-area half-degree grid cells and used a multispecies dynamic Bayesian occupancy model to estimate rates of local extinctions. Our model provides a novel approach to identify loss of populations from within species ranges. We investigated the relationship between extinction rates and distance from range edge by examining whether patterns were consistent across biogeographic realm and different categories of land use. In the Palearctic, local extinctions occurred closer to the range edge than range core in both unconverted and human-dominated landscapes. In Indo-Malaya, no pattern was found for unconverted landscapes, but in human-dominated landscapes extinctions tended to occur closer to the core than the edge. Our results suggest that local and regional factors override general spatial patterns of recent local extinction within species' ranges and highlight the difficulty of predicting the parts of a species' distribution most vulnerable to threat. © 2017 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

In memory of Georgiy A. Anufriev (19.11.1943–13.05.2017

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Vladimir A. Zryanin

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Georgiy A. Anufriev, Doctor of Science, famous entomologist, leading expert in systematics of Cicadinea of Russia and Palearctics, adjunct professor of the Department of Botany and Zoology of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, died suddenly on May 13, 2017 after suffering a massive stroke without regaining consciousness. Georgiy A. Anufriev is the author of more than 230 scientific papers on fauna, systematics, and ecology of Cicadinea (Hemiptera: Cicadinea and insects of other groups. The biography and a complete list of the published works of G.A. Anufriev are included in this review.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE COMPOSITION OF THE TERRESTRIAL FAUNA AND FLORA OF THE TETHYS DESERT-STEPPE REGION OF PALEARARTICS, BIOGEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES OF THE CAUCASUS. MESSAGE 1. TERRESTRIAL FAUNA

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G. M. Abdurakhmanov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. The aim is to conduct a comparative analysis of the composition of the terrestrial fauna of the Tethys desert-steppe region of the Palearctic.Materials and methods. The work was based on the materials collected in different republics and regions of the Caucasus and the south of the European part of Russia during 50 years (from 1961 to 2016 which are kept in various domestic and foreign institutions. Catalogs on the studied model groups were also used to conduct the research. In making the dendrograms, a cluster analysis based on the Jaccard coefficient was used.Results. A detailed analysis was carried out by model groups of the animals of the Eastern and Western Thethys complexes of the desert-steppe region of the Palearctic. Comparative analysis has shown that a significant number of species and genera of the discussed territories is characterized by an exceptionally high ratio of endemic species and superspecies taxa. Indicators of endemism in model groups fluctuate depending on the population's ability to resettle. High endemism of faunas of darkling beetles, ground beetles, click beetles and land snails in the Eastern Tethys complex was noted.Conclusion. The Caucasus (in a new interpretation is characterized by a high percentage of endemism for the studied model groups. A large number of the common Tethys genera and species in all model groups attests to their fundamental role in the overall composition of the biota against the background of powerful autochthonous centers of species-formation and, most importantly, the formation and functioning of the Palaearctic desert-steppe belt as the Tethys ocean reduced. 

Beta-diversity of ectoparasites at two spatial scales: nested hierarchy, geography and habitat type.

Science.gov (United States)

Warburton, Elizabeth M; van der Mescht, Luther; Stanko, Michal; Vinarski, Maxim V; Korallo-Vinarskaya, Natalia P; Khokhlova, Irina S; Krasnov, Boris R

2017-06-01

Beta-diversity of biological communities can be decomposed into (a) dissimilarity of communities among units of finer scale within units of broader scale and (b) dissimilarity of communities among units of broader scale. We investigated compositional, phylogenetic/taxonomic and functional beta-diversity of compound communities of fleas and gamasid mites parasitic on small Palearctic mammals in a nested hierarchy at two spatial scales: (a) continental scale (across the Palearctic) and (b) regional scale (across sites within Slovakia). At each scale, we analyzed beta-diversity among smaller units within larger units and among larger units with partitioning based on either geography or ecology. We asked (a) whether compositional, phylogenetic/taxonomic and functional dissimilarities of flea and mite assemblages are scale dependent; (b) how geographical (partitioning of sites according to geographic position) or ecological (partitioning of sites according to habitat type) characteristics affect phylogenetic/taxonomic and functional components of dissimilarity of ectoparasite assemblages and (c) whether assemblages of fleas and gamasid mites differ in their degree of dissimilarity, all else being equal. We found that compositional, phylogenetic/taxonomic, or functional beta-diversity was greater on a continental rather than a regional scale. Compositional and phylogenetic/taxonomic components of beta-diversity were greater among larger units than among smaller units within larger units, whereas functional beta-diversity did not exhibit any consistent trend regarding site partitioning. Geographic partitioning resulted in higher values of beta-diversity of ectoparasites than ecological partitioning. Compositional and phylogenetic components of beta-diversity were higher in fleas than mites but the opposite was true for functional beta-diversity in some, but not all, traits.

Foraging flight distances of wintering ducks and geese: a review

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William P. Johnson

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The distance covered by foraging animals, especially those that radiate from a central area when foraging, may affect ecosystem, community, and population dynamics, and has conservation and landscape planning implications for multiple taxa, including migratory waterfowl. Migrating and wintering waterfowl make regular foraging flights between roosting and feeding areas that can greatly impact energetic resources within the foraging zone near roost sites. We reviewed published studies and gray literature for one-way foraging flight distances (FFDs of migrating and wintering dabbling ducks and geese. Thirty reviewed studies reported FFDs and several reported values for multiple species or locations. We obtained FFD values for migration (n = 7 and winter (n = 70. We evaluated the effects of body mass, guild, i.e., dabbling duck or goose, and location, i.e., Nearctic or Palearctic, on FFDs. We used the second-order Akaike's Information Criterion for model selection. We found support for effects of location and guild on FFDs. FFDs of waterfowl wintering in the Nearctic (7.4 ± 6.7 km, mean ± SD; n = 39 values were longer than in the Palearctic (4.2 ± 3.2 km; n = 31 values. The FFDs of geese (7.8 ± 7.2 km, mean ± SD; n = 24 values were longer than FFDs of dabbling ducks (5.1 ± 4.4 km, mean ± SD; n = 46 values. We found mixed evidence that distance flown from the roost changed, i.e., increased or decreased, seasonally. Our results can be used to refine estimates of energetic carrying capacity around roosts and in biological and landscape planning efforts.

Comments on cladocerans of crater lakes of the Nevado de Toluca Volcano (Central Mexico), with the description of a new species, Alona manueli sp. nov.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinev, Artem Y; Zawisza, Edyta

2013-01-01

Cladoceran communities of two lakes of Nevado de Toluca Volcano, Central Mexico, were studied. A new species of Aloninae, Alona manueli sp. nov., is described. It was previously confused with Palearctic Alona intermedia Sars, 1862, but clearly differs from it in the morphology of postabdomen, head shield and head pores, and thoracic limbs. Position of Alona manueli sp. nov. within the genus is unclear, it did not belong to any species-group within Alona s. lato. Other species recorded in the studied lakes are Alona ossiani Sinev, 1998, Alonella pulchella Herrick, 1884, Chydorus belonging to sphaericus-group, Eurycercus longirostris Hann, 1982 and Pleuroxus cf. denticulatus Birge, 1879.

Historical biogeography of Western Palearctic pelobatid and pelodytid frogs: a molecular phylogenetic perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veith, M.K.H.; Fromhage, L.; Kosuch, J.; Vences, M.

2006-01-01

Abstract Spadefoot toads (Pelobates) and Parsley frogs (Pelodytes) are an enigmatic group of Western Palaearctic anurans. In the genus Pelobates, a fossorial lifestyle has enforced a conserved bauplan that masks their intraspecific evolutionary history. We used partial sequences of the mitochondrial

New record of the Genus Muscaphis (Sternorhyncha, Aphididae) in the Eastern Palearctic Region

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Lee, S.; Havelka, Jan

2001-01-01

Roč. 18, č. 4 (2001), s. 315-323 ISSN 1225-0104 R&D Projects: GA MŠk ME 327 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5007907 Keywords : Sternorhyncha * Aphididae * Muscaphis stroyani Subject RIV: EG - Zoology

Limited phylogeographic signal in sex-linked and autosomal loci despite geographically, ecologically, and phenotypically concordant structure of mtDNA variation in the Holarctic avian genus Eremophila.

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Sergei V Drovetski

Full Text Available Phylogeographic studies of Holarctic birds are challenging because they involve vast geographic scale, complex glacial history, extensive phenotypic variation, and heterogeneous taxonomic treatment across countries, all of which require large sample sizes. Knowledge about the quality of phylogeographic information provided by different loci is crucial for study design. We use sequences of one mtDNA gene, one sex-linked intron, and one autosomal intron to elucidate large scale phylogeographic patterns in the Holarctic lark genus Eremophila. The mtDNA ND2 gene identified six geographically, ecologically, and phenotypically concordant clades in the Palearctic that diverged in the Early-Middle Pleistocene and suggested paraphyly of the horned lark (E. alpestris with respect to the Temminck's lark (E. bilopha. In the Nearctic, ND2 identified five subclades which diverged in the Late Pleistocene. They overlapped geographically and were not concordant phenotypically or ecologically. Nuclear alleles provided little information on geographic structuring of genetic variation in horned larks beyond supporting the monophyly of Eremophila and paraphyly of the horned lark. Multilocus species trees based on two nuclear or all three loci provided poor support for haplogroups identified by mtDNA. The node ages calculated using mtDNA were consistent with the available paleontological data, whereas individual nuclear loci and multilocus species trees appeared to underestimate node ages. We argue that mtDNA is capable of discovering independent evolutionary units within avian taxa and can provide a reasonable phylogeographic hypothesis when geographic scale, geologic history, and phenotypic variation in the study system are too complex for proposing reasonable a priori hypotheses required for multilocus methods. Finally, we suggest splitting the currently recognized horned lark into five Palearctic and one Nearctic species.

Diversification patterns in cosmopolitan earthworms: similar mode but different tempo.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández, Rosa; Novo, Marta; Marchán, Daniel F; Díaz Cosín, Darío J

2016-01-01

Comparative phylogeography of widespread species that span the same geographic areas can elucidate the influence of historical events on current patterns of biodiversity, identify patterns of co-vicariance, and therefore aid the understanding of general evolutionary processes. Soil-dwelling animals present characteristics that make them suitable for testing the effect of the palaeogeographical events on their distribution and diversification, such as their low vagility and population structure. In this study, we shed light on the spatial lineage diversification and cladogenesis of two widely-distributed cosmopolitan and invasive earthworms (Aporrectodea rosea and A. trapezoides) in their putative ancestral area of origin, the Western Palearctic, and a few populations in North America. Molecular analyses were conducted on mitochondrial and nuclear markers from 220 (A. rosea) and 198 (A. trapezoides) individuals collected in 56 and 57 localities, respectively. We compared the lineage diversification pattern, genetic variability and cladogenesis in both species. Our findings showed that both species underwent a similar diversification from the Western Mediterranean plates to (i) Northern Europe and (ii) the Iberian Peninsula, establishing their two main lineages. Their diversification was in concordance with the main palaeogeographical events in the Iberian Peninsula and Western Mediterranean, followed by a later colonization of North America from individuals derived exclusively from the Eurosiberian lineage. Their diversification occurred at different times, with the diversification of A. rosea being potentially more ancient. Cladogenesis in both species seems to have been modelled only by the Mediterranean plate shifts, ignoring historical climatic oscillations such as the Messinian salinity crisis. Their high genetic variability, strong population structure, lack of gene flow and stepping-stone-like cladogenesis suggest the existence of different cryptic lineages

Macroevolutionary patterns in the Aphidini aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae: diversification, host association, and biogeographic origins.

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Hyojoong Kim

Full Text Available Due to its biogeographic origins and rapid diversification, understanding the tribe Aphidini is key to understanding aphid evolution. Major questions about aphid evolution include origins of host alternation as well as age and patterns of diversification in relation to host plants. To address these questions, we reconstructed the phylogeny of the Aphidini which contains Aphis, the most diverse genus in the family. We used a combined dataset of one nuclear and four mitochondrial DNA regions. A molecular dating approach, calibrated with fossil records, was used to estimate divergence times of these taxa.Most generic divergences in Aphidini occurred in the Middle Tertiary, and species-level divergences occurred between the Middle and Late Tertiary. The ancestral state of host use for Aphidini was equivocal with respect to three states: monoecy on trees, heteroecy, and monoecy on grasses. The ancestral state of Rhopalosiphina likely included both heteroecy and monoecy, whereas that of Aphidina was most likely monoecy. The divergence times of aphid lineages at the generic or subgeneric levels are close to those of their primary hosts. The species-level divergences in aphids are consistent with the diversification of the secondary hosts, as a few examples suggest. The biogeographic origin of Aphidini as a whole was equivocal, but the major lineages within Aphidina likely separated into Nearctic, Western Palearctic, and Eastern Palearctic regions.Most generic divergences in Aphidini occurred in the Middle Tertiary when primary hosts, mainly in the Rosaceae, were diverging, whereas species-level divergences were contemporaneous with diversification of the secondary hosts such as Poaceae in the Middle to Late Tertiary. Our results suggest that evolution of host alternation within Aphidini may have occurred during the Middle Tertiary (Oligocene when the secondary hosts emerged.

Chromosomal Translocations in Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae-Facilitators of Adaptive Radiation?

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Peter H Adler

Full Text Available A macrogenomic investigation of a Holarctic clade of black flies-the Simulium cholodkovskii lineage-provided a platform to explore the implications of a unique, synapomorphic whole-arm interchange in the evolution of black flies. Nearly 60 structural rearrangements were discovered in the polytene complement of the lineage, including 15 common to all 138 analyzed individuals, relative to the central sequence for the entire subgenus Simulium. Three species were represented, of which two Palearctic entities (Simulium cholodkovskii and S. decimatum were sympatric; an absence of hybrids confirmed their reproductive isolation. A third (Nearctic entity had nonhomologous sex chromosomes, relative to the other species, and is considered a separate species, for which the name Simulium nigricoxum is revalidated. A cytophylogeny is inferred and indicates that the two Palearctic taxa are sister species and these, in turn, are the sister group of the Nearctic species. The rise of the S. cholodkovskii lineage encompassed complex chromosomal and genomic restructuring phenomena associated with speciation in black flies, viz. expression of one and the same rearrangement as polymorphic, fixed, or sex linked in different species; taxon-specific differentiation of sex chromosomes; and reciprocal translocation of chromosome arms. The translocation is hypothesized to have occurred early in male spermatogonia, with the translocated chromosomal complement being transmitted to the X- and Y-bearing sperm during spermatogenesis, resulting in alternate disjunction of viable F1 translocation heterozygotes and the eventual formation of more viable and selectable F2 translocation homozygous progeny. Of 11 or 12 independently derived whole-arm interchanges known in the family Simuliidae, at least six are associated with subsequent speciation events, suggesting a facilitating role of translocations in adaptive radiations. The findings are discussed in the context of potential

Observations on the Cave-Associated Beetles (Coleoptera of Nova Scotia, Canada

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Moseley M.

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The cave-associated invertebrates of Nova Scotia constitute a fauna at a very early stage of post-glacial recolonization. TheColeoptera are characterized by low species diversity. A staphylinid Quedius spelaeus spelaeus, a predator, is the only regularlyencountered beetle. Ten other terrestrial species registered from cave environments in the province are collected infrequently. Theyinclude three other rove-beetles: Brathinus nitidus, Gennadota canadensis and Atheta annexa. The latter two together with Catopsgratiosus (Leiodidae constitute a small group of cave-associated beetles found in decompositional situations. Quedius s. spelaeusand a small suite of other guanophiles live in accumulations of porcupine dung: Agolinus leopardus (Scarabaeidae, Corticariaserrata (Latrididae, and Acrotrichis castanea (Ptilidae. Two adventive weevils Otiorhynchus ligneus and Barypeithes pellucidus(Curculionidae collected in shallow cave passages are seasonal transients; Dermestes lardarius (Dermestidae, recorded fromone cave, was probably an accidental (stray. Five of the terrestrial beetles are adventive Palaearctic species. Aquatic beetles arecollected infrequently. Four taxa have been recorded: Agabus larsoni (Dytiscidae may be habitual in regional caves; another Agabussp. (probably semivittatus, Dytiscus sp. (Dytiscidae, and Crenitis digesta (Hydrophilidae are accidentals. The distribution andecology of recorded species are discussed, and attention is drawn to the association of beetles found in a Nova Scotia “ice cave”.

Discovery of the Western Palearctic bee, Megachile (Pseudomegachile) ericetorum, (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), in Ontario Canada

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The bees of North America are very diverse, including over 3500 species. Approximately thirty of these bee species are not native to this continent. Recently another non-native bee, Megachile (Pseudomegachile) ericetorum, was found in a naturalized area in Ontario, Canada. This bee nests in holes...

Attempts to increase a scarce peripheral population of the Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva using a new type of nestbox

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deme Tamás

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The Red-breasted Flycatcher has a large and stable global population widespread through much of the Western Palearctic. Contrarily, however, it is a very scarce breeding bird in the forested montane habitats of Hungary. The few pairs breeding here represent a peripheral population on the very edge of the species’ geographic area. This peripheral population declined considerably (from 3–500 to 100 pairs during the past decades likely due to the degradation of suitable habitat patches including the loss of appropriate nesting sites. To reverse this trend, we applied a new type of artificial nestbox developed specifically for this species. Occupancy rate was very low and breeding success was also low unless applying a protective wire mesh to reduce predation pressure.

Second contribution to the knowledge of earthworms (Lumbricidae in Montenegro

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Stojanović Mirjana M.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available This paper contains the results of qualitative analysis of Lumbricidae (Oligochaeta in Montenegro, during the period 1997-2003. The research has included natural and cultivated biotopes. The presence of 15 species was established and the habitats, localities and their zoogeographical position are given. In Montenegro we found four species for the first time Dendrobaena jastrebensis, D. vejdovskyi, Octodrilus bretcheri and Lumbricus terrestris. The complete list of earthworm species in Montenegro includes 45 taxa. With respects to the zoogeographic situation of the earthworms in Montenegro, the largest number belongs to endemic (10 and European (10 species. But 8 taxa are south-European, 9 Holarctic, 7 cosmopolitan, and 1 Palearctic. The degree of endemism of the earthworm fauna of Montenegro is quite high, exceeding 22.2%.

[Genetic variation and differentiation in striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius inferred from RAPD-PCR analysis].

Science.gov (United States)

Atopkin, D M; Bogdanov, A S; Chelomina, G N

2007-06-01

Genetic variation and differentiation of the trans-Palearctic species Apodemus agrarius (striped field mouse), whose range consists of two large isolates-European-Siberian and Far Eastern-Chinese, were examined using RAPD-PCR analysis. The material from the both parts of the range was examined (41 individual of A. agrarius from 18 localities of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Kazakhstan); the Far-Eastern part was represented by samples from the Amur region, Khabarovsk krai, and Primorye (Russia). Differences in frequencies of polymorphic RAPD loci were found between the European-Siberian and the Far Eastern population groups of striped field mouse. No "fixed" differences between them in RAPD spectra were found, and none of the used statistical methods permitted to distinguish with absolute certainty animals from the two range parts. Thus, genetic isolation of the European-Siberian and the Far Eastern population groups of A. agrarius is not strict. These results support the hypothesis on recent dispersal of striped field mouse from East to West Palearctics (during the Holocene climatic optimum, 7000 to 4500 years ago) and subsequent disjunction of the species range (not earlier than 4000-4500 years ago). The Far Eastern population group is more polymorphic than the European-Siberian one, while genetic heterogeneity is more uniformly distributed within it. This is probably explained by both historical events that happened during the species dispersal in the past, and different environmental conditions for the species in different parts of its range. The Far Eastern population group inhabits the area close to the distribution center of A. agrarius. It is likely that this group preserved genetic variation of the formerly integral ancestral form, while some amount of genetic polymorphism could be lost during the species colonization of the Siberian and European areas. To date, the settlement density and population number in general are higher than within the European

Reproducibility and consistency of proteomic experiments on natural populations of a non-model aquatic insect.

Science.gov (United States)

Hidalgo-Galiana, Amparo; Monge, Marta; Biron, David G; Canals, Francesc; Ribera, Ignacio; Cieslak, Alexandra

2014-01-01

Population proteomics has a great potential to address evolutionary and ecological questions, but its use in wild populations of non-model organisms is hampered by uncontrolled sources of variation. Here we compare the response to temperature extremes of two geographically distant populations of a diving beetle species (Agabus ramblae) using 2-D DIGE. After one week of acclimation in the laboratory under standard conditions, a third of the specimens of each population were placed at either 4 or 27°C for 12 h, with another third left as a control. We then compared the protein expression level of three replicated samples of 2-3 specimens for each treatment. Within each population, variation between replicated samples of the same treatment was always lower than variation between treatments, except for some control samples that retained a wider range of expression levels. The two populations had a similar response, without significant differences in the number of protein spots over- or under-expressed in the pairwise comparisons between treatments. We identified exemplary proteins among those differently expressed between treatments, which proved to be proteins known to be related to thermal response or stress. Overall, our results indicate that specimens collected in the wild are suitable for proteomic analyses, as the additional sources of variation were not enough to mask the consistency and reproducibility of the response to the temperature treatments.

Celticecis, a Genus of Gall Midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Newly Reported for the Western Palearctic Region

Science.gov (United States)

Raymond J. Gagné; John C. Moser

1997-01-01

Many Holarctic genera of trees and shrubs are host over much of their ranges to particular genera of Cecidomyiidae. As examples, willows host gall midges of Rabdophaga and Iteomyia, oaks host Macrodiplosis and Polystepha, and birches host Semudobia in both the Nearctic and...

Cytogenetic relationships among some palearctic and nearctic tetraploid taxa of the Campanula rotundifolia L. group

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Halina Bielawska

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The cytogenetic interrelationships between tetraploid representatives of Campanula rotundifolia L. group were investigated. The F1 hybrids derived from the crosses between plants of European and American origin were fully fertile, however, some symptoms of hybrid sterility in F2s and Bs were noted. In the F1 the course of meiosis was normal. In some B segregants the disturbances in synchronization of meiotic divisions were observed. Although in most respect the F1 hybrids were intermediate between their parental forms, in some characters, like the shape of the corolla, the colour of pollen grains and the unrepeating flowering, they resembled more their American parents. No essential genetic barriers between tetraploid representatives of the C. rotundifolia L. group from Europe and North America were found. In view of the present data Guinochet’s hypothesis of the independent origin of European and American tetraploids is rather questionable.

Helminth communities of the exotic introduced turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans in southwestern Spain: Transmission from native turtles.

Science.gov (United States)

Hidalgo-Vila, J; Díaz-Paniagua, C; Ribas, A; Florencio, M; Pérez-Santigosa, N; Casanova, J C

2009-06-01

We report the prevalence and diversity of helminth parasites found in native turtles Mauremys leprosa and Emys orbicularis from three localities in southwestern Spain and we describe the helminth communities of exotic turtles Trachemys scripta elegans coexisting in the wild with both native turtle species. Five nematodes species were identified, of which Serpinema microcephalus was the only species common between two localities, although infection parameters were different between them. This is the first report of cross transmission of S. microcephalus and Falcaustra donanaensis from native to exotic turtles and the first report of genus Physaloptera in turtles of the Palearctic Region. Continuous releasing of exotic pet turtles in wildlife ecosystems increases the risk of parasite introductions and, consequently, potential transmission to native species, and highlights the impending need for regulation of pet turtle trade in Europe.

Modelling the winter distribution of a rare and endangered migrant, the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Walther, Bruno A; Schäffer, Norbert; van Niekerk, Adriaan

2007-01-01

. Such model predictions may be useful guidelines to focus further field research on the Aquatic Warbler. Given the excellent model predictions in this study, this novel technique may prove useful to model the distribution of other rare and endangered species, thus providing a means to guide future survey......The Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola is one of the most threatened Western Palearctic passerine species, classified as globally Vulnerable. With its breeding grounds relatively secure, a clear need remains for the monitoring and protection of the migration and wintering grounds of this rare...... and endangered migrant. Recent research has shown that the Aquatic Warbler migrates through northwest Africa in autumn and spring. The wintering grounds are apparently limited to wetlands of sub-Saharan West Africa, with records from only about 20 localities in Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and Ghana. Given the lack...

Global analysis of the protection status of the world's forests

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmitt, Christine B.; Burgess, Neil David; Coad, Lauren

2009-01-01

This study presents a global analysis of forest cover and forest protection. An updated Global Forest Map (using MODIS2005) provided a current assessment of forest cover within 20 natural forest types. This map was overlaid onto WWF realms and ecoregions to gain additional biogeographic information...... on forest distribution. Using the 2008 World Database on Protected Areas, percentage forest cover protection was calculated globally, within forest types, realms and ecoregions, and within selected areas of global conservation importance. At the 10% tree cover threshold, global forest cover was 39 million...... km2. Of this, 7.7% fell within protected areas under IUCN management categories I-IV. With the inclusion of IUCN categories V and VI, the level of global forest protection increased to 13.5%. Percentage forest protection (IUCN I-IV) varied greatly between realms from 5.5% (Palearctic) to 13...

Sylphella puccoon gen. n., sp. n. and two additional new species of aquatic oligochaetes (Lumbriculidae, Clitellata from poorly-known lotic habitats in North Carolina (USA

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Pilar Rodriguez

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Three new species of Lumbriculidae were collected from floodplain seeps and small streams in southeastern North America. Some of these habitats are naturally acidic. Sylphella puccoon gen. n., sp. n. has prosoporous male ducts in X–XI, and spermathecae in XII–XIII. Muscular, spherical atrial ampullae and acuminate penial sheaths distinguish this monotypic new genus from other lumbriculid genera having similar arrangements of reproductive organs. Cookidrilus pocosinus sp. n. resembles its two subterranean, Palearctic congeners in the arrangement of reproductive organs, but is easily distinguished by the position of the spermathecal pores in front of the chaetae in X–XIII. Stylodrilus coreyi sp. n. differs from congeners having simple-pointed chaetae and elongate atria primarily by the structure of the male duct and the large clusters of prostate cells. Streams and wetlands of Southeastern USA have a remarkably high diversity of endemic lumbriculids, and these poorly-known invertebrates should be considered in conservation efforts.

On the feeding ecology of Pelophylax saharicus (Boulenger 1913 from Morocco

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Zaida Ortega

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The Sahara frog is the most common amphibian found in North Africa. However, the knowledge of its natural history is rather fragmentary. In the present work we studied the trophic ecology of Pelophylax saharicus at some areas of Morocco through the analysis of 130 gastric contents. We did not find any significant sexual dimorphism in body size of adult individuals. Consumed prey show similar sizes in both sexes, while bigger frogs normally eat larger prey. As in other Palearctic frogs, the diet is basically insectivorous, including terrestrial and aquatic prey. We found some differences in the diet of juveniles, with a higher proportion of flying prey, probably indicating a foraging strategy closer to ambush hunting. In the Atlas region, the high consumption of slow-moving terrestrial prey, as Gastropoda, stands out. Only in the Atlas region, the diet was similar to that described from other areas of North Africa, as Tunisia.

Species diversity and morphometrics of tardigrades from a medium-size city in the Neotropical Region: Santa Rosa (La Pampa, Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peluffo, J. R.

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Tardigrade diversity was studied in a medium-sized city in the Neotropical Region: Santa Rosa (La Pampa, Argentina. Samples were collected between February 1999 and January 2000 from lichens and mosses growing on sidewalk trees of the urban and periurban area. Five species of tardigrades were found, i.e., Echiniscus rufoviridis du Bois-Reymond Marcus, 1944, Macrobiotus areolatus Murray, 1907, Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri (Doyère, 1840, Milnesium cf. tardigradum and a non-described species of Macrobiotus. Only one species, M. cf. tardigradum, was found in areas with high levels of vehicle traffic. Results are compared with those from cities in the Nearctic and Palearctic regions. Measurements and pt index values (percentage ratios between the length of the structure considered and the buccal tube length are provided for M. areolatus, R. oberhaeuseri and M. cf. tardigradum. Amongst the characters considered, the pt index for the stylet support insertion shows the least intraspecific variation. This character is also independent from body length and buccal-tube length.

Postglacial climate changes and rise of three ecotypes of harbour porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, in western Palearctic waters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fontaine, Michaël C; Roland, Kathleen; Calves, Isabelle; Austerlitz, Frederic; Palstra, Friso P; Tolley, Krystal A; Ryan, Sean; Ferreira, Marisa; Jauniaux, Thierry; Llavona, Angela; Öztürk, Bayram; Öztürk, Ayaka A; Ridoux, Vincent; Rogan, Emer; Sequeira, Marina; Siebert, Ursula; Vikingsson, Gísli A; Borrell, Asunción; Michaux, Johan R; Aguilar, Alex

Despite no obvious barriers to gene flow in the marine realm, environmental variation and ecological specializations can lead to genetic differentiation in highly mobile predators. Here, we investigated the genetic structure of the harbour porpoise over the entire species distribution range in

Aphid parasitoid (Hymenoptera:Braconidae: Aphidiinae) in wetland habitats in western Palearctic: key and associated aphid parasitoid guilds

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Tomanović, Ž.; Starý, Petr; Kavallieratos, N. G.; Gagić, V.; Plećaš, M.; Janković, M.; Rakhshani, E.; Ćetković, A.; Petrović, A.

2012-01-01

Roč. 48, 1-2 (2012), s. 189-198 ISSN 0037-9271 Grant - others:The Ministry of Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia(RS) 043001 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50070508 Keywords : aphid parasitoids * tritrophic interactions * wetlands Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 0.529, year: 2012 http://zoologie.umh.ac.be/asef/pdf/2012_48_01_02/full/Tomanovic_et_al_2012_ASEF_48_1_2_189_198_full.pdf

The relevance of the Mediterranean Region to colonial waterbird conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Erwin, R.M.; Crivelli, Alain J.; Hafner, Heinz; Fasola, Mauro; Erwin, R. Michael; McCrimmon, Donald A.=

1996-01-01

The Mediterranean Sea is the largest partially enclosed sea in the world and provides habitat to more than 100 species of waterbirds from the Palearctic-North African-Middle Eastern regions. Even though the Mediterranean suffers from pollution, has little tidal influence, and is oligotrophic, more than half of the western Palearctic populations of numerous waterfowl species winter in the region. Thirty-three species of colonial waterbirds breed along the 46,000 km Mediterranean coastline with nine species considered threatened or endangered, mostly because of wetland loss and degradation. The long history of human activity and scientific investigations in the region has taught some valuable lessons. In the area of colonial waterbird biology and conservation, we have learned important lessons about the value of long-term monitoring and research on selected populations. From marking studies of Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus) and Little Egrets (Egretta garzetta) results have been used to derive useful information about metapopulation dynamics. Involvement of both African and European biologists allowed year-round Studies of these species that yielded valuable spin-offs for training in avian and wetland conservation. We have also learned the value of man-made wetlands as feeding and nesting sites for some colonial waterbirds. Careful evaluations of the habitat quality of different types of wetlands are required, as in contaminant levels such as lead shot and pesticides. Wetland conservationists have also learned from some instructive mistakes. Dam construction and agricultural incentive programs sponsored by the European Community, the World Bank, and others from the past have largely ignored impacts on wetlands and wildlife. In some areas, economic ventures such as aquaculture operations and salt mining have not involved waterbird habitat needs in their planning. Research and conservation needs include: (1) establishing regional monitoring programs and

National responsibilities for conserving habitats – a freely scalable method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirk Schmeller

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Conservation of habitats is a major approach in the implementation of biodiversity conservation strategies. Because of limited resources and competing interests not all habitats can be conserved to the same extent and a prioritization is needed. One criterion for prioritization is the responsibility countries have for the protection of a particular habitat type. National responsibility reflects the effects the loss of a particular habitat type within the focal region (usually a country has on the global persistence of that habitat type. Whereas the concept has been used already successfully for species, it has not yet been developed for habitats. Here we present such a method that is derived from similar approaches for species. We further investigated the usability of different biogeographic and environmental maps in our determination of national responsibilities for habitats. For Europe, several different maps exist, including (1 the Indicative European Map of Biogeographic Regions, (2 Udvardy’s biogeographic provinces, (3 WWF ecoregions, and (4 the environmental zones of Metzger et al. (2005. The latter is particularly promising, as the map of environmental zones has recently been extended to cover the whole world (Metzger et al. in press, allowing the application of our methodology at a global scale, making it highly comparable between countries and applicable across variable scales (e.g. regions, countries. Here, we determined the national responsibilities for 71 forest habitats. We further compared the national responsibility class distribution in regard to the use of different reference areas, geographical Europe, Western Palearctic and Palearctic. We found that the distributions of natural responsibility classes resembled each other largely for the different combinations of reference area and biogeographic map. The most common rank in all cases was the “medium” rank. Most notably, with increasing size of the reference area, a shift

Disrupted bone metabolism in contaminant-exposed white storks (Ciconia ciconia) in southwestern Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smits, Judit E.; Bortolotti, Gary R.; Baos, Raquel; Jovani, Roger; Tella, Jose L.; Hoffmann, Walter E.

2007-01-01

In 1998, the Aznalcollar mine tailings dyke in southwestern Spain broke, flooding the Agrio-Guadiamar river system with acid tailings up to the borders of one of the largest breeding colonies of white storks in the western Palearctic, Dehesa de Abajo. Over the following years, a high proportion of nestlings developed leg defects not seen before the spill, prompting this study. Nestlings with deformed legs had significantly lower plasma phosphorous (P) and higher Ca:P ratios than non-deformed cohorts in the first two years, but in the third year, when more, younger birds were studied, plasma P ranged from much higher to much lower in the affected colony compared with reference birds. Coefficients of variation for phosphorous were 19% and 60%, in reference and contaminated colonies, respectively. Storks from the contaminated colony were unable to control P levels and Ca:P ratios within the narrow limits necessary for normal bone development. - Since a large mine tailings spill near a stork colony in southwestern Spain, nestlings had leg deformities and could not control serum phosphorous levels and Ca:P ratios

Disrupted bone metabolism in contaminant-exposed white storks (Ciconia ciconia) in southwestern Spain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smits, Judit E. [Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4 (Canada)]. E-mail: judit.smits@usask.ca; Bortolotti, Gary R. [Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, 52 Campus Drive, SK S7N 5B4 (Canada)]. E-mail: gary.bortolotti@usask.ca; Baos, Raquel [Estacion Biologica de Donana, C.S.I.C., 41013 Sevilla (Spain)]. E-mail: raquel@ebd.csic.es; Jovani, Roger [Estacion Biologica de Donana, C.S.I.C., 41013 Sevilla (Spain); Tella, Jose L. [Estacion Biologica de Donana, C.S.I.C., 41013 Sevilla (Spain); Hoffmann, Walter E. [University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine, Champagne-Urbana, IL (United States)]. E-mail: wally@uiuc.edu

2007-01-15

In 1998, the Aznalcollar mine tailings dyke in southwestern Spain broke, flooding the Agrio-Guadiamar river system with acid tailings up to the borders of one of the largest breeding colonies of white storks in the western Palearctic, Dehesa de Abajo. Over the following years, a high proportion of nestlings developed leg defects not seen before the spill, prompting this study. Nestlings with deformed legs had significantly lower plasma phosphorous (P) and higher Ca:P ratios than non-deformed cohorts in the first two years, but in the third year, when more, younger birds were studied, plasma P ranged from much higher to much lower in the affected colony compared with reference birds. Coefficients of variation for phosphorous were 19% and 60%, in reference and contaminated colonies, respectively. Storks from the contaminated colony were unable to control P levels and Ca:P ratios within the narrow limits necessary for normal bone development. - Since a large mine tailings spill near a stork colony in southwestern Spain, nestlings had leg deformities and could not control serum phosphorous levels and Ca:P ratios.

Homogenization patterns of the world's freshwater fish faunas.

Science.gov (United States)

Villéger, Sébastien; Blanchet, Simon; Beauchard, Olivier; Oberdorff, Thierry; Brosse, Sébastien

2011-11-01

The world is currently undergoing an unprecedented decline in biodiversity, which is mainly attributable to human activities. For instance, nonnative species introduction, combined with the extirpation of native species, affects biodiversity patterns, notably by increasing the similarity among species assemblages. This biodiversity change, called taxonomic homogenization, has rarely been assessed at the world scale. Here, we fill this gap by assessing the current homogenization status of one of the most diverse vertebrate groups (i.e., freshwater fishes) at global and regional scales. We demonstrate that current homogenization of the freshwater fish faunas is still low at the world scale (0.5%) but reaches substantial levels (up to 10%) in some highly invaded river basins from the Nearctic and Palearctic realms. In these realms experiencing high changes, nonnative species introductions rather than native species extirpations drive taxonomic homogenization. Our results suggest that the "Homogocene era" is not yet the case for freshwater fish fauna at the worldwide scale. However, the distressingly high level of homogenization noted for some biogeographical realms stresses the need for further understanding of the ecological consequences of homogenization processes.

Zoonotic Agents in Feral Pigeons (Columba livia) from Costa Rica: Possible Improvements to Diminish Contagion Risks.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Mejía, Ana María; Blanco-Peña, Kinndle; Rodríguez, César; Duarte, Francisco; Jiménez-Soto, Mauricio; Esperón, Fernando

2018-01-01

Most studies on zoonotic agents in pigeons have been conducted in the Palearctic region, but the scarcity of data is notorious in the Neotropical region, where these birds can breed all year around and are in close contact with humans. In this study, we used a combination of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to identify infectious agents in 141 fecal samples from pigeons collected at four urban parks from Costa Rica. Of these we identified 34 positive samples for Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Braenderup (24.1%), 13 for Chlamydophila psittaci (9.2%), 9 for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (6.4% eaeA, 0% stx-1 and 0% stx-2), and 2 for Campylobacter jejuni (1.4%). These populations of pigeons pose low risk for healthy adult humans, however, they may pose a health risk to immunocompromised patients or children. This study provides scientific data, which can be incorporated into educational programs aiming to reverse the public attitude toward pigeon feeding and to rationally justify population control efforts.

A taxonomic monograph of Nearctic Scolytus Geoffroy (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae).

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Sarah M; Cognato, Anthony I

2014-01-01

The Nearctic bark beetle genus Scolytus Geoffroy was revised based in part on a molecular and morphological phylogeny. Monophyly of the native species was tested using mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (28S, CAD, ArgK) genes and 43 morphological characters in parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses. Parsimony analyses of molecular and combined datasets provided mixed results while Bayesian analysis recovered most nodes with posterior probabilities >90%. Native hardwood- and conifer-feeding Scolytus species were recovered as paraphyletic. Native Nearctic species were recovered as paraphyletic with hardwood-feeding species sister to Palearctic hardwood-feeding species rather than to native conifer-feeding species. The Nearctic conifer-feeding species were monophyletic. Twenty-five species were recognized. Four new synonyms were discovered: Scolytuspraeceps LeConte, 1868 (= Scolytusabietis Blackman, 1934; = Scolytusopacus Blackman, 1934), Scolytusreflexus Blackman, 1934 (= Scolytusvirgatus Bright, 1972; = Scolytuswickhami Blackman, 1934). Two species were reinstated: Scolytusfiskei Blackman, 1934 and Scolytussilvaticus Bright, 1972. A diagnosis, description, distribution, host records and images were provided for each species and a key is presented to all species.

White-nose syndrome without borders: Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection tolerated in Europe and Palearctic Asia but not in North America

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Zukal, Jan; Banďouchová, H.; Brichta, J.; Cmoková, A.; Jaron, K. S.; Kolařík, Miroslav; Kováčová, V.; Kubátová, A.; Nováková, Alena; Orlov, O.; Pikula, J.; Presetnik, P.; Šuba, J.; Zahradníková Jr., A.; Martínková, Natália

2016-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 19829 (2016), č. článku 19829. ISSN 2045-2322 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP506/12/1064 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 ; RVO:61388971 Keywords : White-nose syndrome * zoonotic viruses * emerging disease Subject RIV: EG - Zoology; EE - Microbiology, Virology (MBU-M) Impact factor: 4.259, year: 2016

Evolutionary dynamics across discontinuous freshwater systems: Rapid expansions and repeated allopolyploid origins in the Palearctic white water-lilies (Nymphaea)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Volkova, P. A.; Trávníček, Pavel; Brochmann, C.

2010-01-01

Roč. 59, č. 2 (2010), s. 483-494 ISSN 0040-0262 R&D Projects: GA ČR GD206/08/H049 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : AFLP * allopolyploid speciation * flow cytometry Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 2.364, year: 2010

Farms, pastures and woodlands: the fine-scale distribution of Palearctic Culicoides spp. biting midges along an agro-ecological gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Rigot, T; Drubbel, M Vercauteren; Delécolle, J-C; Gilbert, M

2013-03-01

The spatial epidemiology of Bluetongue virus (BTV) at the landscape level relates to the fine-scale distribution and dispersal capacities of its vectors, midges belonging to the genus Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Although many previous researches have carried out Culicoides sampling on farms, little is known of the fine-scale distribution of Culicoides in the landscape immediately surrounding farms. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of Culicoides populations at increasing distances from typical dairy farms in north-west Europe, through the use of eight Onderstepoort-type black-light traps positioned along linear transects departing from farms, going through pastures and entering woodlands. A total of 16 902 Culicoides were collected in autumn 2008 and spring 2009. The majority were females, of which more than 97% were recognized as potential vectors. In pastures, we found decreasing numbers of female Culicoides as a function of the distance to the farm. This pattern was modelled by leptokurtic models, with parameters depending on season and species. By contrast, the low number of male Culicoides caught were homogeneously distributed along the transects. When transects entered woodlands, we found a higher abundance of Culicoides than expected considering the distance of the sampling sites to the farm, although this varied according to species. © 2012 The Authors. Medical and Veterinary Entomology © 2012 The Royal Entomological Society.

Oxyuroids of palearctic Testudinidae--new definition for Alaeuris Seurat, 1918 (Nematoda: Pharyngodonidae) and redescription of Alaeuris numidica (Seurat, 1918).

Science.gov (United States)

Bouamer, S; Morand, S; Bourgat, R

2001-02-01

The generic diagnosis of Alaeuris is emended based on the study and redescription of Alaeuris numidica from the cecum of Testudo graeca collected in Settat, Morocco and of Testudo hermanni collected in Catalonia, Spain. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that the papillae previously described as adanal are simple lobes because of the lack of terminal nerves, and that both preanal and postanal papillae are pedunculate. These new findings allowed us to emend the diagnosis of the genus and the species. A list of species of Alaeuris with biogeographic regions and hosts is provided.

Homogenization patterns of the world’s freshwater fish faunas

Science.gov (United States)

Villéger, Sébastien; Blanchet, Simon; Beauchard, Olivier; Oberdorff, Thierry; Brosse, Sébastien

2011-01-01

The world is currently undergoing an unprecedented decline in biodiversity, which is mainly attributable to human activities. For instance, nonnative species introduction, combined with the extirpation of native species, affects biodiversity patterns, notably by increasing the similarity among species assemblages. This biodiversity change, called taxonomic homogenization, has rarely been assessed at the world scale. Here, we fill this gap by assessing the current homogenization status of one of the most diverse vertebrate groups (i.e., freshwater fishes) at global and regional scales. We demonstrate that current homogenization of the freshwater fish faunas is still low at the world scale (0.5%) but reaches substantial levels (up to 10%) in some highly invaded river basins from the Nearctic and Palearctic realms. In these realms experiencing high changes, nonnative species introductions rather than native species extirpations drive taxonomic homogenization. Our results suggest that the “Homogocene era” is not yet the case for freshwater fish fauna at the worldwide scale. However, the distressingly high level of homogenization noted for some biogeographical realms stresses the need for further understanding of the ecological consequences of homogenization processes. PMID:22025692

The Global Phylogeography of Lyssaviruses - Challenging the 'Out of Africa' Hypothesis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David T S Hayman

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Rabies virus kills tens of thousands of people globally each year, especially in resource-limited countries. Yet, there are genetically- and antigenically-related lyssaviruses, all capable of causing the disease rabies, circulating globally among bats without causing conspicuous disease outbreaks. The species richness and greater genetic diversity of African lyssaviruses, along with the lack of antibody cross-reactivity among them, has led to the hypothesis that Africa is the origin of lyssaviruses. This hypothesis was tested using a probabilistic phylogeographical approach. The nucleoprotein gene sequences from 153 representatives of 16 lyssavirus species, collected between 1956 and 2015, were used to develop a phylogenetic tree which incorporated relevant geographic and temporal data relating to the viruses. In addition, complete genome sequences from all 16 (putative species were analysed. The most probable ancestral distribution for the internal nodes was inferred using three different approaches and was confirmed by analysis of complete genomes. These results support a Palearctic origin for lyssaviruses (posterior probability = 0.85, challenging the 'out of Africa' hypothesis, and suggest three independent transmission events to the Afrotropical region, representing the three phylogroups that form the three major lyssavirus clades.

The Global Phylogeography of Lyssaviruses - Challenging the 'Out of Africa' Hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

Fooks, Anthony R.; Marston, Denise A.; Garcia-R, Juan C.

2016-01-01

Rabies virus kills tens of thousands of people globally each year, especially in resource-limited countries. Yet, there are genetically- and antigenically-related lyssaviruses, all capable of causing the disease rabies, circulating globally among bats without causing conspicuous disease outbreaks. The species richness and greater genetic diversity of African lyssaviruses, along with the lack of antibody cross-reactivity among them, has led to the hypothesis that Africa is the origin of lyssaviruses. This hypothesis was tested using a probabilistic phylogeographical approach. The nucleoprotein gene sequences from 153 representatives of 16 lyssavirus species, collected between 1956 and 2015, were used to develop a phylogenetic tree which incorporated relevant geographic and temporal data relating to the viruses. In addition, complete genome sequences from all 16 (putative) species were analysed. The most probable ancestral distribution for the internal nodes was inferred using three different approaches and was confirmed by analysis of complete genomes. These results support a Palearctic origin for lyssaviruses (posterior probability = 0.85), challenging the ‘out of Africa’ hypothesis, and suggest three independent transmission events to the Afrotropical region, representing the three phylogroups that form the three major lyssavirus clades. PMID:28036390

Cultivable fungi present in Antarctic soils: taxonomy, phylogeny, diversity, and bioprospecting of antiparasitic and herbicidal metabolites.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, Eldon C Q; Godinho, Valéria M; Silva, Débora A S; de Paula, Maria T R; Vitoreli, Gislaine A; Zani, Carlos L; Alves, Tânia M A; Junior, Policarpo A S; Murta, Silvane M F; Barbosa, Emerson C; Oliveira, Jaquelline G; Oliveira, Fabio S; Carvalho, Camila R; Ferreira, Mariana C; Rosa, Carlos A; Rosa, Luiz H

2018-05-01

Molecular biology techniques were used to identify 218 fungi from soil samples collected from four islands of Antarctica. These consisted of 22 taxa of 15 different genera belonging to the Zygomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota. Mortierella, Antarctomyces, Pseudogymnoascus, and Penicillium were the most frequently isolated genera and Penicillium tardochrysogenum, Penicillium verrucosus, Goffeauzyma gilvescens, and Mortierella sp. 2 the most abundant taxa. All fungal isolates were cultivated using solid-state fermentation to obtain their crude extracts. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, Mortierella parvispora, and Penicillium chrysogenum displayed antiparasitic activities, whilst extracts of P. destructans, Mortierella amoeboidea, Mortierella sp. 3, and P. tardochrysogenum showed herbicidal activities. Reported as pathogenic for bats, different isolates of P. destructans exhibited trypanocidal activities and herbicidal activity, and may be a source of bioactive molecules to be considered for chemotherapy against neglected tropical diseases. The abundant presence of P. destructans in soils of the four islands gives evidence supporting that soils in the Antarctic Peninsula constitute a natural source of strains of this genus, including some P. destructans strains that are phylogenetically close to those that infect bats in North America and Europe/Palearctic Asia.

Multilocus analysis of nucleotide variation in Drosophila madeirensis, an endemic species of the Laurisilva forest in Madeira.

Science.gov (United States)

Khadem, M; Munté, A; Camacho, R; Aguadé, M; Segarra, C

2012-04-01

Drosophila madeirensis is an endemic species of Madeira that inhabits the island Laurisilva forest. Nucleotide variation in D. madeirensis is analysed in six genomic regions and compared to that previously reported for the same regions in Drosophila subobscura, an abundant species in the Palearctic region that is closely related to D. madeirensis. The gene regions analysed are distributed along the O(3) inversion. The O(3) arrangement is monomorphic in D. madeirensis, and it was present in ancestral populations of D. subobscura but went extinct in this species after the origin of the derived O(ST) and O(3+4) arrangements. Levels of nucleotide polymorphism in D. madeirensis are similar to those present in the O(ST) and O(3+4) arrangements of D. subobscura, and the frequency spectrum is skewed towards rare variants. Purifying selection against deleterious nonsynonymous mutations is less effective in D. madeirensis. Although D. madeirensis and D. subobscura coexist at present in Madeira, no clear evidence of introgression was detected in the studied regions. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2012 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Resource tracking within and across continents in long-distance bird migrants

KAUST Repository

Thorup, Kasper

2017-01-05

Migratory birds track seasonal resources across and between continents. We propose a general strategy of tracking the broad seasonal abundance of resources throughout the annual cycle in the longest-distance migrating land birds as an alternative to tracking a certain climatic niche or shorter-term resource surplus occurring, for example, during spring foliation. Whether and how this is possible for complex annual spatiotemporal schedules is not known. New tracking technology enables unprecedented spatial and temporal mapping of long-distance movement of birds. We show that three Palearctic-African species track vegetation greenness throughout their annual cycle, adjusting the timing and direction of migratory movements with seasonal changes in resource availability over Europe and Africa. Common cuckoos maximize the vegetation greenness, whereas red-backed shrikes and thrush nightingales track seasonal surplus in greenness. Our results demonstrate that the longest-distance migrants move between consecutive staging areas even within the wintering region in Africa to match seasonal variation in regional climate. End-of-century climate projections indicate that optimizing greenness would be possible but that vegetation surplus might be more difficult to track in the future.

Resource tracking within and across continents in long-distance bird migrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorup, Kasper; Tøttrup, Anders P; Willemoes, Mikkel; Klaassen, Raymond H G; Strandberg, Roine; Vega, Marta Lomas; Dasari, Hari P; Araújo, Miguel B; Wikelski, Martin; Rahbek, Carsten

2017-01-01

Migratory birds track seasonal resources across and between continents. We propose a general strategy of tracking the broad seasonal abundance of resources throughout the annual cycle in the longest-distance migrating land birds as an alternative to tracking a certain climatic niche or shorter-term resource surplus occurring, for example, during spring foliation. Whether and how this is possible for complex annual spatiotemporal schedules is not known. New tracking technology enables unprecedented spatial and temporal mapping of long-distance movement of birds. We show that three Palearctic-African species track vegetation greenness throughout their annual cycle, adjusting the timing and direction of migratory movements with seasonal changes in resource availability over Europe and Africa. Common cuckoos maximize the vegetation greenness, whereas red-backed shrikes and thrush nightingales track seasonal surplus in greenness. Our results demonstrate that the longest-distance migrants move between consecutive staging areas even within the wintering region in Africa to match seasonal variation in regional climate. End-of-century climate projections indicate that optimizing greenness would be possible but that vegetation surplus might be more difficult to track in the future.

Toward an accurate taxonomic interpretation of Carex fossil fruits (Cyperaceae): a case study in section Phacocystis in the Western Palearctic.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez-Mejías, Pedro; Martinetto, Edoardo

2013-08-01

Despite growing interest in the systematics and evolution of the hyperdiverse genus Carex, few studies have focused on its evolution using an absolute time framework. This is partly due to the limited knowledge of the fossil record. However, Carex fruits are not rare in certain sediments. We analyzed carpological features of modern materials from Carex sect. Phacocystis to characterize the fossil record taxonomically. We studied 374 achenes from modern materials (18 extant species), as well as representatives from related groups, to establish the main traits within and among species. We also studied 99 achenes from sediments of living populations to assess their modification process after decay. Additionally, we characterized 145 fossil achenes from 10 different locations (from 4-0.02 mya), whose taxonomic assignment we discuss. Five main characters were identified for establishing morphological groups of species (epidermis morphology, achene-utricle attachment, achene base, style robustness, and pericarp section). Eleven additional characters allowed the discrimination at species level of most of the taxa. Fossil samples were assigned to two extant species and one unknown, possibly extinct species. The analysis of fruit characters allows the distinction of groups, even up to species level. Carpology is revealed as an accurate tool in Carex paleotaxonomy, which could allow the characterization of Carex fossil fruits and assign them to subgeneric or sectional categories, or to certain species. Our conclusions could be crucial for including a temporal framework in the study of the evolution of Carex.

Integration of species and ecosystem monitoring for selecting priority areas for biodiversity conservation: Case studies from the Palearctic of Russia

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Alexey A. Romanov

2017-11-01

Full Text Available At the start of the third millennium, new opportunities have arisen in biogeographical research, namely in the generalisation, visualisation and cross-spectrum analysis of biological and geographical information and in the compilation of biogeographical maps and innovative models for regions that differ in the availability of distribution data. These tasks include long-term monitoring of plants and animals which are in danger of extinction, geographical analysis of biodiversity distribution and development of effective wildlife conservation strategies for specific regions. The studies of the Department of Biogeography of Moscow University on geography and biodiversity conservation are based on long-term field expeditions. The examples of the Asian Subarctic Mountains, the steppes of Central Kazakhstan and the urbanised north-west of Russia are used to illustrate Russian approaches to the use of biogeographical monitoring for the identification of priority areas for biodiversity conservation. The species populations of the higher plants and vertebrates listed in the Red Books have been considered as the basic units of biodiversity.

The biodiversity hotspot as evolutionary hot-bed: spectacular radiation of Erica in the Cape Floristic Region.

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Pirie, M D; Oliver, E G H; Mugrabi de Kuppler, A; Gehrke, B; Le Maitre, N C; Kandziora, M; Bellstedt, D U

2016-09-17

The disproportionate species richness of the world's biodiversity hotspots could be explained by low extinction (the evolutionary "museum") and/or high speciation (the "hot-bed") models. We test these models using the largest of the species rich plant groups that characterise the botanically diverse Cape Floristic Region (CFR): the genus Erica L. We generate a novel phylogenetic hypothesis informed by nuclear and plastid DNA sequences of c. 60 % of the c. 800 Erica species (of which 690 are endemic to the CFR), and use this to estimate clade ages (using RELTIME; BEAST), net diversification rates (GEIGER), and shifts in rates of diversification in different areas (BAMM; MuSSE). The diversity of Erica species in the CFR is the result of a single radiation within the last c. 15 million years. Compared to ancestral lineages in the Palearctic, the rate of speciation accelerated across Africa and Madagascar, with a further burst of speciation within the CFR that also exceeds the net diversification rates of other Cape clades. Erica exemplifies the "hotbed" model of assemblage through recent speciation, implying that with the advent of the modern Cape a multitude of new niches opened and were successively occupied through local species diversification.

Alterations in the health of hibernating bats under pathogen pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bandouchova, Hana; Bartonička, Tomáš; Berkova, Hana; Brichta, Jiri; Kokurewicz, Tomasz; Kovacova, Veronika; Linhart, Petr; Piacek, Vladimir; Pikula, Jiri; Zahradníková, Alexandra; Zukal, Jan

2018-04-17

In underground hibernacula temperate northern hemisphere bats are exposed to Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungal agent of white-nose syndrome. While pathological and epidemiological data suggest that Palearctic bats tolerate this infection, we lack knowledge about bat health under pathogen pressure. Here we report blood profiles, along with body mass index (BMI), infection intensity and hibernation temperature, in greater mouse-eared bats (Myotis myotis). We sampled three European hibernacula that differ in geomorphology and microclimatic conditions. Skin lesion counts differed between contralateral wings of a bat, suggesting variable exposure to the fungus. Analysis of blood parameters suggests a threshold of ca. 300 skin lesions on both wings, combined with poor hibernation conditions, may distinguish healthy bats from those with homeostatic disruption. Physiological effects manifested as mild metabolic acidosis, decreased glucose and peripheral blood eosinophilia which were strongly locality-dependent. Hibernating bats displaying blood homeostasis disruption had 2 °C lower body surface temperatures. A shallow BMI loss slope with increasing pathogen load suggested a high degree of infection tolerance. European greater mouse-eared bats generally survive P. destructans invasion, despite some health deterioration at higher infection intensities (dependant on hibernation conditions). Conservation measures should minimise additional stressors to conserve constrained body reserves of bats during hibernation.

Rapid establishment of a regular distribution of adult tropical Drosophila parasitoids in a multi-patch environment by patch defence behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

de Jong, Peter W; Hemerik, Lia; Gort, Gerrit; van Alphen, Jacques J M

2011-01-01

Females of the larval parasitoid of Drosophila, Asobara citri, from sub-Saharan Africa, defend patches with hosts by fighting and chasing conspecific females upon encounter. Females of the closely related, palearctic species Asobara tabida do not defend patches and often search simultaneously in the same patch. The effect of patch defence by A. citri females on their distribution in a multi-patch environment was investigated, and their distributions were compared with those of A. tabida. For both species 20 females were released from two release-points in replicate experiments. Females of A. citri quickly reached a regular distribution across 16 patches, with a small variance/mean ratio per patch. Conversely, A. tabida females initially showed a clumped distribution, and after gradual dispersion, a more Poisson-like distribution across patches resulted (variance/mean ratio was closer to 1 and higher than for A. citri). The dispersion of A. tabida was most probably an effect of exploitation: these parasitoids increasingly made shorter visits to already exploited patches. We briefly discuss hypotheses on the adaptive significance of patch defence behaviour or its absence in the light of differences in the natural history of both parasitoid species, notably the spatial distribution of their hosts.

Climatic niche conservatism and ecological opportunity in the explosive radiation of arvicoline rodents (Arvicolinae, Cricetidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Xue; Xia, Lin; Ge, Deyan; Wu, Yongjie; Yang, Qisen

2016-05-01

Climatic niche conservatism shapes patterns of diversity in many taxonomic groups, while ecological opportunity (EO) can trigger rapid speciation that is less constrained by the amount of time a lineage has occupied a given habitat. These two processes are well studied, but limited research has considered their joint and relative roles in shaping diversity patterns. We characterized climatic and biogeographic variables for 102 species of arvicoline rodents (Arvicolinae, Cricetidae), testing the effects of climatic niche conservatism and EO on arvicoline diversification as lineages transitioned between biogeographic regions. We found that the amount of time a lineage has occupied a precipitation niche is positively correlated with diversity along a precipitation gradient, suggesting climatic niche conservatism. In contrast, shift in diversification rate explained diversity patterns along a temperature gradient. Our results suggest that an indirect relationship exists between temperature and diversification that is associated with EO as arvicoline rodents colonized warm Palearctic environments. Climatic niche conservatism alone did not fully explain diversity patterns under density-dependence, highlighting the additional importance of EO-related processes in promoting the explosive radiation in arvicoline rodents and shaping diversity pattern among biogeographic regions and along climatic gradients. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Avian Haemosporidian blood parasite infections at a migration hotspot in Eilat, Israel

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Paperna Ilan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Haemosporidian blood parasites are frequent amongst passerines. Though they often do not cause detectable consequences to host health, however, their presence or absence and also their prevalence across host populations may potentially carry meaningful information about the health, stress, body condition and viability of bird individuals or populations. The study of migratory birds captured in Eilat, Israel, allowed us to evaluate the prevalence of blood parasite infections in a wide range of both migrant and resident species in spring (N = 1,950 and autumn (N = 538 of 2004 and 2005. According to blood film microscopy, Haemoproteus spp. and Leucocytozoon spp. were more prevalent in the spring than in the autumn (0.289, 0.082 vs. 0.132, 0.033, respectively, whilst Plasmodium spp. exhibited a slight opposite trend (0.034, 0.056. All other parasites (such as trypanosomes, microfilaria and haemococcidians were rare. During the spring seasons, prevalences were significantly higher in migrant than in resident species, whilst this difference was only marginally significant in the autumn. Given that Eilat is a migration hotspot for several Palearctic passerine species, the present descriptive study may hopefully serve to set the baseline values for future long-term epidemiological monitoring.

Ecological structure of recent and last glacial mammalian faunas in northern Eurasia: the case of Altai-Sayan refugium.

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Věra Pavelková Řičánková

Full Text Available Pleistocene mammalian communities display unique features which differ from present-day faunas. The paleocommunities were characterized by the extraordinarily large body size of herbivores and predators and by their unique structure consisting of species now inhabiting geographically and ecologically distinct natural zones. These features were probably the result of the unique environmental conditions of ice age ecosystems. To analyze the ecological structure of Last Glacial and Recent mammal communities we classified the species into biome and trophic-size categories, using Principal Component analysis. We found a marked similarity in ecological structure between Recent eastern Altai-Sayan mammalian assemblages and comparable Pleistocene faunas. The composition of Last Glacial and Recent eastern Altai-Sayan assemblages were characterized by the occurrence of large herbivore and predator species associated with steppe, desert and alpine biomes. These three modern biomes harbor most of the surviving Pleistocene mammals. None of the analyzed Palearctic Last Glacial faunas showed affinity to the temperate forest, taiga, or tundra biome. The Eastern part of the Altai-Sayan region could be considered a refugium of the Last Glacial-like mammalian assemblages. Glacial fauna seems to persist up to present in those areas where the forest belt does not separate alpine vegetation from the steppes and deserts.

Evolución biogeográfica de los Pachydeminae paleárticos (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea mediante análisis de dispersión-vicarianza

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Sanmartín, Isabel

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The beetle subfamily Pachydeminae Reitter, 1902 is one of the least-known subfamilies of Melolonthidae or “leaf-chafers” (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea. Some species of Pachydeminae have recently been described as agricultural pests of olive trees. The Pachydeminae are distributed in all major zoogeographical regions (except Australia and India but their distribution is very disjunct. In the Palearctic region, they are distributed across southern Eurasia from the Canary Islands to China, including southern Europe (except France and Italy, North Africa, Asia Minor, Middle East, Iran-Afghanistan, Caucasus, and Central Asia. The majority of species occur in the southwestern Palearctic, with only a few species in China. As in the rest of Melolonthidae subfamilies (Browne & Scholtz, 1999, phylogenetic relationships within the Pachydeminae are poorly resolved. Recently, Sanmartín & Martín-Piera, (2003 reviewed the systematics of the Palearctic genera, and proposed the first phylogenetic hypothesis within the subfamily. This study summarizes the conclusions of Sanmartín (1998 and Sanmartín (2003, which reconstructed the biogeographic history of the subfamily Pachydeminae in the Palearctic region using dispersalvicariance analysis (DIVA, Ronquist, 1996, 1997. This method reconstructs the ancestral distribution in a given phylogeny based on a vicariance model, while allowing dispersal and extinction to occur. Unlike other methods, DIVA does not enforce area relationships to conform to a hierarchical “area cladogram” so it can be used to reconstruct “reticulate” biogeographic scenarios. DIVA optimal reconstructions suggest that the ancestor of Pachydeminae was originally present in the south-eastern Mediterranean region, including North Africa, the Middle East, the Iranian Plateau, and the Balkans/Anatolian region. During the Oligocene-Miocene, the collision between the Arabian, African, and Eurasian Plates resulted in the appearance of

Raptors in changing West African savannas : the impact of anthropogenic land transformation on populations of Palearctic and Afrotropical raptors in northern Cameroon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buij, Ralph

2013-01-01

Raptors in West Africa’s savannas have strongly declined the past four decades and many species now survive only in a few pockets of intact habitat, mostly inside protected areas, while some species are on the brink of extinction. Little is known about the processes that sustain raptor populations

Geographic morphological variation in parapatric Western Palearctic tree frogs, Hyla arborea and Hyla savignyi: are related species similarly affected by climatic conditions?

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Gvoždík, Václav; Moravec, J.; Kratochvíl, L.

2008-01-01

Roč. 95, - (2008), s. 539-556 ISSN 0024-4066 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC06073 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GA206/05/2334 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50450515 Keywords : amphibians * body shape * character displacement Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 2.019, year: 2008

Antalya İlinde Portakal Bahçelerinde Gözlenen Önemli Zararlı ve Yararlı Böcek Popülasyonları

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Vildan GÖL

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Bu çalışmada, 2014 yılında, Antalya ilinde bulunan iki portakal bahçesinde önemli zararlı ve yararlı böcek popülasyonları belirlenmiştir. Bahçelerde ağırlıklı olarak portakal bulunması nedeniyle örneklemeler de bu tür üzerinde yapılmıştır. Çalışma süresince zararlılara karşı herhangi bir mücadele yöntemi uygulanmamıştır. Çalışmada örneklerin toplanması için gözle kontrol yöntemi, yaprak, sürgün, meyve örnekleme yöntemi, darbe ve tuzakla yakalama yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda zararlı türler olarak Tetranychus urticae (Koch (Acarina: Tetranychidae, Empoasca decipiens (Paoli, Asymmetrasca decedens (Paoli (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae, Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead, Aleurothrixus floccosus (Maskell (Hem.: Aleyrodidae, Aphis craccivora (Koch (Hem.: Aphididae, Icerya purchasi Maskell (Hem.: Margarodidae, Coccus hesperidum (Linnaeus, Ceroplastes floridensis (Comstock (Hem.: Coccidae, Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell, Aonidiella citrina (Coquillet, Parlatoria pergandii (Comstock (Hem.: Diaspididae, Planococcus citri (Risso (Hem.: Pseudococcidae, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae ve Phyllocnistis citrella (Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillaridae saptanmıştır. Bunlardan E. decipiens (Paoli, A. decedens (Paoli, A. floccosus (Maskell, A. aurantii (Maskell ve Parlatoria pergandii (Comstock en yaygın türler olarak belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca 2 takıma bağlı 7 avcı ve asalak tür saptanmıştır. Bu türler: Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae, Coccinella septempunctata L., Chilocorus bipustulatus L., Rhyzobius lophantae (Blaisdell, Oenopia conglobata (L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae, Aphytis melinus DeBach ve Comperiella bifasciata (Coleoptera: Aphelinidae’ dır. Çalışmada ayrıca zararlı iki cicadellid türü ile A. floccosus, A. aurantii, P. pergandii, C. capitata‘nın ve doğal düşmanlardan C. carnea’nın, coccinellidlerin, A. melinus ve E. citrina�

Asociación entre distribución continental y regional. Análisis con la avifauna forestal y de medios arbolados de la península Ibérica

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Carrascal, L. M.

2003-12-01

Full Text Available We analyze the distribution patterns of bird species inhabiting deep forests and other woodland habitats in the Iberian Peninsula during the breeding season. The main goals are the description of the environmental factors responsible for their distribution, and the relationship between the distribution at the regional (Iberian peninsula and higher geographical scales (Europe, Palearctic and biogeographical groups considering the world distribution of species -Voous’ 1960 ornitogeographic categories-. To overcome these objectives we use the most recent sources of bird distribution in Spain and in Europe (the Atlas de las Aves Reproductoras de España –Martí y Del Moral, 2003-, and the Atlas of European Breeding Birds -Hagemeijer y Blair, 1997- and environmental data (geographical location, geomorphologic parameters, climatological variables and data on the extension of woodland habitats derived from geographical information systems. The total number of bird species studied is 85. By means of tree regression analyses (Generalized Additive Models, the frequency distribution of the species in UTM squares of 10x10 km, within UTM blocks of 50x50 km (Figure 1, was explained to a large degree considering a small collection of 10 variables describing the main environmental gradients in the Iberian peninsula for forest and woodland species. We obtained very significant, simple models, explaining the distribution pattern of 83 out of the 85 studied species, that on average explained 74% of original deviance (Table 1. Tree regression analyses were also used to understand the main environmental factors underlying the geographical variation in the species richness of six ornitogeographical groups according to Voous (1960: Holarctic, Palearctic, Euroturkestan, European, Mediterranean species, and a group of birds with a wide distribution in Africa (Figure 2. High percentages of explained deviance were also obtained for these six biogeographical

BIBLIOMETRICS ON ONE OF THE LARGEST TERMITE INVENTORIES IN THE CERRADO: "STUDIES ON TERMITES FROM THE MATO GROSSO STATE, BRAZIL BY AGA MATHEWS 1977"

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HÉLIDA FERREIRA DA CUNHA

2015-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This paper consists on a bibliometric analysis of the international influences of the book "Studies on termites from the Mato Grosso State, Brazil", by AGA Mathews (1977. The number of citations has increased over the years after the first citation. Mathews book was cited in articles, reviews, theses, dissertations, books, book chapters, abstracts in conference proceedings, comments and scientific notes. Most these studies are empirical and descriptive. The studies were conducted in 35 countries of the Neotropical, Palearctic, Afrotropical, Nearctic, Australasia and Indomalaya regions. 55% of the studies were carried out in Brazil. The journals Sociobiology and Insectes Sociaux, have social insect studies within its scope, and the highest number of articles citing Mathews. Most of the 71 authors that cited Mathews more than twice are Brazilian. Constrictotermes cyphergaster was the most studied in over 80% of the studies addressing Isoptera. The most frequent keywords were termite, Isoptera and taxonomy, generalist terms indexed in most publications carried out in different countries. Most of the research studies were carried out in laboratories and native vegetation areas. Studies in agroecosystems were implemented predominantly in Brazil. This study shows the diversity of application (citations of Mathews' book, and that the number of citations will continue to increase due to the large amount of information presented by the author.

Phylogeography of Daphnia magna Straus (Crustacea: Cladocera) in Northern Eurasia: Evidence for a deep longitudinal split between mitochondrial lineages.

Science.gov (United States)

Bekker, Eugeniya I; Karabanov, Dmitry P; Galimov, Yan R; Haag, Christoph R; Neretina, Tatiana V; Kotov, Alexey A

2018-01-01

Species with a large geographic distributions present a challenge for phylogeographic studies due to logistic difficulties of obtaining adequate sampling. For instance, in most species with a Holarctic distribution, the majority of studies has concentrated on the European or North American part of the distribution, with the Eastern Palearctic region being notably understudied. Here, we study the phylogeography of the freshwater cladoceran Daphnia magna Straus, 1820 (Crustacea: Cladocera), based on partial mitochondrial COI sequences and using specimens from populations spread longitudinally from westernmost Europe to easternmost Asia, with many samples from previously strongly understudied regions in Siberia and Eastern Asia. The results confirm the previously suspected deep split between Eastern and Western mitochondrial haplotype super-clades. We find a narrow contact zone between these two super-clades in the eastern part of Western Siberia, with proven co-occurrence in a single lake in the Novosibirsk region. However, at present there is no evidence suggesting that the two mitochondrial super-clades represent cryptic species. Rather, they may be explained by secondary contact after expansion from different refugia. Interestingly, Central Siberia has previously been found to be an important contact zone also in other cladoceran species, and may thus be a crucial area for understanding the Eurasian phylogeography of freshwater invertebrates. Together, our study provides an unprecedented complete, while still not global, picture of the phylogeography of this important model species.

White-nose syndrome detected in bats over an extensive area of Russia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovacova, Veronika; Zukal, Jan; Bandouchova, Hana; Botvinkin, Alexander D; Harazim, Markéta; Martínková, Natália; Orlov, Oleg L; Piacek, Vladimir; Shumkina, Alexandra P; Tiunov, Mikhail P; Pikula, Jiri

2018-06-18

Spatiotemporal distribution patterns are important infectious disease epidemiological characteristics that improve our understanding of wild animal population health. The skin infection caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans emerged as a panzootic disease in bats of the northern hemisphere. However, the infection status of bats over an extensive geographic area of the Russian Federation has remained understudied. We examined bats at the geographic limits of bat hibernation in the Palearctic temperate zone and found bats with white-nose syndrome (WNS) on the European slopes of the Ural Mountains through the Western Siberian Plain, Central Siberia and on to the Far East. We identified the diagnostic symptoms of WNS based on histopathology in the Northern Ural region at 11° (about 1200 km) higher latitude than the current northern limit in the Nearctic. While body surface temperature differed between regions, bats at all study sites hibernated in very cold conditions averaging 3.6 °C. Each region also differed in P. destructans fungal load and the number of UV fluorescent skin lesions indicating skin damage intensity. Myotis bombinus, M. gracilis and Murina hilgendorfi were newly confirmed with histopathological symptoms of WNS. Prevalence of UV-documented WNS ranged between 16 and 76% in species of relevant sample size. To conclude, the bat pathogen P. destructans is widely present in Russian hibernacula but infection remains at low intensity, despite the high exposure rate.

Torix group Rickettsia are widespread in Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), reach high frequency and carry unique genomic features.

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Pilgrim, Jack; Ander, Mats; Garros, Claire; Baylis, Matthew; Hurst, Gregory D D; Siozios, Stefanos

2017-10-01

There is increasing interest in the heritable bacteria of invertebrate vectors of disease as they present novel targets for control initiatives. Previous studies on biting midges (Culicoides spp.), known to transmit several RNA viruses of veterinary importance, have revealed infections with the endosymbiotic bacteria, Wolbachia and Cardinium. However, rickettsial symbionts in these vectors are underexplored. Here, we present the genome of a previously uncharacterized Rickettsia endosymbiont from Culicoides newsteadi (RiCNE). This genome presents unique features potentially associated with host invasion and adaptation, including genes for the complete non-oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway, and others predicted to mediate lipopolysaccharides and cell wall modification. Screening of 414 Culicoides individuals from 29 Palearctic or Afrotropical species revealed that Rickettsia represent a widespread but previously overlooked association, reaching high frequencies in midge populations and present in 38% of the species tested. Sequence typing clusters the Rickettsia within the Torix group of the genus, a group known to infect several aquatic and hematophagous taxa. FISH analysis indicated the presence of Rickettsia bacteria in ovary tissue, indicating their maternal inheritance. Given the importance of biting midges as vectors, a key area of future research is to establish the impact of this endosymbiont on vector competence. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

First record of the Asian diaptomid Neodiaptomus schmackeri (Poppe & Richard, 1892 (Crustacea: Copepoda: Calanoida in Europe

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Giuseppe Alfonso

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Albania, as well as a great part of the Balkan area in general, still suffers a lack of environmental studies especially in limnological research. The Dumre plateau, in Central Albania, is characterized by an extraordinary high number of karst lakes in a small geographic area. Despite their environmental peculiarity, very few biological data are to date available for these lakes, none on the zooplankton. For this reason, 15 water bodies located in the central area of the plateau were selected for a preliminary limnological survey carried out in the years 2008-2011. Neodiaptomus schmackeri (Poppe & Richard, 1892, a diaptomid calanoid copepod characterized by a South-Eastern Palearctic - Oriental distribution, and the most widely spread Neodiaptomus species in Asia, was found in 8 lakes of the Dumre area. This finding represents the first record of the species, and of the entire genus Neodiaptomus, for Europe. Several environmental variables were measured to characterize the lakes, and the co-occurring planktonic crustaceans were also identified. Taxonomical drawings and descriptions of the main morphological features of both sexes are herein provided in order to compare the Albanian populations of N. schmackeri with those of the native distribution area of the species. The possible causes which determined the occurrence of this non-indigenous species in several Dumre lakes are discussed.

Comparative mitochondrial genetics of North American and Eurasian mergansers with an emphasis on the endangered scaly-sided merganser (Mergus squamatus)

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Solovyeva, Diana V.; Pearce, John M.

2011-01-01

The scaly-sided merganser, Mergus squamatus, is considered one of the most threatened sea duck species in the Palearctic with limited breeding and wintering distribution in China and Russia. To provide information for future conservation efforts, we sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA control region in four species of mergansers and three additional sea duck taxa to characterize the evolutionary history of the scaly-sided merganser, infer population trends that may have led to its limited geographic distribution, and to compare indices of genetic diversity among species of mergansers. Scaly-sided mergansers exhibit substantially lower levels of mtDNA genetic diversity (h = 0.292, π = 0.0007) than other closely related sea ducks and many other avian taxa. The four haplotypes observed differed by a single base pair suggesting that the species has not experienced a recent population decline but has instead been at a low population level for some time. A phylogenetic analysis placed the scaly-sided merganser basal to North American and European forms of the common merganser, M. merganser. Our inclusion of a small number of male samples doubled the number of mtDNA haplotypes observed, suggesting that additional genetic variation likely exists within the global population if there is immigration of males from unsampled breeding areas.

Recalibrated tree of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae indicates independent diversification of angiosperms and their insect herbivores.

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Jesús Gómez-Zurita

2007-04-01

Full Text Available The great diversity of the "Phytophaga" (weevils, longhorn beetles and leaf beetles has been attributed to their co-radiation with the angiosperms based on matching age estimates for both groups, but phylogenetic information and molecular clock calibrations remain insufficient for this conclusion.A phylogenetic analysis of the leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae was conducted based on three partial ribosomal gene markers (mitochondrial rrnL, nuclear small and large subunit rRNA including over 3000 bp for 167 taxa representing most major chrysomelid lineages and outgroups. Molecular clock calibrations and confidence intervals were based on paleontological data from the oldest (K-T boundary leaf beetle fossil, ancient feeding traces ascribed to hispoid Cassidinae, and the vicariant split of Nearctic and Palearctic members of the Timarchini.The origin of the Chrysomelidae was dated to 73-79 Mya (confidence interval 63-86 Mya, and most subfamilies were post-Cretaceous, consistent with the ages of all confirmed body fossils. Two major monocot feeding chrysomelid lineages formed widely separated clades, demonstrating independent colonization of this ancient (early Cretaceous angiosperm lineage.Previous calibrations proposing a much older origin of Chrysomelidae were not supported. Therefore, chrysomelid beetles likely radiated long after the origin of their host lineages and their diversification was driven by repeated radiaton on a pre-existing diverse resource, rather than ancient host associations.

Disentangling the complex evolutionary history of the Western Palearctic blue tits (Cyanistes spp.) - phylogenomic analyses suggest radiation by multiple colonization events and subsequent isolation.

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Stervander, Martin; Illera, Juan Carlos; Kvist, Laura; Barbosa, Pedro; Keehnen, Naomi P; Pruisscher, Peter; Bensch, Staffan; Hansson, Bengt

2015-05-01

Isolated islands and their often unique biota continue to play key roles for understanding the importance of drift, genetic variation and adaptation in the process of population differentiation and speciation. One island system that has inspired and intrigued evolutionary biologists is the blue tit complex (Cyanistes spp.) in Europe and Africa, in particular the complex evolutionary history of the multiple genetically distinct taxa of the Canary Islands. Understanding Afrocanarian colonization events is of particular importance because of recent unconventional suggestions that these island populations acted as source of the widespread population in mainland Africa. We investigated the relationship between mainland and island blue tits using a combination of Sanger sequencing at a population level (20 loci; 12 500 nucleotides) and next-generation sequencing of single population representatives (>3 200 000 nucleotides), analysed in coalescence and phylogenetic frameworks. We found (i) that Afrocanarian blue tits are monophyletic and represent four major clades, (ii) that the blue tit complex has a continental origin and that the Canary Islands were colonized three times, (iii) that all island populations have low genetic variation, indicating low long-term effective population sizes and (iv) that populations on La Palma and in Libya represent relicts of an ancestral North African population. Further, demographic reconstructions revealed (v) that the Canary Islands, conforming to traditional views, hold sink populations, which have not served as source for back colonization of the African mainland. Our study demonstrates the importance of complete taxon sampling and an extensive multimarker study design to obtain robust phylogeographical inferences. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Species on the rocks: Systematics and biogeography of the rock-dwelling Ptyodactylus geckos (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) in North Africa and Arabia.

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Metallinou, Margarita; Červenka, Jan; Crochet, Pierre-André; Kratochvíl, Lukáš; Wilms, Thomas; Geniez, Philippe; Shobrak, Mohammed Y; Brito, José C; Carranza, Salvador

2015-04-01

The understanding of the diversity of species in the Palearctic and the processes that have generated it is still weak for large parts of the arid areas of North Africa and Arabia. Reptiles are among their most remarkable representatives, with numerous groups well adapted to the diverse environments. The Ptyodactylus geckos are a strictly rock-dwelling genus with homogeneous morphology distributed across mountain formations and rocky plateaus from the western African ranges in Mauritania and the Maghreb to the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, with an isolated species in southern Pakistan. Here, we use a broad sampling of 378 specimens, two mitochondrial (12S and cytb) and four nuclear (c-mos, MC1R, ACM4, RAG2) markers in order to obtain the first time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of the genus and place its diversification in a temporal framework. The results reveal high levels of intraspecific variability, indicative of undescribed diversity, and they do not support the monophyly of one species (P. ragazzii). Ptyodactylus species are allopatric across most of their range, which may relate to their high preference for the same type of structural habitat. The onset of their diversification is estimated to have occurred in the Late Oligocene, while that of several deep clades in the phylogeny took place during the Late Miocene, a period when an increase in aridification in North Africa and Arabia initiated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Phylogeographic Analysis Elucidates the Influence of the Ice Ages on the Disjunct Distribution of Relict Dragonflies in Asia

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Büsse, Sebastian; von Grumbkow, Philipp; Hummel, Susanne; Shah, Deep Narayan; Tachamo Shah, Ram Devi; Li, Jingke; Zhang, Xueping; Yoshizawa, Kazunori; Wedmann, Sonja; Hörnschemeyer, Thomas

2012-01-01

Unusual biogeographic patterns of closely related groups reflect events in the past, and molecular analyses can help to elucidate these events. While ample research on the origin of disjunct distributions of different organism groups in the Western Paleartic has been conducted, such studies are rare for Eastern Palearctic organisms. In this paper we present a phylogeographic analysis of the disjunct distribution pattern of the extant species of the strongly cool-adapted Epiophlebia dragonflies from Asia. We investigated sequences of the usually more conserved 18 S rDNA and 28 S rDNA genes and the more variable sequences of ITS1, ITS2 and CO2 of all three currently recognised Epiophlebia species and of a sample of other odonatan species. In all genes investigated the degrees of similarity between species of Epiophlebia are very high and resemble those otherwise found between different populations of the same species in Odonata. This indicates that substantial gene transfer between these populations occurred in the comparatively recent past. Our analyses imply a wide distribution of the ancestor of extant Epiophlebia in Southeast Asia during the last ice age, when suitable habitats were more common. During the following warming phase, its range contracted, resulting in the current disjunct distribution. Given the strong sensitivity of these species to climatic parameters, the current trend to increasing global temperatures will further reduce acceptable habitats and seriously threaten the existences of these last representatives of an ancient group of Odonata. PMID:22666462

The coastal rove beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae of Atlantic Canada: a survey and new records

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Christopher Majka

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The coastline inhabiting rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae of Atlantic Canada are surveyed. Thirty-three species have now been recorded in Atlantic Canada including 26 in New Brunswick, 15 in Newfoundland, 31 in Nova Scotia, and 13 on Prince Edward Island. Oligota parva Kraatz, Acrotona avia (Casey, Strigota ambigua (Erichson, and Myrmecopora vaga (LeConte, are all newly recorded in Canada, and Bledius mandibularis Erichson is newly recorded in Atlantic Canada. We retain A. avia as a species distinct from A. subpygmaea Bernhauer and designate a lectotype and paralectotypes for A. avia. Ten new provincial records are reported, one from New Brunswick, six from Nova Scotia, and three from Prince Edward Island. Four functional groups, halobiont (obligate, halophile (facultative, haloxene (tolerant, and incidental coastal species, are distinguished and the fauna is examined from the perspective of the particular coastline habitats and microhabitats they have been found to inhabit. Fourteen of the 33 staphylinids are introduced, Palearctic species, and eight of these have been associated with historic dry ballast shipping to the region from Great Britain. A trophic analysis indicates that some species are phytophagous algae feeders, while others are either generalist predators, or predators specializing on particular taxonomic or functional groups of invertebrates. Finally, some attention is devoted to discussing the diminished areas of coastline environments such as coastal marshes, and the various kinds of environmental disturbances and degradations they have experienced. These indicate the potential vulnerability of such coastal habitats and consequently of the communities of beetles that inhabit them.

Evolutionary melting pots: a biodiversity hotspot shaped by ring diversifications around the Black Sea in the Eastern tree frog (Hyla orientalis).

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Dufresnes, Christophe; Litvinchuk, Spartak N; Leuenberger, Julien; Ghali, Karim; Zinenko, Oleksandr; Stöck, Matthias; Perrin, Nicolas

2016-09-01

Hotspots of intraspecific genetic diversity, which are of primary importance for the conservation of species, have been associated with glacial refugia, that is areas where species survived the Quaternary climatic oscillations. However, the proximate mechanisms generating these hotspots remain an open issue. Hotspots may reflect the long-term persistence of large refugial populations; alternatively, they may result from allopatric differentiation between small and isolated populations, that later admixed. Here, we test these two scenarios in a widely distributed species of tree frog, Hyla orientalis, which inhabits Asia Minor and southeastern Europe. We apply a fine-scale phylogeographic survey, combining fast-evolving mitochondrial and nuclear markers, with a dense sampling throughout the range, as well as ecological niche modelling, to understand what shaped the genetic variation of this species. We documented an important diversity centre around the Black Sea, composed of multiple allopatric and/or parapatric diversifications, likely driven by a combination of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and complex regional topography. Remarkably, this diversification forms a ring around the Black Sea, from the Caucasus through Anatolia and eastern Europe, with terminal forms coming into contact and partially admixing in Crimea. Our results support the view that glacial refugia generate rather than host genetic diversity and can also function as evolutionary melting pots of biodiversity. Moreover, we report a new case of ring diversification, triggered by a large, yet cohesive dispersal barrier, a very rare situation in nature. Finally, we emphasize the Black Sea region as an important centre of intraspecific diversity in the Palearctic with implications for conservation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A maximum entropy model for predicting wild boar distribution in Spain

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Jaime Bosch

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Wild boar (Sus scrofa populations in many areas of the Palearctic including the Iberian Peninsula have grown continuously over the last century. This increase has led to numerous different types of conflicts due to the damage these mammals can cause to agriculture, the problems they create in the conservation of natural areas, and the threat they pose to animal health. In the context of both wildlife management and the design of health programs for disease control, it is essential to know how wild boar are distributed on a large spatial scale. Given that the quantifying of the distribution of wild species using census techniques is virtually impossible in the case of large-scale studies, modeling techniques have thus to be used instead to estimate animals’ distributions, densities, and abundances. In this study, the potential distribution of wild boar in Spain was predicted by integrating data of presence and environmental variables into a MaxEnt approach. We built and tested models using 100 bootstrapped replicates. For each replicate or simulation, presence data was divided into two subsets that were used for model fitting (60% of the data and cross-validation (40% of the data. The final model was found to be accurate with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC value of 0.79. Six explanatory variables for predicting wild boar distribution were identified on the basis of the percentage of their contribution to the model. The model exhibited a high degree of predictive accuracy, which has been confirmed by its agreement with satellite images and field surveys.

Postglacial recolonization shaped the genetic diversity of the winter moth (Operophtera brumata) in Europe.

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Andersen, Jeremy C; Havill, Nathan P; Caccone, Adalgisa; Elkinton, Joseph S

2017-05-01

Changes in climate conditions, particularly during the Quaternary climatic oscillations, have long been recognized to be important for shaping patterns of species diversity. For species residing in the western Palearctic, two commonly observed genetic patterns resulting from these cycles are as follows: (1) that the numbers and distributions of genetic lineages correspond with the use of geographically distinct glacial refugia and (2) that southern populations are generally more diverse than northern populations (the "southern richness, northern purity" paradigm). To determine whether these patterns hold true for the widespread pest species the winter moth ( Operophtera brumata ), we genotyped 699 individual winter moths collected from 15 Eurasian countries with 24 polymorphic microsatellite loci. We find strong evidence for the presence of two major genetic clusters that diverged ~18 to ~22 ka, with evidence that secondary contact (i.e., hybridization) resumed ~ 5 ka along a well-established hybrid zone in Central Europe. This pattern supports the hypothesis that contemporary populations descend from populations that resided in distinct glacial refugia. However, unlike many previous studies of postglacial recolonization, we found no evidence for the "southern richness, northern purity" paradigm. We also find evidence for ongoing gene flow between populations in adjacent Eurasian countries, suggesting that long-distance dispersal plays an important part in shaping winter moth genetic diversity. In addition, we find that this gene flow is predominantly in a west-to-east direction, suggesting that recently debated reports of cyclical outbreaks of winter moth spreading from east to west across Europe are not the result of dispersal.

Historical biogeography among species of Varestrongylus lungworms (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) in ungulates: episodic expansion and host colonization linking Eurasia and North America.

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Verocai, Guilherme G; Kutz, Susan J; Hoberg, Eric P

2018-05-03

Varestrongylus lungworms (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) include 10 nominal species that parasitize wild and domesticated artiodactyles. Eight species are endemic to the western Palearctic and Eurasia, whereas two are limited in distribution to the Nearctic. Complex host associations, primarily among Cervidae and Bovidae (Caprinae), and biogeography were explored based on direct comparisons of parasite and host phylogenies to reveal the historical development of this fauna. Diversification among Varestrongylus species has an intricate history extending over the Pliocene and Quaternary involving episodic processes for geographic and host colonization: (1) Varestrongylus has origins in Eurasia with independent expansion events into bordering ecozones; (2) cervids are ancestral hosts; (3) the caprine-associated V. pneumonicus is basal and a result of an independent host colonization event; (4) secondary diversification, linked to sequential and independent host colonization events, occurred within cervids (V. sagittatus + V. tuvae; V. alpenae; and V. capreoli, V. alces + V. eleguneniensis); (5) at least two additional host colonization events into caprines occurred, followed or not by diversification (V. qinghaiensis + V. longispiculatus; V. capricola, respectively); (6) two independent events of geographic expansion into North America from Eurasia with cervids in the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene are postulated (V. alpenae, V. eleguneniensis). Comparisons based on phylogenetic hypotheses derived from comparative morphology and molecular inference for these nematodes are consistent with the postulated history for coevolutionary and biogeographic history. Episodes of geographic and host colonization, often in relation to rapid shifts in climate and habitat perturbation, have dominated the history of diversification of Varestrongylus.

Migration routes and staging areas of trans-Saharan Turtle Doves appraised from light-level geolocators.

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Cyril Eraud

Full Text Available The identification of migration routes, wintering grounds and stopover sites are crucial issues for the understanding of the Palearctic-African bird migration system as well as for the development of relevant conservation strategies for trans-Saharan migrants. Using miniaturized light-level geolocators we report a comprehensive and detailed year round track of a granivorous trans-Saharan migrant, the European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur. From five recovered loggers, our data provide new insights on migratory journeys and winter destinations of Turtle Doves originating from a breeding population in Western France. Data confirm that Turtle Doves wintered in West Africa. The main wintering area encompassed Western Mali, the Inner Delta Niger and the Malian/Mauritanian border. Some individuals also extended their wintering ranges over North Guinea, North-West of Burkina Faso and the Ivory-Coast. Our results reveal that all individuals did not spend the winter period at a single location; some of them experienced a clear eastward shift of several hundred kilometres. We also found evidence for a loop migration pattern, with a post-breeding migration flyway lying west of the spring route. Finally, we found that on their way back to breeding grounds Turtle Doves needed to refuel after crossing the Sahara desert. Contrary to previous suggestions, our data reveal that birds used stopover sites for several weeks, presumably in Morocco and North Algeria. This later finding is a crucial issue for future conservation strategies because environmental conditions on these staging areas might play a pivotal role in population dynamics of this declining species.

What prolongs a butterfly's life?: Trade-offs between dormancy, fecundity and body size.

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Elena Haeler

Full Text Available In butterflies, life span often increases only at the expense of fecundity. Prolonged life span, on the other hand, provides more opportunities for oviposition. Here, we studied the association between life span and summer dormancy in two closely related species of Palearctic Meadow Brown butterflies, the endemic Maniola nurag and the widespread M. jurtina, from two climatic provenances, a Mediterranean and a Central European site, and tested the relationships between longevity, body size and fecundity. We experimentally induced summer dormancy and hence prolonged the butterflies' life in order to study the effects of such a prolonged life. We were able to modulate longevity only in Mediterranean females by rearing them under summer photoperiodic conditions (light 16 h : dark 8 h, thereby more than doubling their natural life span, to up to 246 days. Central European individuals kept their natural average live span under all treatments, as did Mediterranean individuals under autumn treatment (light 11: dark 13. Body size only had a significant effect in the smaller species, M. nurag, where it affected the duration of dormancy and lifetime fecundity. In the larger species, M. jurtina, a prolonged adult life span did, surprisingly, not convey any fecundity loss. In M. nurag, which generally deposited fewer eggs, extended life had a fecundity cost. We conclude that Mediterranen M. jurtina butterflies have an extraordinary plasticity in aging which allows them to extend life span in response to adverse environmental conditions and relieve the time limitation on egg-laying while maintaining egg production at equal levels.

Insights into the relationships of Palearctic and Nearctic lymnaeids (Mollusca : Gastropoda by rDNA ITS-2 sequencing and phylogeny of stagnicoline intermediate host species of Fasciola hepatica

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Bargues M.D.

2003-09-01

Full Text Available Fascioliasis by Fasciola hepatica is the vector-borne disease presenting the widest latitudinal, longitudinal and altitudinal distribution known. F. hepatica shows a great adaptation power to new environmental conditions which is the consequence of its own capacities together with the adaptation and colonization abilities of its specific vector hosts, freshwater snails of the family Lymnaeidae. Several lymnaeid species only considered as secondary contributors to the liver fluke transmission have, however, played a very important role in the geographic expansion of this disease. Many of them belong to the so-called "stagnicoline" type group. Stagnicolines have, therefore, a very important applied interest in the Holarctic region, to which they are geographically restricted. The present knowledge on the genetics of stagnicolines and on their parasite-host interrelationships is, however, far from being sufficient. The present paper analyses the relationships between Palaearctic and Nearctic stagnicoline species on the base of the new light furnished by the results obtained in nuclear rDNA ITS-2 sequencing and corresponding phylogenetic studies of the lymnaeid taxa Lymnaea (Stagnicola occulta, L. (S. palustris palustris (topotype specimens and L.(S. p. turricula from Europe. Natural infections with F. hepatica have been reported in all of them. Surprisingly, ITS-2 length and G C content of L. occulta were similar and perfectly fitted within the respective ranges known in North American stagnicolines. Nucleotide differences and genetic distances were higher between L. occulta and the other European stagnicolines than between L. occulta and the North American ones. The ITS-2 sequence of L. p. turricula from Poland differed from the other genotypes known from turricula in Europe. The phylogenetic trees using the maximum-parsimony, distance and maximum-likelihood methods confirmed (i the inclusion of L. occulta in the branch of North American stagnicolines, (iii the link between the North American stagnicolines-L. occulta group with Galba truncatula, and (iii the location of the L. p. turricula genotype from Poland closer to L. p. palustris than to other European L. p. turricula genotypes. The Palaearctic species occulta is included in the genus Catascopia, together with the Nearctic species catascopium, emarginata and elodes. The results suggest a potential of transmission capacity for C. occulta higher than that of other European stagnicolines or Omphiscola glabra. The relatively low genetic distances between C. occulta and G. truncatula and the clustering of both species in the same clade suggest that C.occulta may be potentially considered as the second lymnaeid intermediate host species of F. hepatica in importance in eastern and northern Europe, and probably also western and central Asia, after G. truncatula. L. p. turricula may be considered as a potential secondary vector of F. hepatica, at a level similar tot that of L.p. palustris.

High altitude Chironomidae (Diptera of Serra da Estrela (Portugal: Additions to the Portuguese and Iberian Peninsula fauna

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Rieradevall, M.

2007-12-01

Full Text Available A Chironomidae (Diptera fauna list for headwater streams of high altitude areas in Serra da Estrela (Portugal is presented, doubling the previously established species richness for the region. The findings include 17 new records for Portugal, which represent an increase to 219 species for the Continental Portugal Chironomidae fauna. Two new records were detected for the Iberian Peninsula: one species (Tvetenia duodenaria, and one subgenus –Psectrocladius (Mesopsectrocladius–; and the presence of the genus Natarsia is confirmed. The last two occurrences correspond to monoespecific taxa of the Palearctic region. However, as taxonomic identification has been based on larval material, instead of pupae, pupal exuviae or imagoes, species level assignment is still uncertain.

Se presenta una lista de especies de Chironomidae (Diptera recolectadas en los ríos de cabecera de zonas de alta montaña en la Serra da Estrela (Portugal. Con esta aportación se duplica la riqueza de especies regional conocida hasta el momento y se eleva la fauna de quironómidos del Portugal continental a 219 especies. Se incluyen dos nuevas citas para la Península Ibérica, una especie (Tvetenia duodenaria y un subgénero –Psectrocladius (Mesopsectrocladius–, y se confirma la presencia del género Natarsia. En los dos últimos casos se trata de larvas de taxones hasta el momento monoespecíficos en la región paleárctica, pero al no haberse recolectado pupas o adultos no se puede asegurar la identificación específica.

Least speciose among the most speciose: Natural history correlates of monospecific and bispecific genera of Rodentia and Soricomorpha.

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Amori, Giovanni; Bissattini, Alessandra Maria; Gippoliti, Spartaco; Vignoli, Leonardo; Maiorano, Luigi; Luiselli, Luca

2017-11-01

Monospecific and bispecific genera are of special concern as they represent unique phylogenetic/evolutionary trajectories within larger clades. In addition, as phylogenetically older taxa are supposed to be exposed to higher rarity and extinction risk, monospecific and bispecific genera may be intrinsically more prone to extinction risks than multispecies genera, although extinction risks also depend on the ecological and biological strategy of the species. Here, the distribution across biogeographical zones and the levels of threat to 2 speciose orders of mammals (monospecific and bispecific genera of Rodentia and Soricomorpha) are investigated in order to highlight major patterns at the worldwide scale. In Rodentia, 39.7% of the genera (n = 490) were monospecific and 17.9% were bispecific. In Soricomorpha, 44.4% of the total genera (n = 45) were monospecific and 15% were bispecific. There was a positive correlation between the number of monospecific genera and the total number of genera per family. Peaks of monospecific and bispecific genera richness were observed in Neotropical, Oriental and Afrotropical regions in rodents and in the Palearctic region in soricomorphs. Range size was significantly uneven across biogeographic region in rodents (with larger ranges in Nearctic and Oriental regions and smaller ranges in the Australian region), but there was no difference across biogeographic regions in terms of range size in soricomorphs. Most of the monospecific and bispecific genera occurred in forest habitat in both taxa. The frequency distribution of the monospecific and bispecific genera across IUCN categories did not differ significantly from the expected pattern using the total rodent genera and the multispecies genera. © 2017 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China.

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Kamp, Johannes; Oppel, Steffen; Ananin, Alexandr A; Durnev, Yurii A; Gashev, Sergey N; Hölzel, Norbert; Mishchenko, Alexandr L; Pessa, Jorma; Smirenski, Sergey M; Strelnikov, Evgenii G; Timonen, Sami; Wolanska, Kolja; Chan, Simba

2015-12-01

Persecution and overexploitation by humans are major causes of species extinctions. Rare species, often confined to small geographic ranges, are usually at highest risk, whereas extinctions of superabundant species with very large ranges are rare. The Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) used to be one of the most abundant songbirds of the Palearctic, with a very large breeding range stretching from Scandinavia to the Russian Far East. Anecdotal information about rapid population declines across the range caused concern about unsustainable trapping along the species' migration routes. We conducted a literature review and used long-term monitoring data from across the species' range to model population trend and geographical patterns of extinction. The population declined by 84.3-94.7% between 1980 and 2013, and the species' range contracted by 5000 km. Quantitative evidence from police raids suggested rampant illegal trapping of the species along its East Asian flyway in China. A population model simulating an initial harvest level of 2% of the population, and an annual increase of 0.2% during the monitoring period produced a population trajectory that matched the observed decline. We suggest that trapping strongly contributed to the decline because the consumption of Yellow-breasted Bunting and other songbirds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia. The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds with a comparable range size, with the exception of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), which went extinct in 1914 due to industrial-scale hunting. Our results demonstrate the urgent need for an improved monitoring of common and widespread species' populations, and consumption levels throughout East Asia. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

Morphology versus DNA barcoding: two sides of the same coin. A case study of Ceutorhynchus erysimi and C. contractus identification.

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Stepanović, Svetlana; Kosovac, Andrea; Krstić, Oliver; Jović, Jelena; Toševski, Ivo

2016-08-01

Genotyping of 2 well-known weevil species from the genus Ceutorhynchus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) distributed in west Palearctic, C. erysimi and C. contractus, revealed phenotype versus genotype inconsistencies in a set of 56 specimens (25 C. erysimi and 31 C. contractus) collected from 25 locations in Serbia and Montenegro. An analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI), widely used as a barcoding region, and a nuclear gene, elongation factor-1α (EF-1α), revealed stable genetic divergence among these species. The average uncorrected pairwise distances for the COI and EF-1α genes were 3.8%, and 1.3%, respectively, indicating 2 genetically well-segregated species. However, the genetic data were not congruent with the phenotypic characteristics of the studied specimens. In the first place, C. erysimi genotypes were attached to specimens with phenotypic characteristics of C. contractus. Species-specific PCR-RFLP assays for the barcoding gene COI were applied for the molecular identification of 101 additional specimens of both morphospecies (33 C. erysimi and 68 C. contractus) and were found to confirm this incongruity. The discrepancy between the genetic and morphological data raises the question of the accuracy of using a barcoding approach, as it may result in misleading conclusions about the taxonomic position of the studied organism. Additionally, the typological species concept shows considerable weakness when genetic data are not supported with phenotypic characteristics as in case of asymmetric introgression, which may cause certain problems, especially in applied studies such as biological control programs in which the biological properties of the studied organisms are the main focus. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Phylogeny of bent-toed geckos (Cyrtodactylus) reveals a west to east pattern of diversification.

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Wood, Perry L; Heinicke, Matthew P; Jackman, Todd R; Bauer, Aaron M

2012-12-01

The Asian/Pacific genus Cyrtodactylus is the most diverse and among the most widely distributed genera of geckos, and more species are continually being discovered. Major patterns in the evolutionary history of Cyrtodactylus have remained largely unknown because no published study has broadly sampled across the geographic range and morphological diversity of the genus. We assembled a data set including sequences from one mitochondrial and three nuclear loci for 68 Cyrtodactylus and 20 other gekkotan species to infer phylogenetic relationships within the genus and identify major biogeographic patterns. Our results indicate that Cyrtodactylus is monophyletic, but only if the Indian/Sri Lankan species sometimes recognized as Geckoella are included. Basal divergences divide Cyrtodactylus into three well-supported groups: the single species C. tibetanus, a clade of Myanmar/southern Himalayan species, and a large clade including all other Cyrtodactylus plus Geckoella. Within the largest major clade are several well-supported subclades, with separate subclades being most diverse in Thailand, Eastern Indochina, the Sunda region, the Papuan region, and the Philippines, respectively. The phylogenetic results, along with molecular clock and ancestral area analyses, show Cyrtodactylus to have originated in the circum-Himalayan region just after the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary, with a generally west to east pattern of colonization and diversification progressing through the Cenozoic. Wallacean species are derived from within a Sundaland radiation, the Philippines were colonized from Borneo, and Australia was colonized twice, once via New Guinea and once via the Lesser Sundas. Overall, these results are consistent with past suggestions of a Palearctic origin for Cyrtodactylus, and highlight the key role of geography in diversification of the genus. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Single Transcriptome of a Green Toad (Bufo viridis Yields Candidate Genes for Sex Determination and -Differentiation and Non-Anonymous Population Genetic Markers.

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Jörn F Gerchen

Full Text Available Large genome size, including immense repetitive and non-coding fractions, still present challenges for capacity, bioinformatics and thus affordability of whole genome sequencing in most amphibians. Here, we test the performance of a single transcriptome to understand whether it can provide a cost-efficient resource for species with large unknown genomes. Using RNA from six different tissues from a single Palearctic green toad (Bufo viridis specimen and Hiseq2000, we obtained 22,5 Mio reads and publish >100,000 unigene sequences. To evaluate efficacy and quality, we first use this data to identify green toad specific candidate genes, known from other vertebrates for their role in sex determination and differentiation. Of a list of 37 genes, the transcriptome yielded 32 (87%, many of which providing the first such data for this non-model anuran species. However, for many of these genes, only fragments could be retrieved. In order to allow also applications to population genetics, we further used the transcriptome for the targeted development of 21 non-anonymous microsatellites and tested them in genetic families and backcrosses. Eleven markers were specifically developed to be located on the B. viridis sex chromosomes; for eight markers we can indeed demonstrate sex-specific transmission in genetic families. Depending on phylogenetic distance, several markers, which are sex-linked in green toads, show high cross-amplification success across the anuran phylogeny, involving nine systematic anuran families. Our data support the view that single transcriptome sequencing (based on multiple tissues provides a reliable genomic resource and cost-efficient method for non-model amphibian species with large genome size and, despite limitations, should be considered as long as genome sequencing remains unaffordable for most species.

DNA Barcoding of Birds at a Migratory Hotspot in Eastern Turkey Highlights Continental Phylogeographic Relationships.

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Raşit Bilgin

Full Text Available The combination of habitat loss, climate change, direct persecution, introduced species and other components of the global environmental crisis has resulted in a rapid loss of biodiversity, including species, population and genetic diversity. Birds, which inhabit a wide spectrum of different habitat types, are particularly sensitive to and indicative of environmental changes. The Caucasus endemic bird area, part of which covers northeastern Turkey, is one of the world's key regions harboring a unique bird community threatened with habitat loss. More than 75% of all bird species native to Turkey have been recorded in this region, in particular along the Kars-Iğdır migratory corridor, stopover, wintering and breeding sites along the Aras River, whose wetlands harbor at least 264 bird species. In this study, DNA barcoding technique was used for evaluating the genetic diversity of land bird species of Aras River Bird Paradise at the confluence of Aras River and Iğdır Plains key biodiversity areas. Seventy three COI sequences from 33 common species and 26 different genera were newly generated and used along with 301 sequences that were retrieved from the Barcoding of Life Database (BOLD. Using the sequences obtained in this study, we made global phylogeographic comparisons to define four categories of species, based on barcoding suitability, intraspecific divergence and taxonomy. Our findings indicate that the landbird community of northeastern Turkey has a genetical signature mostly typical of northern Palearctic bird communities while harboring some unique variations. The study also provides a good example of how DNA barcoding can build upon its primary mission of species identification and use available data to integrate genetic variation investigated at the local scale into a global framework. However, the rich bird community of the Aras River wetlands is highly threatened with the imminent construction of the Tuzluca Dam by the government.

Assessing Genetic Structure in Common but Ecologically Distinct Carnivores: The Stone Marten and Red Fox.

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Mafalda P Basto

Full Text Available The identification of populations and spatial genetic patterns is important for ecological and conservation research, and spatially explicit individual-based methods have been recognised as powerful tools in this context. Mammalian carnivores are intrinsically vulnerable to habitat fragmentation but not much is known about the genetic consequences of fragmentation in common species. Stone martens (Martes foina and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes share a widespread Palearctic distribution and are considered habitat generalists, but in the Iberian Peninsula stone martens tend to occur in higher quality habitats. We compared their genetic structure in Portugal to see if they are consistent with their differences in ecological plasticity, and also to illustrate an approach to explicitly delineate the spatial boundaries of consistently identified genetic units. We analysed microsatellite data using spatial Bayesian clustering methods (implemented in the software BAPS, GENELAND and TESS, a progressive partitioning approach and a multivariate technique (Spatial Principal Components Analysis-sPCA. Three consensus Bayesian clusters were identified for the stone marten. No consensus was achieved for the red fox, but one cluster was the most probable clustering solution. Progressive partitioning and sPCA suggested additional clusters in the stone marten but they were not consistent among methods and were geographically incoherent. The contrasting results between the two species are consistent with the literature reporting stricter ecological requirements of the stone marten in the Iberian Peninsula. The observed genetic structure in the stone marten may have been influenced by landscape features, particularly rivers, and fragmentation. We suggest that an approach based on a consensus clustering solution of multiple different algorithms may provide an objective and effective means to delineate potential boundaries of inferred subpopulations. sPCA and progressive

Assessing Genetic Structure in Common but Ecologically Distinct Carnivores: The Stone Marten and Red Fox

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Basto, Mafalda P.; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Simões, Luciana; Grilo, Clara; Cardoso, Luís; Cortes, Helder; Bruford, Michael W.; Fernandes, Carlos

2016-01-01

The identification of populations and spatial genetic patterns is important for ecological and conservation research, and spatially explicit individual-based methods have been recognised as powerful tools in this context. Mammalian carnivores are intrinsically vulnerable to habitat fragmentation but not much is known about the genetic consequences of fragmentation in common species. Stone martens (Martes foina) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) share a widespread Palearctic distribution and are considered habitat generalists, but in the Iberian Peninsula stone martens tend to occur in higher quality habitats. We compared their genetic structure in Portugal to see if they are consistent with their differences in ecological plasticity, and also to illustrate an approach to explicitly delineate the spatial boundaries of consistently identified genetic units. We analysed microsatellite data using spatial Bayesian clustering methods (implemented in the software BAPS, GENELAND and TESS), a progressive partitioning approach and a multivariate technique (Spatial Principal Components Analysis-sPCA). Three consensus Bayesian clusters were identified for the stone marten. No consensus was achieved for the red fox, but one cluster was the most probable clustering solution. Progressive partitioning and sPCA suggested additional clusters in the stone marten but they were not consistent among methods and were geographically incoherent. The contrasting results between the two species are consistent with the literature reporting stricter ecological requirements of the stone marten in the Iberian Peninsula. The observed genetic structure in the stone marten may have been influenced by landscape features, particularly rivers, and fragmentation. We suggest that an approach based on a consensus clustering solution of multiple different algorithms may provide an objective and effective means to delineate potential boundaries of inferred subpopulations. sPCA and progressive partitioning

Assessing Genetic Structure in Common but Ecologically Distinct Carnivores: The Stone Marten and Red Fox.

Science.gov (United States)

Basto, Mafalda P; Santos-Reis, Margarida; Simões, Luciana; Grilo, Clara; Cardoso, Luís; Cortes, Helder; Bruford, Michael W; Fernandes, Carlos

2016-01-01

The identification of populations and spatial genetic patterns is important for ecological and conservation research, and spatially explicit individual-based methods have been recognised as powerful tools in this context. Mammalian carnivores are intrinsically vulnerable to habitat fragmentation but not much is known about the genetic consequences of fragmentation in common species. Stone martens (Martes foina) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) share a widespread Palearctic distribution and are considered habitat generalists, but in the Iberian Peninsula stone martens tend to occur in higher quality habitats. We compared their genetic structure in Portugal to see if they are consistent with their differences in ecological plasticity, and also to illustrate an approach to explicitly delineate the spatial boundaries of consistently identified genetic units. We analysed microsatellite data using spatial Bayesian clustering methods (implemented in the software BAPS, GENELAND and TESS), a progressive partitioning approach and a multivariate technique (Spatial Principal Components Analysis-sPCA). Three consensus Bayesian clusters were identified for the stone marten. No consensus was achieved for the red fox, but one cluster was the most probable clustering solution. Progressive partitioning and sPCA suggested additional clusters in the stone marten but they were not consistent among methods and were geographically incoherent. The contrasting results between the two species are consistent with the literature reporting stricter ecological requirements of the stone marten in the Iberian Peninsula. The observed genetic structure in the stone marten may have been influenced by landscape features, particularly rivers, and fragmentation. We suggest that an approach based on a consensus clustering solution of multiple different algorithms may provide an objective and effective means to delineate potential boundaries of inferred subpopulations. sPCA and progressive partitioning

Echinococcus canadensis transmission in the North.

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Oksanen, Antti; Lavikainen, Antti

2015-10-30

The Echinococcus granulosus complex (EG) is the causative agent of cystic echinococcosis (CE). Northern cervid Echinococcus was previously suggested to be the ancestor of the entire EG. During the last century, it was regarded to have three (or four) different, but often overlapping, transmission cycles in the circumpolar North: the original wolf-wild cervid (reindeer or elk)-cycle; the semi-synanthropic cycle involving sled and hunting dogs and wild cervids; and the synanthropic cycle involving herding dogs and semi-domesticated reindeer. Human infections mainly derived from the latter two cycles. In Fennoscandia, the synanthropic cycle has been eliminated during the last 50 years due to changes in reindeer husbandry methods; machinery making herding dogs largely redundant. Typical to human CE in the North has been the relatively benign nature of the disease compared with CE caused by E. granulosus sensu stricto. The metacestodes in humans and in the natural cervid hosts predominantly appear in the lungs. The causative agents have been identified as EG mitochondrial genotypes G8 and G10, now together with G6 (camel), G7 (pig) and G9 genotypes constituting the Echinococcus canadensis species. Based on recent findings in reindeer in Yakutia, G6 might also be recognised among cervid genotypes. The geographical distribution of both G8 and G10 is circumpolar, with G10 currently apparently more prevalent both in the Palearctic and Nearctic. Because of the disappearance of the working dog, E. canadensis in Fennoscandia is again highly dependent on the wolf, as it was before domestication of the dog. Pet and sled dogs, if their number further increases, may to a minor part participate in the life cycle. Human CE in the North was mostly diagnosed by mass chest tuberculosis radiography campaigns, which have been discontinued. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Historical Overview of the Classification, Evolution, and Dispersion of Leishmania Parasites and Sandflies.

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Mohammad Akhoundi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to describe the major evolutionary historical events among Leishmania, sandflies, and the associated animal reservoirs in detail, in accordance with the geographical evolution of the Earth, which has not been previously discussed on a large scale.Leishmania and sandfly classification has always been a controversial matter, and the increasing number of species currently described further complicates this issue. Despite several hypotheses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of Leishmania and sandflies in the Old and New World, no consistent agreement exists regarding dissemination of the actors that play roles in leishmaniasis. For this purpose, we present here three centuries of research on sandflies and Leishmania descriptions, as well as a complete description of Leishmania and sandfly fossils and the emergence date of each Leishmania and sandfly group during different geographical periods, from 550 million years ago until now. We discuss critically the different approaches that were used for Leishmana and sandfly classification and their synonymies, proposing an updated classification for each species of Leishmania and sandfly. We update information on the current distribution and dispersion of different species of Leishmania (53, sandflies (more than 800 at genus or subgenus level, and animal reservoirs in each of the following geographical ecozones: Palearctic, Nearctic, Neotropic, Afrotropical, Oriental, Malagasy, and Australian. We propose an updated list of the potential and proven sandfly vectors for each Leishmania species in the Old and New World. Finally, we address a classical question about digenetic Leishmania evolution: which was the first host, a vertebrate or an invertebrate?We propose an updated view of events that have played important roles in the geographical dispersion of sandflies, in relation to both the Leishmania species they transmit and the animal reservoirs of the parasites.

A Historical Overview of the Classification, Evolution, and Dispersion of Leishmania Parasites and Sandflies

Science.gov (United States)

Akhoundi, Mohammad; Kuhls, Katrin; Cannet, Arnaud; Votýpka, Jan; Marty, Pierre; Delaunay, Pascal; Sereno, Denis

2016-01-01

Background The aim of this study is to describe the major evolutionary historical events among Leishmania, sandflies, and the associated animal reservoirs in detail, in accordance with the geographical evolution of the Earth, which has not been previously discussed on a large scale. Methodology and Principal Findings Leishmania and sandfly classification has always been a controversial matter, and the increasing number of species currently described further complicates this issue. Despite several hypotheses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of Leishmania and sandflies in the Old and New World, no consistent agreement exists regarding dissemination of the actors that play roles in leishmaniasis. For this purpose, we present here three centuries of research on sandflies and Leishmania descriptions, as well as a complete description of Leishmania and sandfly fossils and the emergence date of each Leishmania and sandfly group during different geographical periods, from 550 million years ago until now. We discuss critically the different approaches that were used for Leishmana and sandfly classification and their synonymies, proposing an updated classification for each species of Leishmania and sandfly. We update information on the current distribution and dispersion of different species of Leishmania (53), sandflies (more than 800 at genus or subgenus level), and animal reservoirs in each of the following geographical ecozones: Palearctic, Nearctic, Neotropic, Afrotropical, Oriental, Malagasy, and Australian. We propose an updated list of the potential and proven sandfly vectors for each Leishmania species in the Old and New World. Finally, we address a classical question about digenetic Leishmania evolution: which was the first host, a vertebrate or an invertebrate? Conclusions and Significance We propose an updated view of events that have played important roles in the geographical dispersion of sandflies, in relation to both the Leishmania species they

The other white-nose syndrome transcriptome: Tolerant and susceptible hosts respond differently to the pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans.

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Davy, Christina M; Donaldson, Michael E; Willis, Craig K R; Saville, Barry J; McGuire, Liam P; Mayberry, Heather; Wilcox, Alana; Wibbelt, Gudrun; Misra, Vikram; Bollinger, Trent; Kyle, Christopher J

2017-09-01

Mitigation of emerging infectious diseases that threaten global biodiversity requires an understanding of critical host and pathogen responses to infection. For multihost pathogens where pathogen virulence or host susceptibility is variable, host-pathogen interactions in tolerant species may identify potential avenues for adaptive evolution in recently exposed, susceptible hosts. For example, the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) in hibernating bats and is responsible for catastrophic declines in some species in North America, where it was recently introduced. Bats in Europe and Asia, where the pathogen is endemic, are only mildly affected. Different environmental conditions among Nearctic and Palearctic hibernacula have been proposed as an explanation for variable disease outcomes, but this hypothesis has not been experimentally tested. We report the first controlled, experimental investigation of response to P. destructans in a tolerant, European species of bat (the greater mouse-eared bat, Myotis myotis ). We compared body condition, disease outcomes and gene expression in control (sham-exposed) and exposed M. myotis that hibernated under controlled environmental conditions following treatment. Tolerant M. myotis experienced extremely limited fungal growth and did not exhibit symptoms of WNS. However, we detected no differential expression of genes associated with immune response in exposed bats, indicating that immune response does not drive tolerance of P. destructans in late hibernation. Variable responses to P. destructans among bat species cannot be attributed solely to environmental or ecological factors. Instead, our results implicate coevolution with the pathogen, and highlight the dynamic nature of the "white-nose syndrome transcriptome." Interspecific variation in response to exposure by the host (and possibly pathogen) emphasizes the importance of context in studies of the bat-WNS system, and robust

A Historical Overview of the Classification, Evolution, and Dispersion of Leishmania Parasites and Sandflies.

Science.gov (United States)

Akhoundi, Mohammad; Kuhls, Katrin; Cannet, Arnaud; Votýpka, Jan; Marty, Pierre; Delaunay, Pascal; Sereno, Denis

2016-03-01

The aim of this study is to describe the major evolutionary historical events among Leishmania, sandflies, and the associated animal reservoirs in detail, in accordance with the geographical evolution of the Earth, which has not been previously discussed on a large scale. Leishmania and sandfly classification has always been a controversial matter, and the increasing number of species currently described further complicates this issue. Despite several hypotheses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of Leishmania and sandflies in the Old and New World, no consistent agreement exists regarding dissemination of the actors that play roles in leishmaniasis. For this purpose, we present here three centuries of research on sandflies and Leishmania descriptions, as well as a complete description of Leishmania and sandfly fossils and the emergence date of each Leishmania and sandfly group during different geographical periods, from 550 million years ago until now. We discuss critically the different approaches that were used for Leishmana and sandfly classification and their synonymies, proposing an updated classification for each species of Leishmania and sandfly. We update information on the current distribution and dispersion of different species of Leishmania (53), sandflies (more than 800 at genus or subgenus level), and animal reservoirs in each of the following geographical ecozones: Palearctic, Nearctic, Neotropic, Afrotropical, Oriental, Malagasy, and Australian. We propose an updated list of the potential and proven sandfly vectors for each Leishmania species in the Old and New World. Finally, we address a classical question about digenetic Leishmania evolution: which was the first host, a vertebrate or an invertebrate? We propose an updated view of events that have played important roles in the geographical dispersion of sandflies, in relation to both the Leishmania species they transmit and the animal reservoirs of the parasites.

Mitochondrial DNA variation, but not nuclear DNA, sharply divides morphologically identical chameleons along an ancient geographic barrier.

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Dan Bar Yaacov

Full Text Available The Levant is an important migration bridge, harboring border-zones between Afrotropical and palearctic species. Accordingly, Chameleo chameleon, a common species throughout the Mediterranean basin, is morphologically divided in the southern Levant (Israel into two subspecies, Chamaeleo chamaeleon recticrista (CCR and C. c. musae (CCM. CCR mostly inhabits the Mediterranean climate (northern Israel, while CCM inhabits the sands of the north-western Negev Desert (southern Israel. AFLP analysis of 94 geographically well dispersed specimens indicated moderate genetic differentiation (PhiPT = 0.097, consistent with the classical division into the two subspecies, CCR and CCM. In contrast, sequence analysis of a 637 bp coding mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA fragment revealed two distinct phylogenetic clusters which were not consistent with the morphological division: one mtDNA cluster consisted of CCR specimens collected in regions northern of the Jezreel Valley and another mtDNA cluster harboring specimens pertaining to both the CCR and CCM subspecies but collected southern of the Jezreel Valley. AMOVA indicated clear mtDNA differentiation between specimens collected northern and southern to the Jezreel Valley (PhiPT = 0.79, which was further supported by a very low coalescent-based estimate of effective migration rates. Whole chameleon mtDNA sequencing (∼17,400 bp generated from 11 well dispersed geographic locations revealed 325 mutations sharply differentiating the two mtDNA clusters, suggesting a long allopatric history further supported by BEAST. This separation correlated temporally with the existence of an at least 1 million year old marine barrier at the Jezreel Valley exactly where the mtDNA clusters meet. We discuss possible involvement of gender-dependent life history differences in maintaining such mtDNA genetic differentiation and suggest that it reflects (ancient local adaptation to mitochondrial-related traits.

Big mountains but small barriers: population genetic structure of the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis) in the Tsinling and Daba Mountain region of northern China.

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Zhan, Aibin; Li, Cheng; Fu, Jinzhong

2009-04-09

Amphibians in general are poor dispersers and highly philopatric, and landscape features often have important impacts on their population genetic structure and dispersal patterns. Numerous studies have suggested that genetic differentiation among amphibian populations are particularly pronounced for populations separated by mountain ridges. The Tsinling Mountain range of northern China is a major mountain chain that forms the boundary between the Oriental and Palearctic zoogeographic realms. We studied the population structure of the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis) to test whether the Tsinling Mountains and the nearby Daba Mountains impose major barriers to gene flow. Using 13 polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci, 523 individuals from 12 breeding sites with geographical distances ranging from 2.6 to 422.8 kilometers were examined. Substantial genetic diversity was detected at all sites with an average of 25.5 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.504 to 0.855, and two peripheral populations revealed significantly lower genetic diversity than the central populations. In addition, the genetic differentiation among the central populations was statistically significant, with pairwise FST values ranging from 0.0175 to 0.1625 with an average of 0.0878. Furthermore, hierarchical AMOVA analysis attributed most genetic variation to the within-population component, and the between-population variation can largely be explained by isolation-by-distance. None of the putative barriers detected from genetic data coincided with the location of the Tsinling Mountains. The Tsinling and Daba Mountains revealed no significant impact on the population genetic structure of R. chensinensis. High population connectivity and extensive juvenile dispersal may account for the significant, but moderate differentiation between populations. Chinese wood frogs are able to use streams as breeding sites at high elevations, which may significantly contribute to the

Functional and phylogenetic relatedness in temporary wetland invertebrates: current macroecological patterns and implications for future climatic change scenarios.

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Ruhí, Albert; Boix, Dani; Gascón, Stéphanie; Sala, Jordi; Batzer, Darold P

2013-01-01

In freshwater ecosystems, species compositions are known to be determined hierarchically by large to small‑scale environmental factors, based on the biological traits of the organisms. However, in ephemeral habitats this heuristic framework remains largely untested. Although temporary wetland faunas are constrained by a local filter (i.e., desiccation), we propose its magnitude may still depend on large-scale climate characteristics. If this is true, climate should be related to the degree of functional and taxonomic relatedness of invertebrate communities inhabiting seasonal wetlands. We tested this hypothesis in two ways. First, based on 52 biological traits for invertebrates, we conducted a case study to explore functional trends among temperate seasonal wetlands differing in the harshness (i.e., dryness) of their dry season. After finding evidence of trait filtering, we addressed whether it could be generalized across a broader climatic scale. To this end, a meta-analysis (225 seasonal wetlands spread across broad climatic categories: Arid, Temperate, and Cold) allowed us to identify whether an equivalent climate-dependent pattern of trait richness was consistent between the Nearctic and the Western Palearctic. Functional overlap of invertebrates increased from mild (i.e., Temperate) to harsher climates (i.e., Arid and Cold), and phylogenetic clustering (using taxonomy as a surrogate) was highest in Arid and lowest in Temperate wetlands. We show that, (i) as has been described in streams, higher relatedness than would be expected by chance is generally observed in seasonal wetland invertebrate communities; and (ii) this relatedness is not constant but climate-dependent, with the climate under which a given seasonal wetland is located determining the functional overlap and the phylogenetic clustering of the community. Finally, using a space-for-time substitution approach we suggest our results may anticipate how the invertebrate biodiversity embedded in these

Invasion of the tropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Rhinodrilidae, Oligochaeta in temperate grasslands

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Diana Ortiz-Gamino

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The tropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Rhinodrilidae, Oligochaeta presents a broad distribution (e.g., 56 countries from four continents. It is generally assumed that temperature appears to limit the success of tropical exotic species in temperate climates. However, the distribution range of this species could advance towards higher elevations (with lower temperatures where no tropical species currently occur. The aim of this study was to evaluate the soil and climatic variables that could be closely associated with the distribution of P. corethrurus in four sites along an altitudinal gradient in central Veracruz, Mexico. We predicted that the distribution of P. corethrurus would be more related to climate variables than edaphic parameters. Five sampling points (in the grassland were established at each of four sites along an altitudinal gradient: Laguna Verde (LV, La Concepción (LC, Naolinco (NA and Acatlán (AC at 11–55, 992–1,025, 1,550–1,619 y 1,772–1,800 masl, respectively. The climate ranged from tropical to temperate along the altitudinal gradient. Ten earthworm species (5 Neotropical, 4 Palearctic and 1 Nearctic were found along the gradient, belonging to three families (Rhinodrilidae, Megascolecide and Lumbricidae. Soil properties showed a significant association (positive for Ngrass, pH, permanent wilting point, organic matter and P; and negative for Total N, K and water-holding capacity with the abundance of the earthworm community. Also there seems to be a relationship between climate and earthworm distribution along the altitudinal gradient. P. corethrurus was recorded at tropical (LV and LC and temperate sites (NA along the altitudinal gradient. Our results reveal that soil fertility determines the abundance of earthworms and site (climate can act as a barrier to their migration. Further research is needed to determine the genetic structure and lineages of P. corethrurus along altitudinal gradients.

Effect of methodological and ecological approaches on heterogeneity of nest-site selection of a long-lived vulture.

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Rubén Moreno-Opo

Full Text Available The application of scientific-based conservation measures requires that sampling methodologies in studies modelling similar ecological aspects produce comparable results making easier their interpretation. We aimed to show how the choice of different methodological and ecological approaches can affect conclusions in nest-site selection studies along different Palearctic meta-populations of an indicator species. First, a multivariate analysis of the variables affecting nest-site selection in a breeding colony of cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus in central Spain was performed. Then, a meta-analysis was applied to establish how methodological and habitat-type factors determine differences and similarities in the results obtained by previous studies that have modelled the forest breeding habitat of the species. Our results revealed patterns in nesting-habitat modelling by the cinereous vulture throughout its whole range: steep and south-facing slopes, great cover of large trees and distance to human activities were generally selected. The ratio and situation of the studied plots (nests/random, the use of plots vs. polygons as sampling units and the number of years of data set determined the variability explained by the model. Moreover, a greater size of the breeding colony implied that ecological and geomorphological variables at landscape level were more influential. Additionally, human activities affected in greater proportion to colonies situated in Mediterranean forests. For the first time, a meta-analysis regarding the factors determining nest-site selection heterogeneity for a single species at broad scale was achieved. It is essential to homogenize and coordinate experimental design in modelling the selection of species' ecological requirements in order to avoid that differences in results among studies would be due to methodological heterogeneity. This would optimize best conservation and management practices for habitats and species in

Birds of a feather: Neanderthal exploitation of raptors and corvids.

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Finlayson, Clive; Brown, Kimberly; Blasco, Ruth; Rosell, Jordi; Negro, Juan José; Bortolotti, Gary R; Finlayson, Geraldine; Sánchez Marco, Antonio; Giles Pacheco, Francisco; Rodríguez Vidal, Joaquín; Carrión, José S; Fa, Darren A; Rodríguez Llanes, José M

2012-01-01

The hypothesis that Neanderthals exploited birds for the use of their feathers or claws as personal ornaments in symbolic behaviour is revolutionary as it assigns unprecedented cognitive abilities to these hominins. This inference, however, is based on modest faunal samples and thus may not represent a regular or systematic behaviour. Here we address this issue by looking for evidence of such behaviour across a large temporal and geographical framework. Our analyses try to answer four main questions: 1) does a Neanderthal to raptor-corvid connection exist at a large scale, thus avoiding associations that might be regarded as local in space or time?; 2) did Middle (associated with Neanderthals) and Upper Palaeolithic (associated with modern humans) sites contain a greater range of these species than Late Pleistocene paleontological sites?; 3) is there a taphonomic association between Neanderthals and corvids-raptors at Middle Palaeolithic sites on Gibraltar, specifically Gorham's, Vanguard and Ibex Caves? and; 4) was the extraction of wing feathers a local phenomenon exclusive to the Neanderthals at these sites or was it a geographically wider phenomenon?. We compiled a database of 1699 Pleistocene Palearctic sites based on fossil bird sites. We also compiled a taphonomical database from the Middle Palaeolithic assemblages of Gibraltar. We establish a clear, previously unknown and widespread, association between Neanderthals, raptors and corvids. We show that the association involved the direct intervention of Neanderthals on the bones of these birds, which we interpret as evidence of extraction of large flight feathers. The large number of bones, the variety of species processed and the different temporal periods when the behaviour is observed, indicate that this was a systematic, geographically and temporally broad, activity that the Neanderthals undertook. Our results, providing clear evidence that Neanderthal cognitive capacities were comparable to those of

S1 satellite DNA repetitive units display identical structure and overall variability in all Anatolian brown frog taxa.

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Picariello, Orfeo; Feliciello, Isidoro; Chinali, Gianni

2016-02-01

S1 satellite DNA from Palearctic brown frogs has a species-specific structure in all European species. We characterized S1 satellite DNA from the Anatolian brown frogs Rana macrocnemis, R. camerani, and R. holtzi in order to define their taxonomic rank and the structure of this satellite in this frog lineage. Southern blots of genomic DNA digested with KpnI, EcoRV, NdeI, NheI, or StuI produced the same pattern of satellite DNA bands. Moreover, quantitative dot blots showed that this satellite DNA accounts for 0.1 % of the genome in all taxa. Analysis of the overall genomic variability of the S1a repeat sequence in specimens from various populations demonstrated that this repetitive unit also has the same size (476 bp), the same most common sequence (MCS) and the same overall variability in all three taxa, and also in R. macrocnemis tavasensis. The S1a repetitive unit presents three deletions of 9, 8 and 1 bp compared to the 494-bp S1a repeat from European frogs. The S1a MCS has three variable positions (sequence WWTK in positions 183-186), due to the presence of two repeat subpopulations with motifs AATG and WWTT in all taxa. Unlike previously analyzed mitochondrial and nuclear sequences that show considerable variations among these taxa, no difference could be detected in the structure and variability of the S1 satellite repetitive units. This suggests that these taxa should belong to a single species. Our results indicate that this satellite DNA variety probably formed when the Anatolian lineage radiated from common ancestor about 4 mya, and since then has maintained its structure in all four taxa examined.

Revision of the new world species of Hylurgops LeConte, 1876 with the description of a new genus in the Hylastini (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) and comments on some Palearctic species

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Javier E. Mercado-Velez; Jose F. Negron

2014-01-01

The New World species of the genus Hylurgops LeConte are revised and Hylurgops subcostulatus Mannerheim is transferred to the new genus Pachysquamus. A revised key to the tribe Hylastini which can be used for the world fauna is presented to include Pachysquamus. Our studies suggest that the Nearctic species H. knausi Swaine is a valid taxon, distinguishable from the...

Habitat suitability—density relationship in an endangered woodland species: the case of the Blue Chaffinch (Fringilla polatzeki

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Luis M. Carrascal

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background Understanding constraints to the distribution of threatened species may help to ascertain whether there are other suitable sectors for reducing the risks associated with species that are recorded in only one protected locality, and to inform about the suitability of other areas for reintroduction or translocation programs. Methods We studied the Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (Fringilla polatzeki, a habitat specialist endemic of the Canary Islands restricted to the pine forest of Inagua, the only area where the species has been naturally present as a regular breeder in the last 25 years. A suitability distribution model using occurrences with demographic relevance (i.e., nest locations of successful breeding attempts analysed using boosted classification trees was built considering orographic, climatic and habitat structure predictors. By means of a standardized survey program we monitored the yearly abundance of the species in 100 sectors since the declaration of Inagua as a Strict Nature Reserve in 1994. Results The variables with the highest relative importance in blue chaffinch habitat preferences were pine height, tree cover, altitude, and rainfall during the driest trimester (July–September. The observed local abundance of the blue chaffinch in Inagua (survey data was significantly correlated with habitat suitability derived from modelling the location of successful nesting attempts (using linear and quantile regressions. The outcomes of the habitat suitability model were used to quantify the suitability of other natural, historic, pine forests of Gran Canaria. Tamadaba is the forest with most suitable woodland patches for the species. We estimated a population size of 195–430 blue chaffinches in Inagua since 2011 (95% CI, the smallest population size of a woodland passerine in the Western Palearctic. Discussion Habitat suitability obtained from modelling the location of successful breeding attempts is a good surrogate of the

Interspecific variation in the relationship between clutch size, laying date and intensity of urbanization in four species of hole-nesting birds.

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Vaugoyeau, Marie; Adriaensen, Frank; Artemyev, Alexandr; Bańbura, Jerzy; Barba, Emilio; Biard, Clotilde; Blondel, Jacques; Bouslama, Zihad; Bouvier, Jean-Charles; Camprodon, Jordi; Cecere, Francesco; Charmantier, Anne; Charter, Motti; Cichoń, Mariusz; Cusimano, Camillo; Czeszczewik, Dorota; Demeyrier, Virginie; Doligez, Blandine; Doutrelant, Claire; Dubiec, Anna; Eens, Marcel; Eeva, Tapio; Faivre, Bruno; Ferns, Peter N; Forsman, Jukka T; García-Del-Rey, Eduardo; Goldshtein, Aya; Goodenough, Anne E; Gosler, Andrew G; Grégoire, Arnaud; Gustafsson, Lars; Harnist, Iga; Hartley, Ian R; Heeb, Philipp; Hinsley, Shelley A; Isenmann, Paul; Jacob, Staffan; Juškaitis, Rimvydas; Korpimäki, Erkki; Krams, Indrikis; Laaksonen, Toni; Lambrechts, Marcel M; Leclercq, Bernard; Lehikoinen, Esa; Loukola, Olli; Lundberg, Arne; Mainwaring, Mark C; Mänd, Raivo; Massa, Bruno; Mazgajski, Tomasz D; Merino, Santiago; Mitrus, Cezary; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Morin, Xavier; Nager, Ruedi G; Nilsson, Jan-Åke; Nilsson, Sven G; Norte, Ana C; Orell, Markku; Perret, Philippe; Perrins, Christopher M; Pimentel, Carla S; Pinxten, Rianne; Richner, Heinz; Robles, Hugo; Rytkönen, Seppo; Senar, Juan Carlos; Seppänen, Janne T; Pascoal da Silva, Luis; Slagsvold, Tore; Solonen, Tapio; Sorace, Alberto; Stenning, Martyn J; Tryjanowski, Piotr; von Numers, Mikael; Walankiewicz, Wieslaw; Møller, Anders Pape

2016-08-01

The increase in size of human populations in urban and agricultural areas has resulted in considerable habitat conversion globally. Such anthropogenic areas have specific environmental characteristics, which influence the physiology, life history, and population dynamics of plants and animals. For example, the date of bud burst is advanced in urban compared to nearby natural areas. In some birds, breeding success is determined by synchrony between timing of breeding and peak food abundance. Pertinently, caterpillars are an important food source for the nestlings of many bird species, and their abundance is influenced by environmental factors such as temperature and date of bud burst. Higher temperatures and advanced date of bud burst in urban areas could advance peak caterpillar abundance and thus affect breeding phenology of birds. In order to test whether laying date advance and clutch sizes decrease with the intensity of urbanization, we analyzed the timing of breeding and clutch size in relation to intensity of urbanization as a measure of human impact in 199 nest box plots across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East (i.e., the Western Palearctic) for four species of hole-nesters: blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), great tits (Parus major), collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis), and pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). Meanwhile, we estimated the intensity of urbanization as the density of buildings surrounding study plots measured on orthophotographs. For the four study species, the intensity of urbanization was not correlated with laying date. Clutch size in blue and great tits does not seem affected by the intensity of urbanization, while in collared and pied flycatchers it decreased with increasing intensity of urbanization. This is the first large-scale study showing a species-specific major correlation between intensity of urbanization and the ecology of breeding. The underlying mechanisms for the relationships between life history and

Hybridization Capture Using RAD Probes (hyRAD, a New Tool for Performing Genomic Analyses on Collection Specimens.

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Tomasz Suchan

Full Text Available In the recent years, many protocols aimed at reproducibly sequencing reduced-genome subsets in non-model organisms have been published. Among them, RAD-sequencing is one of the most widely used. It relies on digesting DNA with specific restriction enzymes and performing size selection on the resulting fragments. Despite its acknowledged utility, this method is of limited use with degraded DNA samples, such as those isolated from museum specimens, as these samples are less likely to harbor fragments long enough to comprise two restriction sites making possible ligation of the adapter sequences (in the case of double-digest RAD or performing size selection of the resulting fragments (in the case of single-digest RAD. Here, we address these limitations by presenting a novel method called hybridization RAD (hyRAD. In this approach, biotinylated RAD fragments, covering a random fraction of the genome, are used as baits for capturing homologous fragments from genomic shotgun sequencing libraries. This simple and cost-effective approach allows sequencing of orthologous loci even from highly degraded DNA samples, opening new avenues of research in the field of museum genomics. Not relying on the restriction site presence, it improves among-sample loci coverage. In a trial study, hyRAD allowed us to obtain a large set of orthologous loci from fresh and museum samples from a non-model butterfly species, with a high proportion of single nucleotide polymorphisms present in all eight analyzed specimens, including 58-year-old museum samples. The utility of the method was further validated using 49 museum and fresh samples of a Palearctic grasshopper species for which the spatial genetic structure was previously assessed using mtDNA amplicons. The application of the method is eventually discussed in a wider context. As it does not rely on the restriction site presence, it is therefore not sensitive to among-sample loci polymorphisms in the restriction sites

The Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel: environment, hominin culture, subsistence and adaptation on the shores of the paleo-Hula Lake

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Goren-Inbar, N.

2014-12-01

The Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY), located in the Hula Valley, northern sector of the Dead Sea transform, stretches along 3.5 km of the Jordan River and its banks. The accumulation of tilted lake-margin sediments interfingered with basalt flows began 1.1 Ma and ended after 0.6 Ma. The excavations (1989-1997) exposed 34 m thick deposits that provide unique data sets on climate, environment, biology, culture and hominin behavior. Hominin presence is known throughout the sequence, providing information on Acheulian technology and cognition along the time trajectory, but the richest sites (15 in number) occur above the M/B Chron Boundary. Reconstructions of paleoenvironment and habitats are based on fossil remains yielding an extremely rich typically Mediterranean biomass of diverse biogeographic origins. Macro and micro organic material (over 140 identified taxa) exhibits a typical Mediterranean environment similar to the extant flora, with few extinctions (20 species). The rich fossil faunal include molluscs, ostracods, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, micromammals and medium-sized to large mammals (over 237 taxa), predominantly Palearctic in biogeographic origin. Many of these taxa are still extant, attesting to stable habitats and paleoclimatic conditions. Hominin occupations are documented by thousands of lithic artifacts (flint, limestone and basalt), all assigned to the Large Flake Acheulian culture. These assemblages show a continuous cultural tradition of the same tool kit along the time trajectory. The lithic reduction required developed cognitive abilities and communication abilities, interpreted as language. Evidence of hominin subsistence includes data on carcass processing including extraction of marrow, with a preference for consumption of fallow deer, elephant, hippopotamus and fish. Edible plant remains include nuts, USO, fruits, seeds and vegetables in association with stone artifacts and animal bones. Fire, present throughout, was

Discovery and description of a new trichostrongyloid species (Nematoda: Ostertagiinae), abomasal parasites in mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus, from the Western Cordillera of North America.

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Hoberg, Eric P; Abrams, Arthur; Pilitt, Patricia A; Jenkins, Emily J

2012-08-01

Marshallagia lichtenfelsi sp. n. is a dimorphic ostertagiine nematode occurring in the abomasum of mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus, from the Western Cordillera of North America. Major and minor morphotype males and females are characterized and distinguished relative to the morphologically similar Marshallagia marshalli / Marshallagia occidentalis from North America and Marshallagia dentispicularis, along with other congeners, from the Palearctic region. The configuration of the convoluted and irregular synlophe in the cervical region of males and females of M. lichtenfelsi is apparently unique, contrasting with a continuous and parallel system of ridges among those species of Marshallagia, including M. marshalli/M. occidentalis, which have been evaluated. Specimens of M. lichtenfelsi are further defined by the rectangular form of the accessory bursal membrane (width > length) in the major morphotype and by the trapezoidal Sjöberg's organ in the minor morphotype, in addition to specific attributes of the spicules and spicule tips. We regard 12 species, including the proposed new taxon, to be valid. Primary diagnostic characters are reviewed for Marshallagia and a framework is presented for standardization of future descriptions incorporating the synlophe in males and females and the structure of the spicules and genital cone in major and minor morphotype males. The center of diversity for species of Marshallagia is the mountain-steppe region of central Eurasia where 11 species (including the Holarctic M. marshalli) are recognized in association with Caprini, Rupicaprini, and Antelopinae; only 2 species occur in the Nearctic. In this assemblage, M. lichtenfelsi is endemic to North America and limited in host distribution to mountain goats. An intricate history for refugial isolation and population fragmentation demonstrated for mountain goats and wild sheep indicates the potential for considerable cryptic diversity for Marshallagia and other nematodes. Shifting

Big mountains but small barriers: Population genetic structure of the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis in the Tsinling and Daba Mountain region of northern China

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Li Cheng

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Amphibians in general are poor dispersers and highly philopatric, and landscape features often have important impacts on their population genetic structure and dispersal patterns. Numerous studies have suggested that genetic differentiation among amphibian populations are particularly pronounced for populations separated by mountain ridges. The Tsinling Mountain range of northern China is a major mountain chain that forms the boundary between the Oriental and Palearctic zoogeographic realms. We studied the population structure of the Chinese wood frog (Rana chensinensis to test whether the Tsinling Mountains and the nearby Daba Mountains impose major barriers to gene flow. Results Using 13 polymorphic microsatellite DNA loci, 523 individuals from 12 breeding sites with geographical distances ranging from 2.6 to 422.8 kilometers were examined. Substantial genetic diversity was detected at all sites with an average of 25.5 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.504 to 0.855, and two peripheral populations revealed significantly lower genetic diversity than the central populations. In addition, the genetic differentiation among the central populations was statistically significant, with pairwise FST values ranging from 0.0175 to 0.1625 with an average of 0.0878. Furthermore, hierarchical AMOVA analysis attributed most genetic variation to the within-population component, and the between-population variation can largely be explained by isolation-by-distance. None of the putative barriers detected from genetic data coincided with the location of the Tsinling Mountains. Conclusion The Tsinling and Daba Mountains revealed no significant impact on the population genetic structure of R. chensinensis. High population connectivity and extensive juvenile dispersal may account for the significant, but moderate differentiation between populations. Chinese wood frogs are able to use streams as breeding sites at high

Demographic consequences of nest box use for Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus in Central Asia

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Bragin, Evgeny A.; Bragin, Alexander E.; Katzner, Todd

2017-01-01

Nest box programs are frequently implemented for the conservation of cavity-nesting birds, but their effectiveness is rarely evaluated in comparison to birds not using nest boxes. In the European Palearctic, Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus populations are both of high conservation concern and are strongly associated with nest box programs in heavily managed landscapes. We used a 21-year monitoring dataset collected on 753 nesting attempts by Red-footed Falcons in unmanaged natural or semi-natural habitats to provide basic information on this poorly known species; to evaluate long-term demographic trends; and to evaluate response of demographic parameters of Red-footed Falcons to environmental factors including use of nest boxes. We observed significant differences among years in laying date, offspring loss, and numbers of fledglings produced, but not in egg production. Of these four parameters, offspring loss and, to a lesser extent, number of fledglings exhibited directional trends over time. Variation in laying date and in numbers of eggs were not well explained by any one model, but instead by combinations of models, each with informative terms for nest type. Nevertheless, laying in nest boxes occurred 2.10 ± 0.70 days earlier than in natural nests. In contrast, variation in both offspring loss and numbers of fledglings produced were fairly well explained by a single model including terms for nest type, nest location, and an interaction between the two parameters (65% and 81% model weights respectively), with highest offspring loss in nest boxes on forest edges. Because, for other species, earlier laying dates are associated with more fit individuals, this interaction highlighted a possible ecological trap, whereby birds using nest boxes on forest edges lay eggs earlier but suffer greater offspring loss and produce lower numbers of fledglings than do those in other nesting settings. If nest boxes increase offspring loss for Red-footed Falcons in heavily

Molecular phylogeny of Anopheles hyrcanus group (Diptera: Culicidae) based on mtDNA COI.

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Fang, Yuan; Shi, Wen-Qi; Zhang, Yi

2017-05-08

The Anopheles hyrcanus group, which includes at least 25 species, is widely distributed in the Oriental and Palearctic regions. Some group members have been incriminated as vectors of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. It is difficult to identify Hyrcanus Group members by morphological features. Thus, molecular phylogeny has been proposed as an important complementary method to traditional morphological taxonomy. Based on the GenBank database and our original study data, we used 466 mitochondrial DNA COI sequences belonging to 18 species to reconstruct the molecular phylogeny of the Hyrcanus Group across its worldwide geographic range. The results are as follows. 1) The average conspecific K2P divergence was 0.008 (range 0.002-0.017), whereas sequence divergence between congroup species averaged 0.064 (range 0.026-0.108). 2) The topology of COI tree of the Hyrcanus Group was generally consistent with classical morphological taxonomy in terms of species classification, but disagreed in subgroup division. In the COI tree, the group was divided into at least three main clusters. The first cluster contained An. nimpe; the second was composed of the Nigerrimus Subgroup and An. argyropus; and the third cluster was comprised of the Lesteri Subgroup and other unassociated species. 3) Phylogenetic analysis of COI indicated that ancient hybridizations probably occurred among the three closely related species, An. sinensis, An. belenrae, and An. kleini. 4) The results supported An. paraliae as a probable synonym of An. lesteri, and it was possible that An. pseudopictus and An. hyrcanus were the same species, as evident from their extremely low interspecific genetic divergence (0.020 and 0.007, respectively) and their phylogenetic positions. In summary, we reconstructed the molecular phylogeny and analysed genetic divergence of the Hyrcanus Group using mitochondrial COI sequences. Our results suggest that in the future of malaria surveillance, we should not only pay

The phylogeny of Mediterranean tortoises and their close relativesbased on complete mitochondrial genome sequences from museumspecimens

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Parham, James F.; Macey, J. Robert; Papenfuss, Theodore J.; Feldman, Chris R.; Turkozan, Oguz; Polymeni, Rosa; Boore, Jeffrey

2005-04-29

As part of an ongoing project to generate a mitochondrial database for terrestrial tortoises based on museum specimens, the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of 10 species and a {approx}14 kb sequence from an eleventh species are reported. The sampling of the present study emphasizes Mediterranean tortoises (genus Testudo and their close relatives). Our new sequences are aligned, along with those of two testudinoid turtles from GenBank, Chrysemys picta and Mauremys reevesii, yielding an alignment of 14,858 positions, of which 3,238 are parsimony informative. We develop a phylogenetic taxonomy for Testudo and related species based on well-supported, diagnosable clades. Several well-supported nodes are recovered, including the monophyly of a restricted Testudo, T. kleinmanni + T. marginata (the Chersus clade), and the placement of the enigmatic African pancake tortoise (Malacochersustornieri) within the predominantly Palearctic greater Testudo group (Testudona tax. nov.). Despite the large amount of sequence reported, there is low statistical support for some nodes within Testudona and Sowe do not propose names for those groups. A preliminary and conservative estimation of divergence times implies a late Miocene diversification for the testudonan clade (6-12 million years ago), matching their first appearance in the fossil record. The multi-continental distribution of testudonan turtles can be explained by the establishment of permanent connections between Europe, Africa, and Asia at this time. The arrival of testudonan turtles to Africa occurred after one or more initial tortoise invasions gave rise to the diverse (>25 species) 'Geochelone complex.'Two unusual genomic features are reported for the mtDNA of one tortoise, M. tornieri: (1) nad4 has a shift of reading frame that we suggest is resolved by translational frameshifting of the mRNA on the ribosome during protein synthesis and (2) there are two copies of the control region and trnF, with the

Artrópodes em ninhos de Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 (Aves, Columbidae em área urbana de Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil.

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Guilherme Maerschner Ogawa

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Resumo. Foi realizado um estudo sobre artrópodes que vivem em ninhos de Columba livia Gmelin 1789, ave conhecida como pombo urbano e que nidifica em construções humanas, com o intuito de inventariar as espécies de artrópodes associadas. Foram coletados 14 ninhos de C. livia em nove bairros da área urbana de Manaus os quais foram levados ao laboratótio e colocados em um extrator do tipo Berlese-Tulgren por 12 dias, para a captura dos artrópodes. Foram encontrados 10.323 artrópodes, pertencentes a 3 subfilos, 3 classes, 14 ordens e 33famílias. Acari foi mais abundante com 7.879 indivíduos, sendo o gênero Caloglyphus Berlese, 1923, o mais representativo (75%. A maioria das espécies encontradas é detritívora. A diversidade de artrópodes foi menor em Manaus se comparada à registrada em trabalhos da região Paleártica, provavelmente por C. livia ser uma espécie exótica na fauna Neotropical. Arthropods in the nests of Columba livia Gmelin 1789 (Aves, Columbidae in the urban area of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Abstract. The objective of this study was identify the arthropod fauna in nests of the urban pigeon, Columba livia Gmelin 1789 who build their nests in man-made buildings. Fourteen nests were collected in nine districts of the built up area of the city of Manaus. For twelve days, arthropods were extracted in a Berlese-Tulgren funnel. A total of 10.323 arthropods representing 3 subphyla, 3 classes, 14 orders and 33 families were detected. Acari was the most abundant group with 7879 individuals. Mites of the genus Caloglyphus Berlese, 1923, made up over 75 % of all arthropods collected. Most of the arthropods extracted are detrivorous and apterous. The diversity found in Manaus was lower than that reported for samples collected in the Palearctic Region, probably because C. livia is exotic in the Neotropical fauna. The introduction of this pigeon can be responsible for a major contact between some arthropods and humans.

Phylogeography and historical demography of the Lusitanian snail Elona quimperiana reveal survival in unexpected separate glacial refugia

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Bellido Alain

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Present day distributions of Palearctic taxa in northern latitudes mainly result from populations having survived in local patches during the Late Pleistocene and/or from recolonizing populations from southern temperate refugia. If well-studied Mediterranean and eastern European refugia are widely accepted, some recent biogeographical assumptions still remain unclear, such as the occurrence of multiple glacial refugia in Iberia and cryptic refugia in northern Europe during the last glaciations. The Lusitanian snail Elona quimperiana has a remarkably disjunct distribution, limited to northwestern France (Brittany, northwestern Spain and the Basque Country. By describing the phylogeographical structure of this species across its entire range, the present study attempts to identify refugia and subsequent recolonization routes. Results Results based on 16S and COI gene sequences showed that the low genetic diversity observed in the Brittany populations should be associated with a recent demographic expansion. By contrast, populations from Spain exhibit several differentiated lineages and are characterized by demographic equilibrium, while the Basque populations are the only ones harboring typical distinct haplotypes. The center of the star-like networks of both gene sequences is occupied by a common ancestral-like haplotype found in Brittany and Spain, which might have originated from the middle of Northern Spain (i.e. Asturias, eastern Lugo and western Cantabria. Estimates of the divergence time between the Spain-Brittany and Basque lineages strongly suggest that E. quimperiana survived the Pleistocene glaciations in distinct refugia on the Iberian Peninsula, one of which is situated in Picos de Europa, and the other in the Basque Country. The occurrence of a northern refugium in France cannot be rejected as of yet. Conclusion Present results confirm the Iberian origin of the land snail E. quimperiana and strongly support the

Spatial distribution and risk factors of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in China

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Martin, Vincent; Pfeiffer, Dirk U.; Zhou, Xiaoyan; Xiao, Xiangming; Prosser, Diann J.; Guo, Fusheng; Gilbert, Marius

2011-01-01

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was first encountered in 1996 in Guangdong province (China) and started spreading throughout Asia and the western Palearctic in 2004–2006. Compared to several other countries where the HPAI H5N1 distribution has been studied in some detail, little is known about the environmental correlates of the HPAI H5N1 distribution in China. HPAI H5N1 clinical disease outbreaks, and HPAI virus (HPAIV) H5N1 isolated from active risk-based surveillance sampling of domestic poultry (referred to as HPAIV H5N1 surveillance positives in this manuscript) were modeled separately using seven risk variables: chicken, domestic waterfowl population density, proportion of land covered by rice or surface water, cropping intensity, elevation, and human population density. We used bootstrapped logistic regression and boosted regression trees (BRT) with cross-validation to identify the weight of each variable, to assess the predictive power of the models, and to map the distribution of HPAI H5N1 risk. HPAI H5N1 clinical disease outbreak occurrence in domestic poultry was mainly associated with chicken density, human population density, and elevation. In contrast, HPAIV H5N1 infection identified by risk-based surveillance was associated with domestic waterfowl density, human population density, and the proportion of land covered by surface water. Both models had a high explanatory power (mean AUC ranging from 0.864 to 0.967). The map of HPAIV H5N1 risk distribution based on active surveillance data emphasized areas south of the Yangtze River, while the distribution of reported outbreak risk extended further North, where the density of poultry and humans is higher. We quantified the statistical association between HPAI H5N1 outbreak, HPAIV distribution and post-vaccination levels of seropositivity (percentage of effective post-vaccination seroconversion in vaccinated birds) and found that provinces with either outbreaks or HPAIV H5N1 surveillance

Spatial distribution and risk factors of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1 in China.

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Vincent Martin

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1 was first encountered in 1996 in Guangdong province (China and started spreading throughout Asia and the western Palearctic in 2004-2006. Compared to several other countries where the HPAI H5N1 distribution has been studied in some detail, little is known about the environmental correlates of the HPAI H5N1 distribution in China. HPAI H5N1 clinical disease outbreaks, and HPAI virus (HPAIV H5N1 isolated from active risk-based surveillance sampling of domestic poultry (referred to as HPAIV H5N1 surveillance positives in this manuscript were modeled separately using seven risk variables: chicken, domestic waterfowl population density, proportion of land covered by rice or surface water, cropping intensity, elevation, and human population density. We used bootstrapped logistic regression and boosted regression trees (BRT with cross-validation to identify the weight of each variable, to assess the predictive power of the models, and to map the distribution of HPAI H5N1 risk. HPAI H5N1 clinical disease outbreak occurrence in domestic poultry was mainly associated with chicken density, human population density, and elevation. In contrast, HPAIV H5N1 infection identified by risk-based surveillance was associated with domestic waterfowl density, human population density, and the proportion of land covered by surface water. Both models had a high explanatory power (mean AUC ranging from 0.864 to 0.967. The map of HPAIV H5N1 risk distribution based on active surveillance data emphasized areas south of the Yangtze River, while the distribution of reported outbreak risk extended further North, where the density of poultry and humans is higher. We quantified the statistical association between HPAI H5N1 outbreak, HPAIV distribution and post-vaccination levels of seropositivity (percentage of effective post-vaccination seroconversion in vaccinated birds and found that provinces with either outbreaks or HPAIV H5N1

Effects of tectonics and large scale climatic changes on the evolutionary history of Hyalomma ticks.

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Sands, Arthur F; Apanaskevich, Dmitry A; Matthee, Sonja; Horak, Ivan G; Harrison, Alan; Karim, Shahid; Mohammad, Mohammad K; Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y; Rajakaruna, Rupika S; Santos-Silva, Maria M; Matthee, Conrad A

2017-09-01

Hyalomma Koch, 1844 are ixodid ticks that infest mammals, birds and reptiles, to which 27 recognized species occur across the Afrotropical, Palearctic and Oriental regions. Despite their medical and veterinary importance, the evolutionary history of the group is enigmatic. To investigate various taxonomic hypotheses based on morphology, and also some of the mechanisms involved in the diversification of the genus, we sequenced and analysed data derived from two mtDNA fragments, three nuclear DNA genes and 47 morphological characters. Bayesian and Parsimony analyses based on the combined data (2242 characters for 84 taxa) provided maximum resolution and strongly supported the monophyly of Hyalomma and the subgenus Euhyalomma Filippova, 1984 (including H. punt Hoogstraal, Kaiser and Pedersen, 1969). A predicted close evolutionary association was found between morphologically similar H. dromedarii Koch, 1844, H. somalicum Tonelli Rondelli, 1935, H. impeltatum Schulze and Schlottke, 1929 and H. punt, and together they form a sister lineage to H. asiaticum Schulze and Schlottke, 1929, H. schulzei Olenev, 1931 and H. scupense Schulze, 1919. Congruent with morphological suggestions, H. anatolicum Koch, 1844, H. excavatum Koch, 1844 and H. lusitanicum Koch, 1844 form a clade and so also H. glabrum Delpy, 1949, H. marginatum Koch, 1844, H. turanicum Pomerantzev, 1946 and H. rufipes Koch, 1844. Wide scale continental sampling revealed cryptic divergences within African H. truncatum Koch, 1844 and H. rufipes and suggested that the taxonomy of these lineages is in need of a revision. The most basal lineages in Hyalomma represent taxa currently confined to Eurasia and molecular clock estimates suggest that members of the genus started to diverge approximately 36.25 million years ago (Mya). The early diversification event coincides well with the collision of the Indian and Eurasian Plates, an event that was also characterized by large scale faunal turnover in the region. Using S

Molecular biogeography of Europe: Pleistocene cycles and postglacial trends

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Schmitt Thomas

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract The climatic cycles with subsequent glacial and intergalcial periods have had a great impact on the distribution and evolution of species. Using genetic analytical tools considerably increased our understanding of these processes. In this review I therefore give an overview of the molecular biogeography of Europe. For means of simplification, I distinguish between three major biogeographical entities: (i "Mediterranean" with Mediterranean differentiation and dispersal centres, (ii "Continental" with extra-Mediterranean centres and (iii "Alpine" and/or "Arctic" with recent alpine and/or arctic distribution patterns. These different molecular biogeographical patterns are presented using actual examples. Many "Mediterranean" species are differentiated into three major European genetic lineages, which are due to glacial isolation in the three major Mediterranean peninsulas. Postglacial expansion in this group of species is mostly influenced by the barriers of the Pyrenees and the Alps with four resulting main patterns of postglacial range expansions. However, some cases are known with less than one genetic lineage per Mediterranean peninsula on the one hand, and others with a considerable genetic substructure within each of the Mediterranean peninsulas, Asia Minor and the Maghreb. These structures within the Mediterranean sub-centres are often rather strong and in several cases even predate the Pleistocene. For the "Continental" species, it could be shown that the formerly supposed postglacial spread from eastern Palearctic expansion centres is mostly not applicable. Quite the contrary, most of these species apparently had extra-Mediterranean centres of survival in Europe with special importance of the perialpine regions, the Carpathian Basin and parts of the Balkan Peninsula. In the group of "Alpine" and/or "Arctic" species, several molecular biogeographical patterns have been found, which support and improve the postulates based on

Cenozoic aridization in Central Eurasia shaped diversification of toad-headed agamas (Phrynocephalus; Agamidae, Reptilia).

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Solovyeva, Evgeniya N; Lebedev, Vladimir S; Dunayev, Evgeniy A; Nazarov, Roman A; Bannikova, Anna A; Che, Jing; Murphy, Robert W; Poyarkov, Nikolay A

2018-01-01

We hypothesize the phylogenetic relationships of the agamid genus Phrynocephalus to assess how past environmental changes shaped the evolutionary and biogeographic history of these lizards and especially the impact of paleogeography and climatic factors. Phrynocephalus is one of the most diverse and taxonomically confusing lizard genera. As a key element of Palearctic deserts, it serves as a promising model for studies of historical biogeography and formation of arid habitats in Eurasia. We used 51 samples representing 33 of 40 recognized species of Phrynocephalus covering all major areas of the genus. Molecular data included four mtDNA ( COI , ND2 , ND4 , Cytb ; 2,703 bp) and four nuDNA protein-coding genes ( RAG1 , BDNF , AKAP9 , NKTR ; 4,188 bp). AU-tests were implemented to test for significant differences between mtDNA- and nuDNA-based topologies. A time-calibrated phylogeny was estimated using a Bayesian relaxed molecular clock with nine fossil calibrations. We reconstructed the ancestral area of origin, biogeographic scenarios, body size, and the evolution of habitat preference. Phylogenetic analyses of nuDNA genes recovered a well-resolved and supported topology. Analyses detected significant discordance with the less-supported mtDNA genealogy. The position of Phrynocephalus mystaceus conflicted greatly between the two datasets. MtDNA introgression due to ancient hybridization best explained this result. Monophyletic Phrynocephalus contained three main clades: (I) oviparous species from south-western and Middle Asia; (II) viviparous species of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP); and (III) oviparous species of the Caspian Basin, Middle and Central Asia. Phrynocephalus originated in late Oligocene (26.9 Ma) and modern species diversified during the middle Miocene (14.8-13.5 Ma). The reconstruction of ancestral areas indicated that Phrynocephalus originated in Middle East-southern Middle Asia. Body size miniaturization likely occurred early in the history of

Cenozoic aridization in Central Eurasia shaped diversification of toad-headed agamas (Phrynocephalus; Agamidae, Reptilia

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Evgeniya N. Solovyeva

2018-03-01

Full Text Available We hypothesize the phylogenetic relationships of the agamid genus Phrynocephalus to assess how past environmental changes shaped the evolutionary and biogeographic history of these lizards and especially the impact of paleogeography and climatic factors. Phrynocephalus is one of the most diverse and taxonomically confusing lizard genera. As a key element of Palearctic deserts, it serves as a promising model for studies of historical biogeography and formation of arid habitats in Eurasia. We used 51 samples representing 33 of 40 recognized species of Phrynocephalus covering all major areas of the genus. Molecular data included four mtDNA (COI, ND2, ND4, Cytb; 2,703 bp and four nuDNA protein-coding genes (RAG1, BDNF, AKAP9, NKTR; 4,188 bp. AU-tests were implemented to test for significant differences between mtDNA- and nuDNA-based topologies. A time-calibrated phylogeny was estimated using a Bayesian relaxed molecular clock with nine fossil calibrations. We reconstructed the ancestral area of origin, biogeographic scenarios, body size, and the evolution of habitat preference. Phylogenetic analyses of nuDNA genes recovered a well-resolved and supported topology. Analyses detected significant discordance with the less-supported mtDNA genealogy. The position of Phrynocephalus mystaceus conflicted greatly between the two datasets. MtDNA introgression due to ancient hybridization best explained this result. Monophyletic Phrynocephalus contained three main clades: (I oviparous species from south-western and Middle Asia; (II viviparous species of Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP; and (III oviparous species of the Caspian Basin, Middle and Central Asia. Phrynocephalus originated in late Oligocene (26.9 Ma and modern species diversified during the middle Miocene (14.8–13.5 Ma. The reconstruction of ancestral areas indicated that Phrynocephalus originated in Middle East–southern Middle Asia. Body size miniaturization likely occurred early in the history

Historic and contemporary mercury exposure and potential risk to yellow-billed loons (Gavia adamsii) breeding in Alaska and Canada

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Evers, David C.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Basu, Niladri; DeSorbo, Christopher R.; Fair, Jeff; Gray, Carrie E.; Paruk, James D.; Perkins, Marie; Regan, Kevin; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Wright, Kenneth G.

2014-01-01

Hg originating from eastern Asia. Feather Hg concentrations tended to be highest in individuals overwintering farthest west (closer to Asia). A retrospective analysis of museum specimens (n = 25) found a two-fold increase in Yellow-billed Loon feather Hg concentrations from the pre-1920s (as early as 1845) to the present. The projected increase in Hg deposition (approximately four-fold by 2050) along with the uncertainty of Hg being released through the thawing of permafrost and Arctic sea ice suggest that Hg body burdens in Yellow-billed Loons may increase. These findings indicate that Hg is a current and potentially increasing environmental stressor for the Yellow-billed Loon and possibly other Nearctic-Palearctic migrant birds.

New data on the “silver-bell cricket” (Orthoptera, Gryllidae, a forgotten and overlooked cricket subject to a high risk of extinction in western Europe

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Cordero, P. J.

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Gryllodinus kerkennensis (Finot, 1893 presents a disjunct distribution in the Southern part of the Western Palearctic from North Africa up to Central Asia inhabiting arid, semidesert or desert land mostly associated with saline soils near water sources of lagoons or river beds depressions. The species was not recorded in Western Europe (Iberian Peninsula since 1936 and up to now it is currently excluded from all red list books for Orthopteran conservation. In this paper we report a few and localised populations of this cricket in Castilla-La Mancha inhabiting sandy shores of hiper-saline lagoons. We also provide information on its biometrics, phenology, ecology and behaviour including data of all collection specimens of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN. Because of its audible and particular song, we propose campaigns of night listening points to search for this species in other potential sites where it could be present. We believe that this species may be subject to a high risk of extinction in the Iberian Peninsula, and thus in the whole Western Europe. This is because of their restricted populations and the fragility of its specific habitat. We propose an urgent integral protection and the inclusion of the species in the lists of highly endangered invertebrate species.

Gryllodinus kerkennensis (Finot, 1893 presenta una distribución disjunta a lo largo de la franja meridional y occidental del Paleártico, desde África del Norte hasta Asia Central, habitando zonas áridas, desiertos o semi-desiertos, principalmente asociado a suelos salinos próximos a masas de agua de lagunas o depresiones de cuencas fluviales. Esta especie no se registraba en Europa occidental (Península Ibérica desde 1936 y en la actualidad está excluida de todas las listas de libros rojos para la conservación de Ortópteros. En este trabajo describimos varias poblaciones aisladas de este grillo en Castilla-La Mancha en orillas

Captive-breeding and conservation of the European mammal diversity

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Spartaco Gippoliti

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Under the biological species concept, the intraspecific variability and true species richness of Palearctic mammals has often been overlooked, and therefore the need to conserve it. Recovery projects of endangered European mammals in Western Europe rely mainly upon translocation of conspecifics from viable populations in Central or Eastern Europe. From a wildlife management and restoration ecology point of view, many such recovery projects have been successful. However, from a biodiversity perspective it could be argued that they could have failed to protect the original European biodiversity. The increasing evidence of a complex phylogeographic pattern in many European mammals - especially in the Mediterranean region - has led to a reconsideration of the conservation unit and highlights the need for species-specific programmes for assuring the survival of threatened, distinctive populations. Such programs should also include captive breeding. It is therefore suggested that a two-level classification of captive breeding programmes is needed according to the degree of threat of concerned taxa, to maximise available resources without jeopardising in situ conservation. It is proposed to distinguish between a level I captive breeding programmes, which are part of the conservation strategy for seriously threatened taxa and need to be financed by state or federal agencies, and b "prophylactic" level II for vulnerable taxa or populations, and for which funds may be available mainly from the private sector. Available evidence suggests that given adequate husbandry techniques and pre-release training, even captive-bred carnivores can be successfully reintroduced to the wild. However, a closer collaboration among zoological gardens, zoologists and agencies involved in wildlife conservation is needed to avoid ill-conceived, potentially dangerous captive-breeding and re-introduction projects.