A CAUTIONARY TALE: RAZOR SHELLS, ACORN BARNACLES AND PALAEOECOLOGY

Abstract:  The extant, introduced razor shell Ensis americanus (Binney) is a burrowing inhabitant of sandy, shallow-water substrates off the North Sea and Wadden Sea coasts of The Netherlands and adjacent areas. Three articulated shells with broken valves, collected from the strandline at Zandvoort, Noord-Holland, in April 2006 have dense skeletozoan infestations of the barnacle Balanus crenatus Brugière on the outer and inner surfaces of all valves. Such infestations must have occurred after death of the bivalve, decomposition of the soft tissues (but not the ligament) and disinterment of the shells. Larvae of B. crenatus settle in the spring, suggesting that these infestations are perhaps less than a year old, and testifying to the post-mortem persistence of the ligament and the density of skeletozoan infestation after a geologically brief duration. Such specimens would be a palaeoecological conundrum if fossilized; however, the ligament is likely to rot before final burial and the valves break further. Fossil specimens would probably be interpreted as valves that became encrusted on their inner and outer surfaces (balanuliths) during a long post-disarticulation residence on the sea floor.     

中国与欧洲晚中新世猪类比较研究:生物地层学及古生态学

猪类对比研究表明,从晚中新世初期到晚中新世末(或上新世初期),中国与欧洲的古气候、古环境和猪类演化都受到了全球性自然变化的影响,有着相同或相似的发展经历。晚中新世早期(early Vallesian(MN9))中国与欧洲的猪类显示它们均受到先前来自南亚猪类的影响,南亚猪类可能通过东南亚扩散到中国南方,通过西亚扩散到欧洲。晚中新世中期(lateVallesian(MN10)and early Turolian(MN11)),中国和欧洲的猪类与南亚已基本没有交流,在各自地区相对独立地演化发展。晚中新世晚期(late Turolian(MN12、MN13))中国北方除了保留有从南方迁移来的种类外,欧洲的猪类也已出现,此时中国(北方)动物群与欧洲动物群关系较为密切。南亚动物群在晚中新世早期(或者更早些)似乎已经和中国及欧洲的动物群分离。受青藏高原隆升等自然因素的影响,晚中新世中后期中国南方的古环境有一个从较为封闭、湿热的森林类型向相对开阔、干冷稀树草原类型的演变过程,而在此期间北方的自然环境则可能是从早期的半干旱疏林草原逐步发展到晚中新世末期的湿润林地。晚中新世欧洲自然环境有一个与中国南方相似的变化过程,比较而言,晚中新世中后期欧洲的环境可能比中国北方更为开阔和干冷。古气候和古环境变化是影响晚中新世猪类分布演化的决定性因素。     

CLASSIFICATION,DISTRIBUTION AND PHYLOGENY OF THE GENUS ENKIANTHUS

The genus Enkianthus is one of the genera of Ericaceae, It contains 13 species, distributing in eastern Asia. Many studies of the genus Enkianthus made by predecessors did not have divide the infrageneric taxa and discuss evOlutionary trend of the genus. The present author divides the genus into 3 sections(Sect.Ⅰ. Enkianthus, Sect. Ⅱ.Racemuss and Sect. Ⅲ. Monanthus)and also discusses the evolutionary trend of the genus. In this paper 1 new specios has been discribed, with the figure of the type specimen.     

SUMMARY OF GREEN PLANT PHYLOGENY AND CLASSIFICATION

Abstract— A cladogram of green plants involving all major extant groups of green algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, and seed plants is presented. It is partly based on contributions by B. Mishler and S. Churchill, H. Wagner, and P. Crane. The relationships of green plants to other green organisms ( Prochloron , euglenophytes) are discussed. The characters and subclades of the cladogram are briefly discussed, with an attempt to indicate weak points. The possibility of including some major extinct groups is considered. A cladistic classification consistent with the cladogram is presented. Grades are abandoned as taxa and major clades like the division Chlorophyta (green algae excluding micro-monadophytes and charophytes sensu Mattox and Stewart), the division Streptophyta (charophytes + embryophytes), the subdivision Embryophytina (land plants or embryophytes), the superclass Tracheidatae (tracheophytes), and the class Spermatopsida (seed plants) are recognized.     

INTRASPECIFIC MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY IN THE YELLOW WARBLER (DENDROICA PETECHIA), AND IMPLICATIONS FOR AVIAN BIOGEOGRAPHY IN THE WEST INDIES

A phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) restriction sites was used to examine the evolutionary history of populations of yellow warbler (Dendroica petechia) sampled from North America, Central America, South America, and the West Indies. Thirty-seven haplotypes were identified, and only one was found in more than one of these regions. Estimated sequence divergence among haplotypes ranged from 0.14 to 3.17%, and mtDNAs from North American migratory populations clearly were differentiated from those of most tropical sedentary populations. Parsimony analysis of haplotypes suggested multiple colonizations of the West Indies archipelago and of individual Caribbean islands. The inference of multiple colonizations has important implications for studies of avian ecology and evolution in this region.     

THE AMINO ACID COMPOSITION OF FRESHWATER MOLLUSC SHELLS IN RELATION TO PHYLOGENY AND ENVIRONMENT

Quantitative thin layer chromatography of structural amino acidswas standardized for the study of shell proteins of 13 speciesof freshwater mollusc. There was slight intraspecific variationbetween individuals, particularly for tyrosine concentrations.No external periostracum was chemically identifiable in theshell of Lymnaea peregra (Müller) and this species showedsome amino acid heterogeneity in different parts of the shell.Despite these intraspecific variations, analysis of variancesuggested interspecific variation in concentrations for almostall the amino acids tudied. Cluster and principal componentsanalysis indicated that the amino acid composition did reflectphylogenetic affinity but that environmental factors were probablymore-important. (Received 5 August 1982; revised 5 August 1982;     

PHYLOGENY AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE PANDALOIDEA (CRUSTACEA, CARIDEA)

Abstract— A manual cladistic analysis, subsequently expanded with a PAUP computer analysis, was performed on 21 genera of the monophyletic taxon Pandaloidea. Morphological data were obtained from the literature for 146 of the 152 known species-group taxa and from specimens belonging to 11 genera and 15 species—those of Pantomus parvulus extending the known range from the North Western Atlantic to Uruguay. The taxon Physetocaridoidca was synonymized with Pandaloidea, and the genus Pandalopsis with “Pandalus”. I have rejected reversal hypotheses indicated by the computer for four transformation series and chosen a final cladogram of slightly different topology which is six steps longer than the shortest tree. The cladogram for 20 terminal taxa is based on 108 apomorphic characters, resolved into 155 steps (72 synapomorphies and 83 homoplasies and reversals). The following sequenced phylogenctic classification is proposed: Pandaloidea; Pandalidae; Pantominae subfam.n.; Notopandalus [N. magnoculus]; Peripandalus [P. serratus]; Pantomus; P. ajfinis; P. parvulus; Pandalinae; Austropandalini trib.n.; Austropandalus [A. grayi]; Pandalina; P. brevirostris; P. profunda; Pandalini; Dichdopandalus; D. bonnieri; D. leptorerus; Pandalus: “Plcsionikidae” [“Plesionika”]; Heterocarpidae [Heterocarpus]; Heterocarpoididae fam.n. [Heterocarpoides] [H. levicarina]; Dorodoteidae fam.n. [Dorodotes] [D. reflexus]; Thalassocarididae; Chlorotocus; C. crassicornis; C. novaezelandiae; Chlorotocoides [C. spinicauda]; Thalassocaris;, T. obscura; T. crimia; T. lucida; Physetocandidae; Stylopandalus [S. richardi]; Chlorotocella; C. gracilis; C. leptorhjnehus; Physetocaris [P. microphthalma]; Chlorocurtis [C. jactans]; Anachlorocurtis [A, commensalis]; Miropandalus [M. hardingi]. Quotation marks indicate taxa of uncertain systematic status. Square brackets indicate redundant, phylogenetically uninformative, genus and species-level taxa maintained in the classification to comply with the principle of binominal nomenclature.     

印度-西太平洋胡椒鲷亚科鱼类DNA条形码及分子系统进化研究

为探讨COⅠ基因作为条形码在胡椒鲷亚科鱼类物种鉴定的可行性, 研究测定了胡椒鲷亚科8种鱼类51个个体线粒体COⅠ基因长度为651 bp的序列, 利用MEGA 5.0计算胡椒鲷亚科种内与种间的遗传距离, 基于最大似然法与贝叶斯法构建了系统进化树。结果显示: 胡椒鲷亚科鱼类种间平均遗传距离(0.142)显著大于种内平均遗传距离(0.003), 物种间遗传距离均大于Hebert推荐的物种鉴定最小种间遗传距离0.020(2%)。系统进化树上, 同一物种不同个体间均能形成独立的单系分支, 表明COⅠ基因可作为胡椒鲷亚科物种鉴定的有效条形码基因。研究同时揭示, 在形态分类上被认为是同种异名的两种胡椒鲷(条纹胡椒鲷与东方胡椒鲷)的COⅠ基因序列差异达到0.070, 有可能是两个独立的物种。此外, 在属级水平, 少棘胡椒鲷属与胡椒鲷属种类之间的平均遗传距离小于胡椒鲷属内部种间的遗传距离, 支持少棘胡椒鲷归属于胡椒鲷属的观点。       

BIOVOLUME CALCULATION FOR PELAGIC AND BENTHIC MICROALGAE

Microalgal biovolume is commonly calculated to assess the relative abundance (as biomass or carbon) of co-occurring algae varying in shape and/or size. However, a standardized set of equations for biovolume calculations from microscopically measured linear dimensions that includes the entire range of microalgal shapes is not available yet. In comparison with automated methods, the use of microscopical measurements allows high taxonomic resolution, up to the species level, and has fewer sources of error. We present a set of geometric shapes and mathematical equations for calculating biovolumes of >850 pelagic and benthic marine and freshwater microalgal genera. The equations are designed to minimize the effort of microscopic measurement. The similarities and differences between our proposal for standardization and previously published proposals are discussed and recommendations for quality standards given.     

ON THE PHYLOGENY AND HIGHER CLASSIFICATION OF THE OLIGOCHAETA

Abstract— The 50 oligochaete taxa representing all families of “opisthoporous” oligochaetes (Aliuroididae, earthworms and aquatic “megadriles”) together with two representatives of the Haplotaxidac and three examples of “microdiles” were subjected to cladistic analysis using the PAUP program. Sixty-eight characters used in the analyses were derived from a comprehensive range of somatic and genital systems. The optimal result, in terms of maximal number of characters and taxa and of parsimony, produced two trees (consistency index 0.362) differing only in the placement of the monotypic clade for the family Lumbriculidae. From a line originating from the presumed octogonadial ancestor, the following branches were derived, in sequence from the basal to most derived (new taxa asterisked): subclass Randiellata* (order Randiellida*, Randiellidae); subclass Tubificata* (order Tubificida, Tubincidae, Naididae computed and others not computed); subclass Lumbriculata* (order Lumbriculida, Lumbriculidae); superorder Haplotaxidea* (order Haplotaxida, Haplotaxidae); order Moniligastrida (Moniligastridae); suborder Alluroidina (Aliuroididae and Syngenodrilidae); cohort Aquamegadrili* (with, in succession, superfamilice Sparganophiloidea, Sparganophilidae; Biwadriloidea, Biwadrilidac, and Almoidca—Lutodrilidac and Almidae, including Criodrilus); superfamily Eudriloidea*, superfamily Lumbricoidea and, as the adelphotaxon of the latter, the superfamily Megascolecoidea. Intermediate nodes were given the following names, with the adelpholaxon through to the Megascolecoidea, M, in parentheses: subclass Diplotesticulata (Haplotaxidea—M); superorder Metagynopohora* (Moniligastrida—M); order Opisthopora (Alluroidina M); suborder Crassiclitellata* (Aquamegadrili — M); cohort Terrimegadrili* (Ocnerodriloidea M); unnamed (Eudriloidea M); unnamed (Lumbricoidea and Megascolecoidea). Recognition of the Randiellata, which alone were added intuitively and not computed, and the position of the Lumbriculata, are tentative. Location of the Lumbricoidea as the adelphotaxon of a restricted Megascoecloidea is heuristic, but the alternative depiction of lumbricoids in some analyses, as the adelphotaxon of an ocnerodrilid-eudrilid-megascolecoid clade (the conventional Megascolecoidea s. lat.), is not conclusively dismissed.     

VIOLATION OF DOLLO'S LAW: EVIDENCE OF MUSCLE REVERSIONS IN PRIMATE PHYLOGENY AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE ONTOGENY,EVOLUTION, AND ANATOMICAL VARIATIONS OF MODERN HUMANS

According to Dollo's law, once a complex structure is lost it is unlikely to be reacquired. In this article, we report new data obtained from our myology‐based cladistic analyses of primate phylogeny, which provide evidence of anatomical reversions violating Dollo's law: of the 220 character state changes unambiguously optimized in the most parsimonious primate tree, 28 (13%) are evolutionary reversions, and of these 28 reversions six (21%) occurred in the nodes that lead to the origin of modern humans; nine (32%) violate Dollo's law. In some of these nine cases, the structures that were lost in adults of the last common ancestor and are absent in adults of most subgroups of a clade are actually present in early ontogenetic stages of karyotypically normal individuals as well as in later ontogenetic stages of karyotypically abnormal members of those subgroups. Violations of Dollo's law may thus result from the maintenance of ancestral developmental pathways during long periods of trait absence preceding the reacquisition of the trait through paedomorphic events. For instance, the presence of contrahentes and intermetacarpales in adult chimpanzees is likely due to a prolonged/delayed development of the hand musculature, that is, in this case chimpanzees are more neotenic than modern humans.     

嵌套性:研究方法、形成机制及其对生物保护的意义

岛屿或者“生境岛”中的生物区系常常显示出一种嵌套结构 ,即物种较贫乏的岛屿中的物种是物种较丰富的岛屿中的物种的一个适当的子集 ,如果将各个岛屿中的生物区系排列起来就形成一个嵌套的序列。与种 面积关系一样 ,嵌套结构在很多生境类型和生物类群中也都存在。嵌套性对生物保护也有一定的意义 ,特别是与SLOSS争论 (是单个大的还是几个小的保护区能保护更多的物种 )有一定关系。在过去的十几年中 ,已经提出了一些方法 ,可以对嵌套性进行定量刻画和统计检验。同时 ,对嵌套性的形成机制也进行了大量的研究 ,其中选择性的迁移和选择性的灭绝是两个主要的原因。由于嵌套性分析只需要物种的存在 /不存在数据 ,使得很多调查数据都能够利用起来 ,因此 ,这是一个值得深入研究的领域     

SPICULES IN SILURIAN TABULATE CORALS FROM CANADA, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THEIR AFFINITIES

Abstract:  Specimens of Favosites from upper Llandovery strata of Anticosti Island show three types of calcite structures, herein interpreted as spicules, preserved within their calices and on top of the last tabula. This is stratigraphically younger material, some 50 m higher than fossils described two decades earlier, in which calcified polyps, each with 12 retracted tentacles, were noted. These more recently found structures show striking similarities in form and position to point, collaret and capstan spicules found in the soft tissues of modern pipe corals, i.e. the Octocorallia (Alcyonacea). Where preserved in a distinct pattern on top of the calcite tabulae, the spicular sclerites in Favosites occur in a particular sequence. Twelve individual, or sometimes six pairs of, triradiate point spicules have shrunk to a circlet near the middle of the calice (resting on the last, outermost, tabula). Surrounding the point spicules are 3–6 circlets of curved, usually perforated, lenticular collaret spicules; and surrounding these are scattered, much smaller, capstan spicules. The spicules display variability, probably ontogenetic, in their form and relative sizes; and they are more similar in form to calcareous spicules of alcyonacean corals than to those known from calcareous sponges. Structures with 12-fold radial symmetry in Heliolites, originally described by one of us as 'septal florets', consist of elements that are considered comparable with the point spicules found in Favosites . They have been recognized in ten species of Heliolites from Silurian (Wenlock–Ludlow) strata in the Canadian Arctic islands.     

PHYLOGENY AND FORELIMB DISPARITY IN WATERBIRDS

Previous work has shown that the relative proportions of wing components (i.e., humerus, ulna, carpometacarpus) in birds are related to function and ecology, but these have rarely been investigated in a phylogenetic context. Waterbirds including “Pelecaniformes,” Ciconiiformes, Procellariiformes, Sphenisciformes, and Gaviiformes form a highly supported clade and developed a great diversity of wing forms and foraging ecologies. In this study, forelimb disparity in the waterbird clade was assessed in a phylogenetic context. Phylogenetic signal was assessed via Pagel's lambda, Blomberg's K, and permutation tests. We find that different waterbird clades are clearly separated based on forelimb component proportions, which are significantly correlated with phylogeny but not with flight style. Most of the traditional contents of “Pelecaniformes” (e.g., pelicans, cormorants, and boobies) cluster with Ciconiiformes (herons and storks) and occupy a reduced morphospace. These taxa are closely related phylogenetically but exhibit a wide range of ecologies and flight styles. Procellariiformes (e.g., petrels, albatross, and shearwaters) occupy a wide range of morphospace, characterized primarily by variation in the relative length of carpometacarpus and ulna. Gaviiformes (loons) surprisingly occupy a wing morphospace closest to diving petrels and penguins. Whether this result may reflect wing proportions plesiomorphic for the waterbird clade or a functional signal is unclear. A Bayesian approach detecting significant rate shifts across phylogeny recovered two such shifts. At the base of the two sister clades Sphenisciformes + Procellariiformes, a shift to an increase evolutionary rate of change is inferred for the ulna and carpometacarpus. Thus, changes in wing shape begin prior to the loss of flight in the wing‐propelled diving clade. Several shifts to slower rate of change are recovered within stem penguins.     

REPRODUCTIVE TOURISM IN ARGENTINA: CLINIC ACCREDITATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSUMERS,HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND POLICY MAKERS

A subcategory of medical tourism, reproductive tourism has been the subject of much public and policy debate in recent years. Specific concerns include: the exploitation of individuals and communities, access to needed health care services, fair allocation of limited resources, and the quality and safety of services provided by private clinics. To date, the focus of attention has been on the thriving medical and reproductive tourism sectors in Asia and Eastern Europe; there has been much less consideration given to more recent ‘players’ in Latin America, notably fertility clinics in Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. In this paper, we examine the context‐specific ethical and policy implications of private Argentinean fertility clinics that market reproductive services via the internet. Whether or not one agrees that reproductive services should be made available as consumer goods, the fact is that they are provided as such by private clinics around the world. We argue that basic national regulatory mechanisms are required in countries such as Argentina that are marketing fertility services to local and international publics. Specifically, regular oversight of all fertility clinics is essential to ensure that consumer information is accurate and that marketed services are safe and effective. It is in the best interests of consumers, health professionals and policy makers that the reproductive tourism industry adopts safe and responsible medical practices.     

PHYLOGENY AND CLASSIFICATION OF REEF‐BUILDING CORALLINE ALGAE (CORALLINALES,RHODOPHYTA)

The Corallinales includes ca. 40 genera of calcified red seaweeds. Species are of two distinct morphotypes; those that possess genicula (uncalcified nodes) and those that lack genicula. Most nongeniculate species take the form of crusts. The presence (or absence) of genicula, secondary pit connections, and tetrasporangial conceptacle features have traditionally been used as key characters for delimiting coralline subfamilies. In this study, nuclear encoded 18S and 26S rRNA gene sequences were determined and used to reexamine relationships among coralline taxa. Separate and combined phylogenetic analyses of these data yielded similar trees in which four major lineages are resolved. Heydrichia and Sporolithon (Sporolithaceae) are positioned at the base of the tree and appear to be distantly related to other species examined. Within the Corallinaceae, the nongeniculate Melobesioideae is resolved as a monophyletic group. All members of this subfamily produce mutiporate tetraspoangial conceptacles. The Corallinoideae, which are characterized by unizonate genicula, are resolved as sister to a clade containing species placed in the Lithophylloideae, Mastophoroideae and Metagoniolithoideae. The molecular data indicate that geniculate and nongeniculate species characterized by the presence of secondary pit connections are closely related. For example, both data sets robustly support a sister taxon relationship between Amphiroa and Titanoderma. Our results indicate that: 1) all taxa in which secondary pit connections are present should be referred to the Lithophylloideae and, 2) genicula are nonhomologous structures that are independently derived in Amphiroa, Lithothrix, Metagoniolithon and the last common ancestor of the Corallinoideae.