Reproductive ecology of dioecious Siparuna (Monimiaceae) in Ecuador–a case of gall midge pollination

The reproductive ecology of the dioecious genus Siparuna , belonging to the primitive family Monimiaceae, was investigated in Ecuador. Thirteen species were studied, and species growing at high altitudes (above 500 m) were compared with species growing at lower altitudes. The genus has specialized flowers pollinated by Cecidomyiidae (Asynapta sp. and other genera) that lay eggs chiefly in male flowers since these are more easily accessible than female flowers due to their morphology. Several traits ensure that pollen transfer is accomplished: 1. long flowering of individuals and single flowers; 2. specific floral morphology (unisexuality, landing platform, restricted pore) allowing the flowers to be visited by Cecidomyiidae seeking egg-laying sites, and 3. a low number of ovules that have to be pollinated in each flower. The low number of ovules per flower results in a high pollen-ovule (P/O) ratio even though pollen production in male flowers is only moderate.
High altitude species had larger flowers, higher pollen-ovule ratios, fewer ovules per female flower, and longer periods of anthesis. Gender differences were seen in the longer functionality of female flowers; the larger numbers of male flowers produced; and the average diameter at breast height (DBH) biased for one of the two sexes depending on the species investigated, with no clear trend in the size distributions of individuals of both sexes. Sex ratios departed significantly from unity both to male and female bias but usually were in favour of males. There were no general differences in the ratio of functional male to female flowers at the time of observation nor in the sizes of male and female flowers. The evolution of unisexual flowers in Siparuna can be explained as a result of the differential predation by larvae: unimportant in male flowers, destructive if occurring in female flowers.     

Population abundance gradient of Inurois punctigera along altitude

A winter geometrid moth, Inurois punctigera, shows sympatric and genetically isolated seasonal populations (i.e. early‐ and late‐winter populations) in the cold regions of Japan, whereas it shows only mid‐winter populations in the warm regions. Variation in adult flight phenology on a large geographic scale along latitudinal environmental gradients has been described, but the phenological variation on a more local scale along altitudinal environmental gradients has not yet been characterized. In the present study, we assessed the flight phenology at high‐ and low‐elevation areas in Mt. Rokko, Hyogo, Japan. First, we revealed that flight period was not disrupted in mid‐winter, even at high‐elevation areas (>660 m) but the population abundance was much lower in high‐elevation areas than in low‐elevation areas. Then, in the following two seasons, we investigated I. punctigera abundance, winter harshness (i.e. winter temperature) and their host plant abundance in nine closely located stations in Mt. Rokko. A generalized linear mixed model analysis indicated a greater effect of winter temperature on I. punctigera abundance compared to available food resources, suggesting that differences in winter harshness among elevation shapes the gradient of I. punctigera abundance along altitude. Our findings suggest that harsh conditions during winter function as selective agents on mid‐winter types of I. punctigera, and this could be involved in the divergence between sympatric early‐ and late‐winter populations of I. punctigera.     

Introgressive hybridization of Senecio hercynicus and S. ovatus (Compositae,Senecioneae) along an altitudinal gradient in Harz National Park (Germany)

Introgressive hybridization of Senecio hercynicus and S. ovatus (Compositae, Senecioneae) was studied in a hybrid zone on the southern slopes of Mt Brocken (Harz Mountains, Germany). A total of 415 plants representing 10 stands along an altitudinal gradient were investigated using multivariate statistical analyses of morphological characters and molecular markers (random amplified polymorphic DNA[RAPD]). Both types of traits detected pure S. hercynicus stands on the summit plateau, pure S. ovatus stands at the lowest elevations, and hybrid swarms at intermediate elevations. While morphological and molecular patterns coincided, some individuals in hybrid stands combined morphological patterns typical of S. ovatus with RAPD patterns typical of S. hercynicus, and vice versa. In general, introgression was symmetrical within stands, though one stand combined S. ovatus characters with the glandular hair typical for S. hercynicus, and two stands combined a S. hercynicus typical RAPD genotype with morphological characters shifted towards S. ovatus. Because pure stands of S. hercynicus occurred only on the summit plateau of Mt Brocken, and markers typical for S. ovatus were detectable in stands up to 1040 m a.s.l., future fusion or assimilation of the rare form, S. hercynicus, by the more widespread S. ovatus appears possible at Mt Brocken.     

Environmental and spatial characterisation of an unknown fauna using DNA sequencing – an example with Himalayan Hydropsychidae (Insecta: Trichoptera)

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Siberian spruce tree ring anatomy: imprint of development processes and their high-temporal environmental regulation

Wood anatomy was offered as spatiotemporal proxy record for tracheid differentiation kinetics due to its advantages in terms of much longer cover period and less demanding measurements. In this study, external and internal regulation of earlywood-to-latewood transition and properties of latewood of Picea obovata Ledeb were considered. The values and interrelations between cell number, tree ring width, maximal and mean radial cell diameter, maximal cell wall thickness and position of the transition to thick-walled tracheids were investigated within site and along the altitudinal gradient. Correlations with moving 21-day climatic series were used to estimate high-resolutional external influences. Relationships between tree ring traits are spatially stable and close within one stage of differentiation and between cells production and expansion. Relationships between sites differ in upper and lower parts of the gradient. Most of traits respond to the primary limiting factors near summer solstice; however, maximal cell wall thickness responds positively to the temperatures at the + 10 °C threshold. Altitudinal anatomical patterns revealed interaction of intrinsic and external factors in the regulation of tracheid differentiation. Timing of climatic response highlighted role of photoperiod as a trigger in the earlywood-to-latewood transition, and crucial role of the growth season ending for latewood development.     

Native woody vegetation in central Argentina: Classification of Chaco and Espinal forests

Question

What are the composition and spatial patterns of native woody plant communities in the southern Great Chaco and Espinal?

Location

Córdoba Province, central Argentina, an area of ca. 161,000 km².

Methods

We collected 351 geo‐referenced relevés representative of the geographic, topographic and ecological variation of the Chaco and Espinal woody vegetation in central Argentina. The relevés were classified into vegetation types using the hierarchical ISOPAM method. Forest and shrubland types were described on the basis of diagnostic species occurrences and their distribution in relation to environmental factors. A map of the actual vegetation derived from remote‐sensed images (Landsat) and field data was used to describe the current distribution and abundance of the different vegetation types.

Results

The classification of the 351 plots × 837 species matrix revealed two major clusters comprising seven woody vegetation types corresponding to Chaco lowland and mountain forests and shrublands, Espinal forests and edaphic vegetation. The most important gradients in woody vegetation types are related to elevation, temperature and rainfall variables.

Conclusions

Subtropical seasonally dry woody plant communities from the southern extreme of the Great Chaco and Espinal forests were described for the first time based on complete floristic data. Our results show that lowland Chaco native forests, as well as replacement communities, are still present in its southern distribution range and are well distinguishable from other vegetation types such as the Espinal and mountain forests. Overall, extensive Espinal forests have almost disappeared while Chaco vegetation is highly fragmented and degraded.

     

神农架海拔梯度上4种典型森林的乔木叶片功能性状特征

研究植物群落叶片功能性状沿环境梯度的变化可以更好地认识群落对环境的适应机制,海拔梯度在较小的空间范围内浓缩了不同的群落类型和环境梯度,是研究和理解群落与环境关系的理想场所。以神农架海拔梯度上4种典型森林为研究对象,分析了4种典型森林优势乔木树种的LMA、LDMC、N_area、N_mass、叶片厚度及叶片叶绿素含量等主要叶片功能性状随海拔的变化规律及各功能性状之间的相关性,以期从叶片功能性状角度揭示群落适应环境的机制。研究结果表明:在780-1970 m范围内,神农架海拔梯度上典型森林乔木优势种叶片的、N_area和叶片厚度随海拔升高而下降,而海拔2570 m的亚高山针叶林的LMA、N_area和叶片厚度最高,分别为187.37 g/cm²、1.92 g/m²和385.31 um,且针叶林的LMA是常绿阔叶林的2倍、落叶阔叶林的3.7倍;除常绿落叶阔叶混交林的N_mass小于落叶阔叶林外,N_mass随海拔升高(780-2570 m)而下降;海拔最高(2570 m)的针叶林和海拔最低(780 m)的常绿阔叶林的LDMC和叶绿素含量最高,分别为454.93 g/kg、407.64 g/kg和48.84、44.12;而海拔介于二者之间的常绿落叶阔叶混交林和落叶阔叶林的LDMC和叶绿素含量则最低,分别为338.93 g/kg、337.3 g/kg和38.73、38.19。叶片各功能性状之间存在着显著的相关性:叶片厚度与LMA/LDMC及LMA显著正相关。叶片叶绿素含量与N_area显著正相关。LMA与LDMC、N_area、叶片厚度、叶绿素含量显著正相关,LDMC与N_area、叶绿素含量、叶片厚度显著正相关,N_area与叶片厚度、叶绿素含量显著正相关,叶片厚度、叶绿素含量显著正相关。本研究进一步表明,随着海拔梯度上升环境条件的变化,森林群落不同物种功能性状间的相互作用共同决定着森林群落对环境的适应性。     

The altitudinal limit of Leptohyphes Eaton, 1882 and Lachlania Hagen, 1868 (Ephemeroptera: Leptohyphidae,Oligoneuriidae) in Ecuadorian Andes streams: searching for mechanisms

We explored mechanisms determining the upper altitudinal limit of ephemeropterans from two different genera: Leptohyphes Eaton, 1882 Eaton, A.E. (1882), ?An Announcement of New Genera of the Ephemeridae?, The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, 18, 207–208. [Google Scholar] (Leptohyphidae) and Lachlania Hagen, 1868 Hagen, H.A. (1868), ?On Lachlania Abnormis: A New Genus and Species from Cuba Belonging to the Ephemerina?, Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, 11, 372–375. [Google Scholar] (Oligoneuriidae). For this, we (1) surveyed the two taxa in 165 stream sites along a wide altitudinal gradient; (2) sampled benthic fauna at short altitudinal intervals along a stream, from 2780 to 3150 m above sea level; (3) collected adults at the lowest and highest sites; and (4) transplanted nymphs from the lowest to the highest study site in our stream to determine survival over time. Densities of the two taxa declined gradually with altitude and both disappeared between 2950 and 3080 m a.s.l. The upper altitudinal limit in the stream seemed to be most closely related to mean oxygen saturation, temperature, and current velocity. Adults were collected where the nymphs were found, but not at the upstream site where the nymphs were absent, implying limited upstream dispersal of adults and some of the altitudinal constraint lying at the adult stage. Short-term survival of transplanted nymphs was lower than that of controls, suggesting that the distribution was limited at the juvenile stage, and that at least some of the altitudinal constraint is related to the abiotic stream environment.