Associations of leaf miners and leaf gallers with island plants of different residency histories

Aim Introduced plant species are less likely to be attacked by herbivores than are native plant species. Isolated oceanic islands provide an excellent model system for comparing the associations between herbivore species and plant species of different residency histories, namely endemic, indigenous (non‐endemic) or introduced (naturalized or cultivated) species. My aim was to test the prediction that, on isolated oceanic islands, introduced plant species have a lower tendency to have an association with insect herbivores than do endemic and indigenous plant species. Location Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Methods I examined the presence/absence of leaf‐mining and leaf‐galling insect species on 71 endemic, 31 indigenous, 18 naturalized and 31 cultivated (introduced but not naturalized) species of woody plants from 2004 to 2008. Results Leaf‐mining insect species were found on 53.5%, 35.5%, 11.1% and 16.1% and leaf‐galling species were found on 14.1%, 9.7%, 5.6% and 0% of endemic, indigenous, naturalized and cultivated plant species, respectively. Species of Lepidoptera (moths) and Hemiptera (primarily psyllids) comprised the dominant types of leaf miners and leaf gallers, respectively. Main conclusions The incidence of leaf miners and leaf gallers differed as a function of residency history of the plant species. Introduced (naturalized and cultivated) species were less frequently associated with leaf miners and leaf gallers than were native (endemic and indigenous) species, indicating that the leaf‐mining and leaf‐galling insect species, most of which feed on leaves of a particular native plant genus (i.e. they show oligophagy), have not yet begun to utilize most introduced plant species.     

Pollen morphology of the genus Orobanche L. (Orobanchaceae)

A comparative palynological study of 25 taxa of the genus Orobanche L. belonging to section Trionychon Wallr. and section Orobanche L. was carried out. A clear difference between the pollen grains of section Trionychon and section Orobanche was observed. The grains of section Trionychon are typically tricolpate, radially symmetrical, more or less oblate spheroidal, with a microreticulate, or scabrate-perforate sculpture. Section Orobanche on the other hand, had spheroidal, more or less inaperturate pollen grains, although some were tricolpate, but without any clear symmetry. The basic surface sculpture of the pollen in section Orobanche was scabrate to rugulate-perforate. Palynoiogicaliy, six groups can be recognized amongst the species of the genus Orobanche , lor which a key is provided.     

Threatened pollination systems in native flora of the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands

• Background and Aims Various alien species have been introducedto the Ogasawara Islands (Japan). A survey was made investigatingwhether the native pollination systems fit an ‘islandsyndrome’ (biasing the flora to dioecy, with subdued,inconspicuous flowers) and whether alien species have disruptedthe native pollination network. • Methods Flower visitors and floral traits were determinedin the field (12 islands) and from the literature. Associationsamong floral traits such as sexual expression, flower colourand flower shape were tested. • Key Results Among the 269 native flowering plants, 74·7% are hermaphroditic, 13·0 % are dioecious and 7·1% are monoecious. Classification by flower colour revealed that36·0 % were white, 21·6 % green and 13·8% yellow. Woody species (trees and shrubs) comprised 36·5% of the flora and were associated with dioecy and white flowers.Solitary, endemic small bees were the dominant flower visitorsand visited 66·7 % of the observed species on satelliteislands where the native pollination networks are preserved.In contrast to the situation on the satellite islands, introducedhoneybees were the most dominant pollinator (visiting 60·1% of observed species) on the two main islands, Chichi-jimaand Haha-jima, and had spread to satellite islands near Chichi-jimaIsland. • Conclusions The island syndrome for pollination systemsin the Ogasawara Islands was evident in a high percentage ofdioecious species, the subdued colour of the native flora andsolitary flower visitors on satellite islands. The shape andcolour adaptations of several flowers suggested native pollinationniches for long-proboscis moths and carpenter bees. However,the domination and expansion of introduced honeybees have thepotential for disruption of the native pollination network inthe two main, and several satellite, islands of the OgasawaraIslands.     

Seasonal dynamic variation of pollination network is associated with the number of species in flower in an oceanic island community

植物与传粉者相互作用的传粉网络是一个动态的实体,植物开花物候的季节性变化可以在短时间和长时间内重塑其结构。然而,很少有研究考虑到这种季节性动态变化,特别是海洋岛屿群落的传粉网络。本研究探讨了海洋岛屿群落的植物与传粉者间传粉网络的结构是如何随群落内花资源丰富度的季节性变化而动态变化的。利用春夏秋冬四个季节的植物与传粉者间相互作用的数据,分析了四个季节定性的传粉网络结构的动态变化,研究了中国南海西沙群岛的永兴岛群落传粉网络的季节性动态变化。在这四个季节中,分别收集了连续两个月的植物与传粉者相互作用的数据,并计算了四个网络水平的指标来表征传粉网络的总体结构。采用群落差异性统计分析方法,对群落四个季节的网络结构参数进行比较分析,探讨影响这种动态变化格局的潜在因素。同时计算并比较了植物和传粉功能群在物种水平的网络指标的季节动态变化。研究结果表明,永兴岛群落网络水平的特化性和模块化在四个季节的变化均与植物物种丰富度的变化呈明显相反的变化趋势。开花植物种类的增加可能促进了传粉者之间更激烈的竞争,从而导致生态位重叠的增加,引起传粉网络特化性和模块化的下降,反之亦然。进一步分析表明,传粉网络的季节动态变化的内在驱动力是植物与传粉者间连接的重新组合。因此,传粉者之间生态位重叠的季节性变化导致了植物与传粉者间相互作用的重组,从而推动了该群落内植物与传粉者间相互作用的更替变化。在物种水平上,与其它传粉功能群相比,天蛾类传粉者最特化,而蜜蜂科传粉者的物种作用强度最大。因此,在探索孤立的海洋岛屿生态系统以及其它生态系统中的植物与传粉者间相互作用时,应适当考虑到这些新的发现。     

Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for Hibiscus glaber Matsum. ex Nakai, an endemic tree species of the oceanic Bonin Islands, Japan

Polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed for Hibiscus glaber, an endemic tree of the Bonin Islands. Eighty-seven of the 208 sequences from an enriched library were unique and containing microsatellites. Ten loci were proved to be highly polymorphic among 78 individuals from the Nishi-jima Island. Total exclusionary powers for the first and the second parents were 99.989% and 99.999%, respectively. Nine loci also amplified single fragment from genomic DNA of H. tiliaceus, a related and widespread congener. Our markers can be reliably used for the estimation of current gene flow within/among populations of the two woody Hibiscus species.     

Social wasps,crickets and cockroaches contribute to pollination of the holoparasitic plant Mitrastemon yamamotoi (Mitrastemonaceae) in southern Japan

• Mitrastemon yamamotoi is completely embedded within the tissues of its hosts, except during the reproductive stage, when aboveground parts emerge from host tissues. Its highly modified appearance has attracted attention of many botanists, but very little is known about the reproductive system.
• Floral visitors to M. yamamotoi were observed in southern Japan. Pollination experiments were conducted to determine the plant's self‐compatibility and pollen limitation, as well as the contribution of diurnal and nocturnal visitors to fruit set and outcrossing.
• Mitrastemon yamamotoi is mainly pollinated by social wasps, but previously unnoticed pollinators (i.e. crickets and cockroaches) are also important, based on visitation frequency and pollen loads. Results of the pollination experiments suggest that nocturnal visitors, such as crickets and cockroaches, contribute to geitonogamous pollination, whereas diurnal visitors, such as social wasps, facilitate outcrossing.
• The unexpected pollinator assemblage of M. yamamotoi might be influenced by multiple factors, including the highly modified flowers that are produced close to the ground in dark understorey environments, the species’ winter‐flowering habit and the location of the study site (i.e. near the northern limit of the species’ range). Considering that M. yamamotoi occurs widely in subtropical and tropical forests in Asia, additional studies are needed to assess pollinator assemblages of M. yamamotoi at other locations.

     

Ecological and morphological patterns in communities of land snails of the genus Mandarina from the Bonin Islands

The land snail genus Mandarina has undergone extensive radiation within the Bonin Islands in the west Pacific. The preferred above-ground vegetation heights of sympatric species were clearly different. They separated into arboreal, semi-arboreal, exposed ground and sheltered ground ecotypes. Shells of species with different ecotypes differ markedly, but shells of species with the same ecotype are very similar to each other. Shell morphologies of some phylogenetically distantly related species with the same ecotype were indistinguishable. Character evolution estimated parsimoniously using a phylogenetic tree suggests that the speciation among sympatric species is accompanied by ecological and morphological diversification. In addition, species coexistence of Mandarina is related to niche differentiation. The above findings suggest that ecological interactions among species contribute to the ecological and morphological diversification and radiation of these land snails in this depauperate environment.     

First record of the Pacific seahorse Hippocampus ingens in Guadalupe Island,Mexico

This is the first record of the Pacific seahorse Hippocampus ingens at a northern oceanic island from the eastern Pacific Ocean. The photographic record of the juvenile female H. ingens was made in November 2015 during a cage diving trip at Guadalupe Island, Mexico. The presence of H. ingens in this area could be related to long distance dispersal mechanisms, as has been observed in other species of seahorses.     

白刺属4种植物传粉特性的实验研究

根据对乌兰布和沙漠地区白刺属4种植物在花期进行的人工控制性授粉实验及室内外调查分析,系统研究了唐古特白刺、西伯利亚白刺、大白刺和泡泡刺4种白刺属植物的传粉特性。结果表明:不同白刺属植物兼具杂交亲和与自交亲和的能力,更倾向于异交结实。繁育系统属于自交、异交相混合的兼性异交交配系统,存在风媒传粉的可能性,不能进行无融合生殖。白刺属植物的这些传粉特性表现出对干旱荒漠地区恶劣环境的较强生态适应性。     

Origin and evolution of endemic plants of the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands

The Bonin Islands are typical oceanic islands, located at the western part of the North Pacific Ocean and approximately 1,000 km south of mainland Japan. This archipelago consists of about 20 small islands. Although floristic diversity is low due to the small area and limited environmental diversity, the Bonin Islands harbor unique endemic flora as in other well-known oceanic islands. This paper presents a brief summary of the results obtained from recent studies on the endemic flora of the Bonin Islands. The results are reviewed in relation to the four stages of the evolution of endemic flora in the oceanic islands; migration, establishment, enlargement and diversification. The ancestors of the flora originated mostly from tropical and subtropical Southeast Asia or mainland Japan by rare events of long distance dispersal. The proportion of bird-dispersed species is relatively high as for other oceanic islands. Genetic data sets obtained from allozyme variation in some endemic species suggest that migration occurred several million years ago and genetic diversity is correlated with current population size. At the time of establishment, self-compatible plants are expected to have an advantage. However, the percentage of dioecious plants is relatively high. This is partly due to evolutionary changes from hermaphroditic ancestors to dioecy which occurred in two genera in the Bonin Islands. In addition, there are some examples of evolutionary changes from herbaceous ancestors to woody endemics. Adaptive radiation is found in some genera, although the number of congeneric endemic species is less than five. Studies of allozyme variation inPittosporum, Symplocos andCrepidiastrum showed that genetic identity is generally very high between congeneric species in spite of their distinct morphologies. This result suggests that divergence of these species occurred rather recently and distinct morphological differences are based on a limited number of genetic changes.     

Morphological Variation of Three Endemic Species of Callicarpa (Verbenaceae) in the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands

Abstract A total of 22 population samples of three endemic species of Callicarpa in the Bonin Islands (the Chichijima Islands and the Hahajima Islands) were examined for nine leaf characters to clarify the present status of morphological variations. Results showed that three species are distinetly recognizable and have their own patterns of variation. Callicarpa glabra and C. nishimurae were relatively less variable and adapted to limited habitats only in the Chichijima Islands. Thus these species were regarded as specialized species. C. subpubescens was more variable than the above two species and distributed widely in both of the two island groups. This species was morphologically differentiated between the two island groups. In the Hahajima Islands where two other species were not distributed, several plants of C. subpubsecens were similar to C. glabra. The populations of C. subpubescens in the Hahajima Islands were inter-populationally more variable than those in the Chichijima Islands. C. subpubescens occupied various habitats within the Bonin Islands and was regarded as a diversified species.     

Capsicum frutescens L. in Southeast and East Asia, and its dispersal routes into Japan

Isozyme analyses were conducted to study the geographic variation ofCapsicum frutescens L. in Southeast and East Asia, and to investigate its dispersal routes into Japan. Eight enzymes (EST, EM, G6PD, GR, ME(A), PGI, PGM, ShDH) were variable among accessions ofC. frutescens in Southeast and East Asia. Accessions from the Ryukyu Islands were closely related to those in Indonesia, whereas accessions from the Bonin Islands showed exactly the same isozyme patterns as those from Indonesia and Northern Thailand. Accessions in the Ryukyu Islands were different from those in the Bonin Islands, suggesting that there may be two independent dispersal routes into Japan. One route was from Indonesia via the Philippines or Taiwan, or directly to the Ryukyu Islands, and another was from Indonesia via the Mariana Islands, or other islands in the Pacific, to the Bonin Islands.     

Surface and submarine pollination in the seagrass Zoster a marina L

COX, P. A., LAUSHMAN, R. H. & RUCKLESHAUS, M. H., 1992. Surface and submarine pollination in the seagrass Zostera marina L. Hydrophilous plants can be divided into three ecological categories depending upon whether their pollen is transported above, on, or under the water surface. A mixed mode of submarine and surface hydrophilous pollination occurs in the seagrass Zostera marina L. In the surface mode of pollination, pollen rafts or 'search vehicles' which superficially resemble snowflakes, form at low tide and are transported on the surface of the sea by winds and water currents. Some of the search vehicles collide with the floating female stigmas, effecting pollination. In the submarine mode of pollination, small pollen masses resembling whisk brooms travel beneath the surface of the water. Although we failed to observe a submarine pollination event, SEM analysis of stigmas from subtidal populations confirms that submarine pollination does occur in Z. marina . However, observations of stigmas positioned at and below the surface of the water show surface pollination to be highly efficient. Electrophoretic evaluation of both subtidal and intertidal populations indicates significant genetic variation between populations. Given the high flux rates of surface-borne pollen and pollen viability in excess of 5 h, it is likely that surface-borne pollen is a major source of gene flow in Zostera marina populations.     

First fossil record of an East Asian endemic genus Sladenia (Sladeniaceae) from its modern range: Implications for floristic evolution and conservation biology

Fossil records of endemic plants play an important role in recognizing the floristic history of East Asia and thereby facilitate the conservation of plant diversity in the region. However, the fossil record of many extant East Asian endemic genera remains poorly documented thus far. Here, we report an infructescence fossil of an East Asian endemic genus, Sladenia (Sladeniaceae), from the early Miocene of southeastern Yunnan, China. The fossil is characterized by: (i) dichasial cymes; and (ii) flask‐shaped ovary with dense subparallel ribs on the surface extending from the base to the distal end of the united style. It represents the first fossil record of Sladenia in Asia, showing that the genus was established in the region at least by the early Miocene. Given that a much older fossil record of Sladeniaceae has been reported from Africa and the sister group of Sladenia is distributed only in Africa, Sladenia is not likely of East Asian origin. The present endemic status of Sladenia was possibly achieved by regional extirpation in Africa and taking refuge in East Asia. This case thus supports the “Museum” rather than “Cradle” hypothesis for the genesis of high plant species in the flora of East Asia. A comparison of the present fossil with extant Sladenia infructescence shows morphological stasis from the early Miocene to present. Such evolutionary tardiness might have resulted in the reduced fitness of the genus, which further caused its current endangered situation.     

Contrasting response to Pleistocene climate change by ground-living and arboreal Mandarina snails from the oceanic Hahajima archipelago

While the genetic impact of Pleistocene climate change on temperate species has been well characterized, especially in Europe and North America, an effect on the diversification of species on oceanic islands has been less well studied. This is perhaps a surprising observation given the traditional and continuing contribution of island species (e.g. Darwin's finches, Partula snails, Lord Howe Island palms) to understand speciation. Here, we combine mitochondrial and microsatellite data from the ground-living and arboreal Mandarina snails of the oceanic, subtropical Hahajima archipelago (Ogasawara, colloquially 'Galápagos of the Orient') to enable a comparative approach to understand the impact of the Pleistocene glaciations on their phylogeography. Prior work suggested that several narrowly divergent, ground-living species pairs of Mandarina populations on the outlying islands, as well as the low-lying southern and central parts of Hahajima, probably underwent bottlenecks and subsequent expansions during the recent Pleistocene. Here, the most striking finding is that largely arboreal species have deeply divergent, geographically restricted mitochondrial lineages, in contrast to a census size that is at least an order of magnitude lower than ground-living snails. As populations of both types are highly polymorphic at microsatellite loci, the systematic difference at the mitochondrial locus probably indicates a contrasting effect of the Pleistocene climate cycles on the two groups. We speculate that this may have partly come about owing to a reduced efficacy of natural selection on the more greatly structured populations of arboreal snails. If so, then a prediction is that the genome of other snails, or other species with limited mobility, will show a similar response to the Pleistocene climate cycles.     

Can source–sink relations explain responses of tobacco to infection by the root holoparasitic angiosperm Orobanche cernua?

The achlorophyllous holoparasitic angiosperm Orobanche cernua reduced biomass accumulation of its tobacco host, such that 73-d-old plants achieved 29% of the biomass of control plants. The difference in biomass between infected and uninfected tobacco could be accounted for directly by diversion of dry matter to the parasite. Thus, the smaller infected plants were responsible for the production of as much dry matter in host and parasite as their larger uninfected counterparts. The productivity of the infected system was maintained by: (a) sustained production of leaf area (a greater leaf area ratio); (b) increased specific leaf area, and (c) delayed senescence. When tobacco was inoculated with different densities of the parasite, the amount of dry matter accumulated by the parasite was not changed, suggesting that a finite amount of resource was available to the parasite. The response of the host to infection can be explained by simple source–sink interactions and the data are discussed with respect to other parasitic angiosperm–host systems which show different types of responses.     

First record of non‐flying mammalian contributors to pollination in a tropical montane forest in Asia

This study aims to identify the flower visitors of Mucuna thailandica (Fabaceae), endemic plant species in montane forests in Thailand, to determine their potential pollinators. The genus Mucuna produces papilionaceous flowers and has an explosive flower‐opening step. Explosive opening rapidly exposes stamens and pistil from keel petals and releases pollen. The flower of this species depends completely on animals to perform this step, essential for pollination success. Using a camera trap survey, we revealed that non‐flying mammals, such as squirrels (Callosciurus sp.) and masked palm civets (Paguma larvata), opened flowers explosively. Thus, these mammals contribute to the pollination of M. thailandica. This is the first report of non‐flying mammals contributing to pollination in montane forests in tropical Asia.