Dietary importance of C3 and CAM food pathways for birds in a Neotropical semiarid zone

Vegetation of tropical dry ecosystems is represented by patches of plants with different photosynthetic pathways. We used C and N stable isotope mixing models to assess the relative importance of CAM and C3 vegetation as direct or indirect sources of food for birds in a Neotropical semiarid zone. We analyzed tissues from 26 bird species encompassing a broad array of feeding habits in the dry and rainy seasons. Although CAM plants are important elements of our study site, their use as food was mainly restricted to some plant-eating and omnivorous bird species. “Intermediate” or “High” dependence on CAM food was observed in only 7 species: three frugivores, one nectarivore, one granivore, and two omnivores. Instead, C3-derived food sustained most of the bird species studied, even some for which dependence on CAM-derived food was reported in studies using other methodological approaches. Consumption of C3 insects extended to the entire assemblage of birds, including plant-eating species. Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining vegetation heterogeneity in arid zones for animal communities and the need to provide increasing protection measures to woody C3 species, as their local demand for firewood is rapidly increasing.     

Filling gaps in species distributions through the study of biological collections: 415 new distribution records for Neotropical Cryptinae (Hymenoptera,Ichneumonidae)

Filling gaps in species distributions is instrumental to increase our understanding of natural environments and underpin efficient conservation policies. For many hyperdiverse groups, this knowledge is hampered by insufficient taxonomic information. Herein we provide 415 new distribution records for the parasitic wasp subfamily Cryptinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in the Neotropical region, based on examination of material from 20 biological collections worldwide. Records span across 227 sites in 24 countries and territories, and represent 175 species from 53 genera. Of these, 102 represent new country records for 74 species. A distinct “road pattern” was detected in the records, at least within Brazil, where 50.2% of the records fall within 10 km of federal roads, an area that occupies only 11.9% of the surface of the country. The results help to identify priority areas that remain poorly sampled and should be targeted for future collecting efforts, and highlight the importance of biological collections in yielding new information about species distributions that is orders of magnitude above what is provided in most individual studies.     

Nectar as food for birds: the physiological consequences of drinking dilute sugar solutions

 Nectarivory has evolved many times in birds: although best known in hummingbirds, sunbirds and honeyeaters, it also occurs on an opportunistic basis in a varied assortment of birds. We present a phylogenetic analysis of the distribution of nectarivory in birds. Specialised avian nectarivores are generally small, with an energetic lifestyle and high metabolic rates. Their high degree of dependence on nectar as a food source has led to convergence in morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations. We examine the constituents of nectar which are most important to bird consumers, and how the birds deal with them in terms of physiology and behaviour. There are still unanswered questions: for example, the dichotomy between sucrose-rich nectars in hummingbird-pollinated plants and predominantly hexose-rich nectars in sunbird-pollinated plants appears to have little to do with bird physiologies and may rather reflect patterns of nectar secretion. Received November 28, 2002; accepted January 26, 2003 Published online: June 2, 2003     

Best of both worlds: Combining ecological and social research to inform conservation decisions in a Neotropical biodiversity hotspot

Conservation decision is a challenging and risky task when it aims at prioritizing species or protected areas (PAs) to prevent extinction while ensuring fair treatment of all stakeholders. Better conservation decisions are those made upon a broader evidence base that includes both ecological and social considerations. However, in some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth — tropical forests, for instance — multicriteria decision-making has been constrained by the following (i) ecological and social datasets available have been obtained in an independent, non-integrated manner, with social data typically more scarce than ecological ones, and (ii) capacity in social and/or interdisciplinary data analysis among decision-maker is limited. We describe a conservation prioritization exercise that combined findings from independent ecological and social research conducted in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and propose methods to integrate, analyze and visualize data. We found that the outcomes based on combined ecological and social research findings were, in some cases, different from those based on any of these lines of evidence alone. Indeed, the input from relatively basic social research significantly changed the outcomes of decision-making based on the results of ecological research. Results corroborate the importance and cost-effectiveness of broadening the interdisciplinary evidence base for conservation decision-making, even when social data is scarce and analytical capacity is limited.     

Plant size,flowering synchrony and edge effects: What,how and where they affect the reproductive success of a Neotropical tree species

Plant reproductive success is supposedly influenced by phenology and individual size, which may be modified under edge effects. We tested if reproductive success, estimated by fruit set, in Senefeldera verticillata (Euphorbiaceae) is related to flowering synchrony and tree size, including plant height and circumference at breast height. The study was carried out in the interior and in edges of clearings for gas pipelines and electric lines of a lowland rainforest in south‐eastern Brazil. Monthly observations were performed during one reproductive season, of 19 individuals that grew at edges of electric lines and gas pipelines and at forest interior. Reproductive success was significantly higher at forest interior than at gas pipeline area; there was no significant difference between gas pipeline and electric line areas or between forest interior and electric line area. In the forest edges, only plant height was positively related to plant reproductive success. This is probably related to crown exposure to sunlight, which enhances flower production. At forest interior, reproductive success was positively influenced by the synchrony of flowering activity among neighbouring individuals. In contrast, flowering synchrony based on phenophase intensity negatively impacted reproductive success. Senefeldera verticillata shows temporal dioecy and is mainly pollinated by small social bees, and the high degree of flowering synchrony at low intensity may increase the number of mating partners and therefore enhance its reproductive success. Inside the forest fragments, individuals with thicker trunks showed lower reproductive success, which may be related to a loss of reproductive capacity of older individuals. Our results evidenced the complexity of responses experienced by tropical plants subjected to forest fragmentation because of linear clearings.     

营养相互作用对传统发酵食品微生物群落构建的推动作用研究进展

传统发酵食品是由自然接种的多微生物组成的混菌体系,了解微生物群落自发式构建的机制是认识发酵机理和调控发酵的关键。尽管大量的测序数据已经对传统发酵食品中微生物群落的结构和功能有了较为清晰的认识,但是仍然不清楚微生物群落自发式构建的机制。本文提出微生物群落是分布式的代谢系统,微生物之间的营养相互作用推动了传统发酵食品微生物群落的自发式构建。本文主要阐述了营养相互作用的概念、发生的机理以及研究方法体系,整理了传统发酵食品中微生物之间营养相互作用的研究进展,并提出了未来的研究方向。通过营养相互作用推动的传统发酵食品微生物群落的自发式构建有助于定向控制发酵过程中的微生物种类、提高生产效率和改善发酵质量。     

Interactions between climate and habitat loss effects on biodiversity: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Climate change and habitat loss are both key threatening processes driving the global loss in biodiversity. Yet little is known about their synergistic effects on biological populations due to the complexity underlying both processes. If the combined effects of habitat loss and climate change are greater than the effects of each threat individually, current conservation management strategies may be inefficient and at worst ineffective. Therefore, there is a pressing need to identify whether interacting effects between climate change and habitat loss exist and, if so, quantify the magnitude of their impact. In this article, we present a meta‐analysis of studies that quantify the effect of habitat loss on biological populations and examine whether the magnitude of these effects depends on current climatic conditions and historical rates of climate change. We examined 1319 papers on habitat loss and fragmentation, identified from the past 20 years, representing a range of taxa, landscapes, land‐uses, geographic locations and climatic conditions. We find that current climate and climate change are important factors determining the negative effects of habitat loss on species density and/or diversity. The most important determinant of habitat loss and fragmentation effects, averaged across species and geographic regions, was current maximum temperature, with mean precipitation change over the last 100 years of secondary importance. Habitat loss and fragmentation effects were greatest in areas with high maximum temperatures. Conversely, they were lowest in areas where average rainfall has increased over time. To our knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a global terrestrial analysis of existing data to quantify and test for interacting effects between current climate, climatic change and habitat loss on biological populations. Understanding the synergistic effects between climate change and other threatening processes has critical implications for our ability to support and incorporate climate change adaptation measures into policy development and management response.     

Ecotone formation through ecological niche construction: the role of biodiversity and species interactions

Rapid changes in species composition, also known as ecotones, can result from various causes including rapid changes in environmental conditions, or physiological thresholds. The possibility that ecotones arise from ecological niche construction by ecosystem engineers has received little attention. In this study, we investigate how the diversity of ecosystem engineers, and their interactions, can give rise to ecotones. We build a spatially explicit dynamical model that couples a multispecies community and its abiotic environment. We use numerical simulations and analytical techniques to determine the biotic and abiotic conditions under which ecotone emergence is expected to occur, and the role of biodiversity therein. We show that the diversity of ecosystem engineers can lead to indirect interactions through the modification of their shared environment. These interactions, which can be either competitive or mutualistic, can lead to the emergence of discrete communities in space, separated by sharp ecotones where a high species turnover is observed. Considering biodiversity is thus critical when studying the influence of species–environment interactions on the emergence of ecotones. This is especially true for the wide range of species that have small to moderate effects on their environment. Our work highlights new mechanisms by which biodiversity loss could cause significant changes in spatial community patterns in changing environments.     

基于生物生态因子分析的长序榆保护策略

长序榆是我国二级重点保护的濒危植物,对研究榆属、榆科植物的系统发生有重要意义,并且具有潜在的经济价值。研究长序榆的生境特点,对该种的引种、科学保护有重大意义,通过对分布在我国的长序榆近两年的踏查发现,长序榆主要集中在我国的安徽、浙江、江西和福建等省,长序榆生境已经严重片段化,自然干扰和人为干扰是造成其濒临灭绝的主要原因。长序榆多分布在海拔600—900 m的阳坡或半阳坡上,其中最大的种群分布在浙江开化和遂昌,分布区的特殊地势使其成为长序榆的冰期避难所。对18项生物学、生态学指标的主成分分析结果表明,影响长序榆生存的主要环境因子是:光照、土壤养分、坡向和海拔。对浙江松阳、江西武宁和福建南平数量极少的种群需优先进行迁地保护,积极引种栽培;而对于安徽歙县、浙江临安、开化和遂昌等大种群分布区,应该扩大核心保护区面积,避免人为破坏。     

Monophyly and taxonomy of the Neotropical seasonal killifish genus Leptolebias (Teleostei: Aplocheiloidei: Rivulidae), with the description of a new genus

A phylogenetic analysis based on morphological characters indicates that Leptolebias Myers, 1952, a genus of small killifishes highly threatened with extinction, from Brazil, is paraphyletic. As a consequence, Leptolebias is restricted in this study to a well‐supported clade that includes Leptolebias marmoratus (Ladiges, 1934), Leptolebias splendens (Myers, 1942), Leptolebias opalescens (Myers, 1942), and Leptolebias citrinipinnis ( Costa, Lacerda & Tanizaki, 1988 ), from the coastal plains of Rio de Janeiro, and Leptolebias aureoguttatus ( Cruz, 1974 ) (herein redescribed, and for which a lectotype is designated) and Leptolebias itanhaensis sp. nov. , from the coastal plains of São Paulo and Paraná, in southern Brazil.Leptolebias is diagnosed by three synapomorphies: a caudal fin that is longer than deep, a single anterior supraorbital neuromast, and dark pigmentation that does not extend to the distal portion of the dorsal fin in males. A key is provided for the identification of species of Leptolebias. Three species formerly placed in Leptolebias, Leptolebias minimus (Myers, 1942), Leptolebias fractifasciatus ( Costa, 1988 ), and Leptolebias cruzi ( Costa, 1988 ), are transferred to Notholebias gen. nov. , which is hypothesized to be the sister group to the clade comprising Leptolebias, Campellolebias Vaz‐Ferreira & Sierra, 1974, and Cynopoecilus Regan, 1912. Notholebias gen nov. is diagnosed by two synapomorphies: a narrow basihyal and the presence of iridescent bars on the caudal fin in males; and three features interpreted as plesiomorphic, but not occurring in Leptolebias, Campellolebias, or Cynopoecilus, the presence of dermosphenotic, well‐developed contact organs on the pectoral fin in males, and an opercular region with red bars in males. ‘Leptolebias’leitaoi, a species from Bahia, in north‐eastern Brazil, is considered as having an uncertain phylogenetic position, as all known preserved material is presently lost, and the species may be extinct. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 153 , 147–160.     

Health food versus fast food: the effects of prey quality and mobility on prey selection by a generalist predator and indirect interactions among prey species

1. In order to understand the relative importance of prey quality and mobility in indirect interactions among alternative prey that are mediated by a shared natural enemy, the nutritional quality of two common prey for a generalist insect predator along with the predator's relative preference for these prey was determined. 2. Eggs of the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were nutritionally superior to pea aphids Acyrthosiphum pisum (Homoptera: Aphididae) as prey for big‐eyed bugs Geocoris punctipes (Heteroptera: Geocoridae). Big‐eyed bugs survived four times as long when fed corn earworm eggs than when fed pea aphids. Furthermore, only big‐eyed bugs fed corn earworm eggs completed development and reached adulthood. 3. In two separate choice experiments, however, big‐eyed bugs consistently attacked the nutritionally inferior prey, pea aphids, more frequently than the nutritionally superior prey, corn earworm eggs. 4. Prey mobility, not prey nutritional quality, seems to be the most important criterion used by big‐eyed bugs to select prey. Big‐eyed bugs attacked mobile aphids preferentially when given a choice between mobile and immobilised aphids. 5. Prey behaviour also mediated indirect interactions between these two prey species. The presence of mobile pea aphids as alternative prey benefited corn earworms indirectly by reducing the consumption of corn earworm eggs by big‐eyed bugs. The presence of immobilised pea aphids, however, did not benefit corn earworms indirectly because the consumption of corn earworm eggs by big‐eyed bugs was not reduced when they were present. 6. These results suggest that the prey preferences of generalist insect predators mediate indirect interactions among prey species and ultimately affect the population dynamics of the predator and prey species. Understanding the prey preferences of generalist insect predators is essential to predict accurately the efficacy of these insects as biological control agents.     

Phylogeography and genetic differentiation along the distributional range of the orchid Epidendrum fulgens: a Neotropical coastal species not restricted to glacial refugia

Aim Phylogeographical studies in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF) have mostly included species associated with forest habitats, whereas taxa associated with grassland and sand‐dune plant communities have so far been largely overlooked. This study examines the phylogeography of the orchid Epidendrum fulgens, which occurs on coastal sand dunes and granitic outcrops, in order to identify major genetic divergences or disjunctions across the range of the species and to investigate the genetic signatures of past range contractions and expansions. Location Southern and south‐eastern seashore vegetation along the BAF biome, and granitic and arenitic outcrops that occur in the subtropical grassland plant communities located south of the BAF. Methods Nine nuclear and four plastid microsatellite loci were used to genotype 424 individuals from 16 populations across the distributional range of E. fulgens. For both sets of markers, we estimated genetic diversity and population differentiation, testing for a north–south gradient of genetic diversity. The plastid haplotype network and a Bayesian assignment analysis of nuclear markers were used to infer population structure. Past demographic changes were investigated using a coalescence approach. Results A deep disjunction was found between northern populations within the BAF and southern populations outside the BAF that occur on granitic and arenitic outcrops. Recent demographic reductions were detected in northern populations on coastal sands. Such demographic changes were not expected for those populations, as previous studies with forest species had found evidence of population expansion in the same areas. Higher genetic diversity was found in southern populations on granite, in contrast to patterns observed in previous studies of forest species. Main conclusions The results are consistent with the long‐term persistence of E. fulgens. Bottlenecks were detected in populations from areas where population expansion events have been detected in other plant (and animal) species, suggesting that forest expansion after the Last Glacial Maximum played a role in the population fragmentation and decrease in genetic diversity in E. fulgens. A substantial genetic division in E. fulgens corresponds to the ‘Portal de Torres’, a region that demarcates the northern limits of subtropical grassland plant communities and the southern limits of the BAF.     

When carnivores collide: a review of studies exploring the competitive interactions between bobcats Lynx rufus and coyotes Canis latrans

1. Bobcats Lynx rufus and coyotes Canis latrans are two widespread mesopredators with a complex history of sympatry. The competitive interactions between these species are of interest to biologists due to the furbearer status of bobcats, the recent range expansion of coyotes, and the recolonisation of several parts of North America by bobcats following their extirpation. Although studies exploring the dynamics and competition between bobcats and coyotes span decades, there is a lack of understanding regarding what factors influence exploitative or interference competition, and what methodologies are conducive to identifying these types of competition.
2. We gathered a comprehensive list of research papers (n = 41) exploring bobcat–coyote competitive interactions in North America. From them, we collected the following: study site characteristics, number and types of research methods, number and types of metrics explored, history of sympatry of the two species at the study location, presence of apex predators, and documentation of interference and/or exploitative competition.
3. Using generalised linear models, we determined that interference competition between bobcats and coyotes was observed primarily in open habitat. However, habitat heterogeneity, the number of research methods and metrics used, presence of an apex predator, and history of sympatry could not be used to predict the occurrence of interference competition. Studies that included diet overlap were less likely to observe interference competition than studies that used other metrics to infer competition.
4. Competitive interactions between coyotes and bobcats are largely a function of prey availability. Our findings suggest that habitat type may be a surrogate for prey availability, which many researchers mention, but do not explicitly measure. Future studies investigating bobcat–coyote interactions should include the quantification of prey densities to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the system at large, and should avoid using solely diet or habitat overlap as metrics to assess competition.

     

Species richness, composition and abundance of fruit-feeding butterflies in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: comparison between a fragmented and a continuous landscape

Aim  To evaluate frugivorous butterflies as indicators of forest disturbance in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
Location  The study area is located in the municipality of Cotia, São Paulo State, south-eastern Brazil (23°35'−23°50' S, 46°45'−47°15' W).
Methods  Sampling was done at four sites inside a large forest block, the Morro Grande State Reserve, and in five forest fragments in an adjacent fragmented landscape. Butterflies were sampled with portable traps, baited with a fermented mixture of banana and sugar cane juice. Sampling was carried out during the period most favourable for the capture of frugivorous butterflies in south-eastern Brazil.
Results  All richness-related results indicated no effect of forest fragmentation on the frugivorous butterfly guild, concurring with the suggestion of appreciable resistance of Atlantic Forest butterflies to habitat modification. However, species composition discriminated between the two landscapes, indicating that fragmentation may have effects beyond simple species richness. When species were analysed individually, clear patterns of distribution emerged, with some species that were very abundant in the fragmented landscape being practically absent in the continuous landscape, and vice versa. This pattern seems consistent even for some subfamilies.
Main conclusion  Our findings support the usefulness of the frugivorous butterfly guild as a biological indicator of forest disturbance effects in one of the world's most threatened ecosystems.     

Effect of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) and sestonic food abundance on the invertebrate community within a constructed treatment wetland

1. The effect of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) predation on the invertebrate community in a hypereutrophic constructed treatment wetland in southern California was investigated at two nutrient levels that influenced sestonic food abundance. 2. Gambusia affinis and insect predators in the wetland had a significant impact on larval mosquito density in the wetland irrespective of nutrient level. At the end of the 5‐month study, cladoceran abundance in predator exclusion enclosures was 2–3 orders of magnitude greater than in the treatments that allowed access by planktivores. Chironomids were the most abundant insect group collected in emergence traps, and midge production from the high nutrient location of the wetland was greater than from the low nutrient location, but was not affected significantly by G. affinis. The presence of abundant alternative prey in this highly enriched wetland may have weakened the predation impact of G. affinis on mosquitoes. 3. The abundances of six invertebrate groups in dipper samples and of four insect groups in emergence trap collections were analysed using a multivariate distance‐based linear model. Fish treatment and location interactions with sampling date explained significant amounts of the variation in the abundance of invertebrate groups. 4. Multivariate multiple regression analysis showed that chlorophyll‐a concentration explained a large portion of the variability in non‐predatory insect and zooplankton abundance at the high nutrient location, whereas bacterial density explained a large portion of the variability in the abundances of these taxa at the low nutrient location. Predatory insects were not directly coupled to the bottom‐up influence of bacterial abundance and chlorophyll‐a.     

Identifying and mapping the protective forests of southeast Mt. Olympus as a tool for sustainable ecological and silvicultural planning, in a multi-purpose forest management framework

Rural development in forested lands and high altitude ecosystems created new regimes and disturbances that set protective function of forests as the most fundamental of all forest functions. Considering protective forests as engineering structures against natural hazards and risks, such as erosion, able to replace costly manmade infrastructures, a methodology is presenting aiming at their spatial identification in a changing mountainous environment. The methodology followed is based on field observations, calibrated models, topographical, geological and climatic data as well as human presence indicators combined properly in a GIS environment. Analysis showed that some forest soils are prone to erosion hazard unable to absorb disturbances like selective logging, revealing the protective role of their forest cover. The spatial identification of the forests with a particular protective function is the necessary step required for the design of a sustainable management of high elevated ecosystems.     

Modelling the impacts of two exotic invasive species on a native butterfly: top-down vs. bottom-up effects

1. Exotic invasive species can influence population dynamics of native species through top-down or bottom-up forces. The present study examined separate and interactive effects of multiple exotic species invasions on the native mustard white butterfly, Pieris napi oleracea Harris (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), using a stochastic simulation model. 2. P. n. oleracea populations in North America have decreased regionally since the 1860s. Competition with an exotic congener (P. rapae L.), loss of native host plants and parasitism by the introduced broconid wasp (Cotesia glomerata L.), have been suggested to be independently responsible for its decline. The present study examined these hypotheses, as well as an alternative, invasion by an exotic crucifer, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata[Bieb.] Cavara & Grande). 3. A stochastic simulation model of P. n. oleracea population dynamics revealed that decreasing the number of host plants available for oviposition and larval development (i.e. habitat loss), sharply reduced the probability of populations persistence and decreased population size for those that persisted. 4. Simulated invasion by garlic mustard also substantially decreased both probability of persistence (= 0 at approximately 50% cover) and mean population size. Persistence probability never reached zero under any C. glomerata scenarios, even when larval mortality in the second generation due to parasitism was 100%. The impact of garlic mustard was intensified by the addition of C. glomerata parasitism. 5. Results suggest that bottom-up forces, loss of host plants through forest understorey loss and/or garlic mustard invasion are the most important forces driving P. n. oleracea population decline. Parasitism by C. glomerata may interact to reduce P. n. oleracea populations more rapidly, but appears insufficient alone to cause local extinction.