Allozyme diversity and the evolution ofCrepidiastrum (Compositae) on the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands

The genusCrepidiastrum is distributed in East Asia and includes 7 species. In the Bonin Islands, three species ofCrepidiastrum occur, and all of them are endemic to the islands. For detecting the origin and speciation of these endemic species, electrophoretic studies have been done in three endemic species of the Bonin Islands as well as in the remaining four species ofCrepidiastrum, andYoungia denticulata which is considered to be closely related toCrepidiastrum. A total of 386 individuals were sampled from 14 populations. As a result, 17 loci of 10 enzyme systems were resolved and gene frequencies for each population were calculated. The genetic variability was low in island species, as reported in some oceanic island plants. Four groups were recognized in the dendrogram generated by the UPGMA method. The Bonin endemics were clustered together, suggesting a monophyletic origin.C. ameristophyllum andC. linguaefolium were found to be genetically very similar, and this may suggest recent and rapid speciation within the islands.     

Darwin and the Galápagos

Charles Darwin's historic visit to the Galápagos Islands in 1835 represents a landmark in the annals of science. But contrary to the legend long surrounding Darwin's famous Galápagos visit, he continued to believe that species were immutable for nearly a year and a half after leaving these islands. This delay in Darwin's evolutionary appreciation of the Galápagos evidence is largely owing to numerous misconceptions that he entertained about the islands, and their unique organic inhabitants, during the Beagle voyage. For example, Darwin mistakenly thought that the Galápagos tortoise–adult specimens of which he did not collect for scientific purposes–was not native to these islands. Hence he apparently interpreted reports of island-to-island differences among the tortoises as analogous to changes that are commonly undergone by species removed from their natural habitats. As for Darwin's finches, Darwin initially failed to recognize the closely related nature of the group, mistaking certain species for the forms that they appear, through adaptive radiation, to mimic. Moreover, what locality information he later published for his Galápagos finch specimens was derived almost entirely from the collections of three other Beagle shipmates, following his return to England. Even after he became an evolutionist, in March of 1837 (when he discussed his Galápagos birds with the eminent ornithologist John Gould), Darwin's theoretical understanding of evolution in the Galápagos continued to undergo significant developments for almost as many years as it took him to publish the Origin of Species (1859). The Darwin-Galápagos legend, with its romantic portrait of Darwin's 'eureka-like' insight into the Galápagos as a microcosmic 'laboratory of evolution', masks the complex nature of scientific discovery, and, thereby, the real nature of Darwin's genius.     

A population genetic study of the Banks and Torres Islands (Vanuatu) and of the Santa Cruz Islands and polynesian outliers (Solomon Islands)

As part of a multidisciplinary survey of populations in the Banks and Torres Islands of Vanuatu and the Southern and Central Districts of the Solomon Islands, nearly 2,400 persons have been tested for ABO blood groups and a number of serum protein and red cell enzyme genetic marker systems. For the ABO system, the populations are characterized in general by high gene O and low gene B frequencies except in two of the Polynesian Outlier Islands, Rennell and Bellona, which have high frequencies of B. Among the serum proteins, several alleles have distributions indicating significant movement of people between islands. These include Albumin ^{New Guinea} and the transferrin alleles Tf, and Tf, and Tf. Similar specific alleles for red cell enzymes also show distributions reflecting interisland population movement as well as contact with persons from outside the southern Pacific region. Examples are ACP in the acid phosphatase system, PGM and PGM, PGM and PGM, PGK⁴ and also HbJ^Tongariki. The data available for 11 polymorphic systems were used to generate genetic distances. Of the four Polynesian Outlier Islands, Anuta is most remote genetically, with Rennell and Bellona also relatively isolated. The fourth Polynesian Outlier, Tikopia, occupies a position genetically close to the Melanesian populations of the Banks and Torres Islands and the southern Solomons. The history of early European contact and voyaging in the Pacific, as well as archaeological and linguistic evidence and local legends, indicate that significant movements of people occurred between islands and provided opportunities for genes to be introduced from Europeans, Africans, and Asians. The genetic marker studies give evidence for genes from all these sources, though at a low level. Despite this admixture, the Polynesian Outlier and Melanesian populations have preserved their own distinctive genetic patterns.     

ALLOZYME DIVERSITY AND GENETIC IDENTITY IN SCHIEDEA AND ALSINIDENDRON (CARYOPHYLLACEAE: ALSINOIDEAE) IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Genetic diversity of allozymes, genetic identity based on allozyme variability, and phylogenetic relationships were studied with respect to breeding system diversity, population size, and island age in 20 of the 29 species of Schiedea and Alsinidendron (Caryophyllaceae: Alsinoideae), a monophyletic lineage endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Average levels of genetic variability in Schiedea and Alsinidendron were comparable to or higher than those found in other Hawaiian lineages for which equivalent data are available [Bidens, Tetramolopium, and the silversword alliance (Asteraceae: Madiinae)] and similar to average values for species of dicots. Allozyme variability was strongly dependent on breeding system, which varies widely in the Hawaiian Alsinoideae. Species with autogamous breeding systems showed very low variability, measured as the number of alleles per locus, percent polymorphic loci, and mean heterozygosity per locus. Outcrossing hermaphroditic and dimorphic species (those with gynodioecious, subdioecious, and dioecious breeding systems) showed significantly higher genetic variability. Small population size was associated with lower values for all measures of genetic variability. Nearly half of the species occurring in small populations are also autogamous; thus, both factors may have influenced levels of genetic variability in these species. Founder effect was apparent in one species (Schiedea adamantis), which occurs in a single large population, has a gynodioecious breeding system but a very low genetic variability. Island age appeared to have little effect on genetic variability. Slightly lower values of genetic variability for species occurring on Kaua'i and O'ahu result primarily from the occurrence of autogamous Alsinidendron species on those islands. Values for Nei's genetic identity for different species pairs were 0.201–0.942, a far greater range than in Bidens, the silversword alliance, and Tetramolopium. Using UPGMA clustering, there was only moderate support for relationships detected through cladistic analysis. Nei's unbiased genetic identity (I) was greatest among species with outcrossing breeding systems, which for the most part clustered together. Nei's genetic identities for self-fertilizing species were low, indicating that these species are less similar to one another and to outcrossing species, regardless of their affinities based on cladistic analysis. Parsimony analysis of allele frequency data supported two clades also found in phylogenetic analyses using morphological and molecular data. Clades recognized in parsimony analysis of allele frequencies were those lineages containing selfing species, indicating that conditions favoring fixation of alleles occurred in ancestral species. In contrast, maintenance of high genetic diversity in outcrossing species interferes with recognition of phylogenetic relationships using allozyme variability.     

Ecophysiology and distribution of the endemic leafless spurgeEuphorbia aphylla and the introducedE. tirucalli (Euphorbiaceae,Euphorbia sect.Tirucalli) in the Canary Islands

The leafless spurgeEuphorbia aphylla (Euphorbiaceae), an endemic species restricted to several of the Canary Islands where it inhabits coastal and arid localities, expresses Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) when it is subjected to summer drought. A flexible CAM is consistent with the general ecology of the species. It is the only member of sect.Tirucalli native to the Canary Islands and is at the north-western edge of the section's biogeographical range. The other members of the section have a paleotropic distribution and are found throughout Africa. Many of them are regarded as obligate CAM plants, includingE. tirucalli which was used as a comparison in ecophysiological experiments examining the response ofE. aphylla to drought and temperature.     

Island/mainland body size differences in Australian varanid lizards

Island varanids seem to be an exception to the rule that territorial vertebrate taxa often become gigantic relative to mainland relatives when on islands, whereas non-territorial species become dwarfed (Case 1978). However, no systematic island/mainland studies have examined the empirical size trends in this group of carnivorous lizards. We perform such an analysis for the Australian region and critically evaluate various selective agents that might be responsible for size changes in several island populations. Insular gigantism occurs at least four times among the island populations examined. The magnitude of size change is positively correlated to prey abundance on the islands (as indirectly measured through a condition index of the lizards, essentially a measure of how fat they arc) and the size of prey: islands with large prey have large varanids and vice versa. Since the island population with the largest size change, the Reevesby Varanus rosenbergi, was introduced less than 100 years ago, these size changes can be quite rapid. This might indicate that selective coefficients are strong; however, we can not exclude the possibility that these size differences have no genetic component and simply reflect environmental differences in growth rate and shifts in age structure between island and mainland locations.     

Submerged vascular plants and water chemistry in the coastal marsh Albufera de Mallorca (Balearic Islands)

Ten species of aquatic macrophytes have been analyzed for seven environmental variables by means of a significance test. A synthetic view has been obtained through a cluster analysis for species and a principal component analysis for 17 variables which form the multidimensional space where we project the species habitats. Myriophyllum spicatum L., Najas marina L., Potamogeton crispus L., Potamogeton pectinatus L. and Zannichellia pedunculata Reichenb. are widely distributed in the Albufera. Ceratophyllum submersum L. and Ruppia maritima L. var. brevirostris Ag. are considered stenoic. The tolerance of Ceratophyllum submersum to salts is significantly low and that of Ruppia cirrhosa (Petagna) Grande and Ruppia maritima var. brevirostris significantly high. Ceratophyllum submersum has a significantly negative distribution with regard to chlorophyll a and phosphate concentrations. Ceratophyllum demersum L. and C. submersum primarily occur in nitrate-rich waters whereas Ruppia cirrhosa primarily occurs in low nitrate waters.     

GENETIC VARIABILITY OF GELIDIUM CANARIENSIS (RHODOPHYTA) DETERMINED BY ISOZYME ELECTROPHORESIS1

The populations of Gelidium canariensis (Grunow) Seoane-Camba from the Canary Islands were analyzed for genetic variability by isozyme electrophoresis in 1989 and 1990. Each population was divided into sporophytic and gametophytic subpopulations. Twenty-three to 27 putative alleles corresponding to 22 gene loci were analyzed. Sev-enteen loci were monomorphic in all six subpopulations, and five were polymorphic in at least one subpopulation. Significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were found. The amount of genetic variability (percentage of polymorphic loci, mean number of alleles per locus, and average gene diversity) of haploid subpopulations was lower than that of diploid subpopulations. No correlation between genetic distance and geographical distance was found. Low genetic differentiation between sporophytic and gametophytic subpopulations of the same locality was obsewed in two populations. The low genetic diversity and genetic differentiation suggest that the genetic structure of the populations of G. canariensis from the Canary Islands is due to a combination of founder effects and the predominance of asexual reproduction. Initial differences in gene frequencies may have persisted because of insufficient time to reach a higher level of differentiation.     

Geographic variation in scalation of the lizard Gallotia stehlini within the island of Gran Canaria

The lacertid lizard ( Gallotia stehlini ), an endemic of Gran Canaria, shows no visually obvious geographic variation, yet all seven scalation characters that were examined exhibit significant geographic variation. The number of collar scales, scales along the ventral trunk and femoral pores are correlated with habitat type, while the number of femoral pores is correlated negatively with altitude. Mantel tests were used to compare simultaneously an observed pattern with three hypothesized patterns (habitat type, altitude and proximity). They indicate that, while several individual characters are significantly associated with the putative causal factors of habitat type and altitude, there is no association between an overall scalation distance matrix and habitat type, or altitude when the effect of proximity is removed. Consequently, one should consider the individual characters as well as the multivariate generalized distances. Some of the observed patterns of geographic variation in scalation are very similar to those of the small scincid lizard Chalcides sexlineatus on Gran Canaria and also parallel the altitudinal and latitudinal variation in the scalation of the Tenerife lacertid ( Galotia galloti ). The low level of congruence in patterns of geographic variation in individual characters (i.e. some vary with latitude, some with altitude and one varies with longitude) is consistent with the hypothesis that ecogenetically caused geographic variation may result in lower inter-character congruence than phylogenetically caused geographic variation.     

西沙宣德群岛海域浮游植物群落及其影响因子

为了解西沙宣德群岛海域浮游植物群落结构特征,于2019年2月和11月对该海域进行采样调查,分析浮游植物群落组成及环境影响因素。两个航次共发现109种浮游植物,其中硅藻门最多,有81种。冬秋季节优势种不尽相同,冬季优势种为铁氏束毛藻(Trichodesmium thiebautii)、红海束毛藻(T. erythraeum)和标志星杆藻(Asterionella notata)等,秋季优势种为菱形海线藻(Thalassionema nitzschioides)、丹麦细柱藻(Leptocylindrus danicus)和劳氏角毛藻(Chaetoceros lorenzianus)。冬季浮游植物平均丰度[(5.27±6.14)×10⁷ cells/L]显著高于秋季[(1.56±1.40)×10⁵ cells/L]。浮游植物群落分布主要受亚硝酸盐、盐度等环境因子影响。冬秋季各站位浮游植物群落的多样性指数、均匀度指数和丰富度指数平均值分别为3.15、0.71、1.36和3.28、0.75、1.77。因此,宣德群岛海域冬秋季节浮游植物群落多样性较高,物...