Phylogeography of the Coccus scale insects inhabiting myrmecophytic Macaranga plants in Southeast Asia

Comparative historical biogeography of multiple symbionts occurring on a common host taxa can shed light on the processes of symbiont diversification. Myrmecophytic Macaranga plants are associated with the obligate mutualistic symbionts: Crematogaster (subgenus Decacrema) ants and Coccus scale insects. We conduct phylogeographic analyses based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) from 253 scale insects collected from 15 locations in Borneo, Malaya and Sumatra, to investigate the historical biogeography of the scales, and then to draw comparisons with that of the symbiotic, but independently dispersing, Decacrema ants which are not specific to different Coccus lineages. Despite the different mode of ancient diversification, reconstruction of ancestral area and age estimation on the Coccus phylogeny showed that the scales repeatedly migrated between Borneo and Malaya from Pliocene to Pleistocene, which is consistent with the Decacrema ants. Just as with the ants, the highest number of lineages in the scale insects was found in northern northwest Borneo, suggesting that these regions were rainforest refugia during cool dry phases of the Pleistocene. Overall, general congruence between the Plio–Pleistocene diversification histories of the symbiotic scales and ants suggests that they experienced a common history of extinction/migration despite their independent mode of dispersal and host-colonization.     

Pollution status of a tropical forest river using aquatic insects as indicators

Aquatic insects inhabiting Okhuo River, in a tropical forest near Benin City, Southern Nigerian, were studied between January and December 2006 to determine the taxa composition, diversity, EPT index, relative proportions of the various groups and hence the pollution level of the waterbody. Three stations were selected and sampled monthly using the kick sampling technique. A total of 3235 individual aquatic insects belonging to 24 taxa distributed among 23 genera in six orders were collected. The insect orders occurred in the following order of dominance: Ephemeroptera > Odonata > Coleoptera > Diptera > Plecoptera > Tricoptera. Based on the diverse composition of the community dominated by organisms intolerant of organic enrichment, and the high diversity and EPT index, water quality in Okhuo River is not significantly degraded. Community composition varies seasonally, with a trend toward a declining proportion during the rainy season and increasing proportions during the dry season. Aquatic insect composition in Okhuo River compares favourably with those in similar, relatively undisturbed forest streams and rivers in Nigeria, but the diversity and proportional distribution of taxa vary considerably between streams.     

Ecological Assessment of Dune Restorations in the Great Lakes Region

Because of the economic and environmental importance of stabilizing fragile sand dune habitats, restoration of dunes has become a common practice. Restoration efforts in the Great Lakes and East Coast regions of North America often consist of planting monocultures of the dominant native grass species, Ammophila breviligulata. We evaluated 18 dune restoration projects in the Great Lakes region conducted over the past 25 years. We characterized attributes of diversity (plants and insects), vegetation structure (plant biomass and cover), and ecological processes (soil nutrients and mycorrhizal fungi abundance) in each restoration, and we compared these measures to geographically paired natural dune communities. Restoration sites were similar to reference sites in most measured variables. Differences between restorations and reference sites were mostly explained by differences in ages, with the younger sites supporting slightly lower plant diversity and mycorrhizal spore abundance than older sites. Plant community composition varied little between restored and reference sites, with only one native forb species, Artemisia campestris, occurring significantly more often in reference sites than restored sites. Although it remains unclear whether more diverse restoration plantings could accelerate convergence on the ecological conditions of reference dunes, in general, traditional restoration efforts involving monoculture plantings of A. breviligulata in Great Lakes sand dunes appear to achieve ecological conditions found in reference dunes.     

Nectar concentration and composition of 26 species from the temperate forest of South America

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Floral nectar concentration and chemical composition of 26 plant species native to the temperate forest of southern South America are reported and the relationships with the flower type are evaluated. METHODS: Nectar concentration was measured with a hand refractometer and sugar composition was analysed by gas-liquid chromatography. Plant species were classified into flower type categories based not only on floral features but also on data from the literature and field observations on their pollinators. KEY RESULTS: Most data on nectar are new reports at the generic and/or specific level. Plant species in which more than one population was studied showed significant among-population variation in nectar sugar concentration and composition. Results showed a weak relationship between nectar traits and flower type. Many species had nectar containing 50 % or more sucrose (17 of 26 species), independent of the main pollinator. CONCLUSIONS: Considering that (a) nectar characteristics did not show a clear association with different flower types or with plant taxonomic membership, and (b) different populations of the same species showed large variability in sugar composition, the results suggest that other factors (e.g. historical and environmental) could be involved in determining the sugar composition of the highly endemic plant species from this region.     

Chemically-mediated host-plant location and selection by root-feeding insects

Abstract.  Recent studies have shown that root-feeding insects can be of considerable importance in terms of agricultural damage, their indirect impacts on above-ground herbivores and their efficacy as biocontrol agents of weeds. To date, isolated studies have made it difficult to identify the mechanisms by which soil-dwelling insects locate and select host-plant roots. This review synthesizes 78 studies describing root location and selection. Soil insect herbivores do not rely on encountering roots at random, but orientate towards them using semiochemicals that enable specialist insects to distinguish host-plants from unsuitable plants. Secondary plant metabolites released into the rhizosphere (alcohols, esters and aldehydes representing 37% of reported examples) underpin host-plant location and recognition, with 80% having 'attractant' properties. Insects feeding on a limited range of plants tend to exploit host-specific secondary metabolites, whereas nonspecialist feeders appear to use more general semiochemicals. When insects reach the roots, contact chemosensory cues act as either 'phagostimulants' (48% of the compounds being sugars) or feeding 'deterrents' (notably phenolic compounds). Twenty studies conclude that CO₂ is the major primary plant metabolite that allows insects to locate to roots. However, several features of CO₂ emissions from roots mitigate against it as a precise location cue. In addition to its lack of specificity, gradients of root emitted CO₂ do not persist for long periods and vertical gradients of CO₂ in the soil tend to be stronger than horizontal gradients. A conceptual model is presented, emphasizing the importance of soil properties (e.g. porosity, moisture) on chemical diffusion and insect motility.     

襀翅目化石的研究进展

回顾中国及世界襀翅目化石研究进展,列出已发表的化石种类名录、分布及年代,共19科、85属、225种;襀翅目化石世界分布,但主要集中在前苏联地区,中国仅14种.不同地质年代发现的襀翅目种类、数量和特征不同.本文并简要介绍稚虫食性、系统学、古地理和古生态等方面的研究成果,并初步分析了研究中存在的一些问题和今后需要解决的问题.     

Bottom-up trophic cascades and material transfer in terrestrial food webs

In contrast to top-down trophic cascades, few reviews have appeared of bottom-up trophic cascades. We review the recent development of research on bottom-up cascades in terrestrial food webs, focusing on tritrophic systems consisting of plants, herbivorous insects, and natural enemies, and attempt to integrate bottom-up cascade and material transfer among trophic levels. Bottom-up cascades are frequently reported in various tritrophic systems, and are important to determine community structure, population dynamics, and individual performance of higher trophic levels. In addition, we highlight several features of bottom-up cascades. Accumulation or dilution of plant nutritional and defensive materials by herbivorous insects provides a mechanistic base for several bottom-up cascades. Such a stoichiometric approach has the potential to improve our understanding of bottom-up cascading effects in terrestrial food webs. We suggest a future direction for research by integration of bottom-up cascades and material transfer among trophic levels.     

Prospects for Biocontrol of Invasive Rosa rugosa

The biota of herbivorous arthropods and pathogenic microorganisms associated with Rosa rugosa in its native and exotic ranges is reviewed. This is done as an initial step towards the identification of potential agents for biological control of this plant species invasive in Europe and North America. It is shown that more insect (but apparently not fungal) species attack R. rugosa in its native range than in its exotic range, and that most of the specialized insect and fungal enemies are confined to its native range. Among the close relatives of R. rugosa in its exotic ranges are many native species, as well as economically important crop plants. Few organisms appear to be narrowly specialized to R. rugosa, but true host specificity can only be identified through experimental testing. Based on the literature, the most promising candidates for biocontrol seem to be the aphids Myzus japonensis and Amphorophora amurensis, the leaf hopper Empoasca ussurica, the tortricid moth Notocelia longispina, the cynipid gall-wasp Diplolepis fukudae, and the rust fungi Phragmidium rosae-rugosae and P. yezoense. A screening programme is suggested, investigating the impact of these organisms on R. rugosa performance, their host specificity and the risk of undesired indirect effects in the ecosystem where agents are released. In addition, demographic studies of the target plant should be integrated to provide guidance for the stage in the life cycle most sensitive to control and, thus, enable selection of the most efficient and safe biocontrol agents.     

转GO基因棉花体内H2O2含量的时空表达

研究转GO基因棉花品系B99267-1、B99261及其受体新陆早7号和非转基因棉花品种中棉所12号内源H2O2时空变化。结果表明,在初花期、花铃期和吐絮期三个棉花生育期中,初花期H2O2含量较低,吐絮期最高;各生育期下部和中部叶片H2O2含量普遍高于顶部叶片。棉花叶片组织中GO活性、GO蛋白含量和内源H2O2含量均成正相关,酶活高的叶片GO蛋白含量高、H2O2含量也高。     

Spatial Variations in the Abundance of Sporophila Seedeaters in the Southern Neotropics: Contrasting the Effects of Agricultural Development and Geographical Position

Human alterations of the habitat may interfere with the natural processes that determine spatial patterns of species abundance. We examine the geographical position hypothesis and the agricultural transformation hypothesis to explain spatial patterns in the abundance of seedeater species (Sporophila spp.) in the southern Neotropics. The geographical position hypothesis predicts decreasing abundance with increasing distance from the center to the edge of a species' geographical range, and the agricultural transformation hypothesis predicts changing abundance as a response of variations in agricultural intensity. Bird abundance and the proportion of agricultural land were estimated for 16 transects covering 500 km along a gradient of both increasing agricultural intensity and increasing distance from the center of the species' geographical ranges. We found no evidence of distance effects on seedeater abundance. Responses to agricultural intensity varied among species. Neither the geographical position nor the agricultural transformation seemed to explain the pattern of abundance of Double-collared seedeaters (S. caerulescens). Agricultural intensity accounted for 63% and 99% of the spatial variation in the abundance of Dark-throated (S. ruficollis) and Tawny-bellied (S. hypoxantha) seedeaters, supporting the agricultural transformation hypothesis. The Dark-throated seedeater seem to be more tolerant to agricultural transformation than the Tawny-bellied seedeater, as they were not recorded in areas with more than 60% and 20% of agricultural lands, respectively. Our results indicate that the Dark-throated seedeater and the Tawny-bellied seedeater will most likely face (or may be already facing) a reduction in the southern part of their geographical range due to habitat loss to agriculture.