Still a one species genus? Strong genetic diversification in the world’s largest living odonate,the Neotropical damselfly Megaloprepus caerulatus

Mesoamerican biodiversity is increasingly threatened by anthropogenic destruction of natural land cover. Habitat degradation and climate change are primary threats to specialized forest odonate species that are important model organisms for forest health and defining conservation units. The extreme niche specialization of Megaloprepus caerulatus, the world’s largest extant odonate, makes it well suited as an indicator for changing environmental conditions. Megaloprepus, which is considered to be a monospecific genus, is highly dependent on old growth forests whose water filled tree holes are limiting reproductive resources for this species. Here, we focus on the question how historical and recent fragmentation events, strong niche conservatism and ecological conditions have affected population dynamics, viability and the species status in this evolutionarily old genus. Two mitochondrial sequence markers (ND1 and 16S rRNA) and a set of microsatellites were used to analyze population structure and genetic diversity of M. caerulatus in the northern part of its distributional range. Results suggested an absence of gene flow and no shared haplotypes among the study populations. Statistical parsimony indicated high sub-structuring among populations with sequence diversity similar to levels found at the species level compared to other odonates. In sum, the genetic data suggest that Megaloprepus may actually consist of more than one species. The taxonomic status of the group should be revised in light of the three distinct genetic clusters found in different forest regions. The results may also allow insights into the impact of recent and historical habitat fragmentation on a strong Neotropical forest restricted insect species.     

The 100th of the world’s worst invasive alien species

Biological invasions are among the greatest threats to global biodiversity, but in contrast to most other global threats, they suffer from specific communication issues. Our paper presents the first new addition to the widely cited IUCN list of “100 of the world’s worst invasive species”, a list created a decade ago in response to these communication issues. We briefly present this list, the recent removal of one species from that list, and the rationale to include a novel, 100th species to replace it. The new species of this list, giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta), was chosen by the community of invasion biologists (over 650 experts from over 60 countries). This new addition to the list will draw public attention to the damage caused by invasive alien species and it will help stimulate the necessary discussion of this critical issue in science and policy circles.     

Ranking of invasive spread through urban green areas in the world’s 100 most populous cities

Urban landscapes are highly fragmented (leading to the extinction of native species) as well as transformed and disturbed (creating novel environments). Such conditions provide non-native species with opportunities to establish and spread through “urban green areas” (UGAs). UGAs can serve as stepping stones for many alien species to recruit and may become sources of propagules to launch invasions in adjoining natural ecosystems. There is great diversity in the spatial structures of UGAs worldwide; these are determined by the city’s level of development, human density, urban planning policy, and history. We explore the invasion risks of, and the potential of invasive spread in, UGAs in the world’s 100 most populous cities (in 40 countries). Based on maps of enhanced vegetation index at 250 m resolution over the extent of 25 by 25 km for each city centre, we simulate the invasion and spread of a reference species (a virtual ruderal invasive species) from the city centre into surrounding urban or rural areas. Doing so allowed us to provide an objective baseline for comparing urban susceptibility to such invasions across diverse cultures, histories and societies. We derive the global ranking of invasive spread potential for each city based on the rate of spread of the reference species, and the ranking of 40 countries, based on the average rate of spread in their cities. We explore correlates of spread rates after 100 time steps (years) by examining the roles of climate (mean annual temperature and rainfall), human demography (city population size and growth rate), and socio-economic indicators [human footprint, human development index and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita]. Small city population size and high GDP per capita are the only significant predictors of high potential for invasive spread. Among the G20 countries, Canada, South Korea, South Africa, France, USA and Brazil all feature in the top-10 countries, and Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Dallas in the USA, Chittagong in Bangladesh, Toronto in Canada and Brasilia in Brazil are listed among the top 10 cities overall. Our results can serve as a global baseline assessment of invasive spread risks through UGAs, and call for improved protocols for monitoring, planning and management of UGAs.     

Conservation of a phenomenon: rapid,reversible colour change in both sexes of one of the world’s most threatened damselflies

Physiological colour change is rare in insects. Unusually, both the males and females of Spesbona angusta (Odonata: Platycnemididae), Red Listed as Endangered, are capable of rapid and reversible colour change. There is only one known population of this species, which occurs in a unique habitat in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. Appreciation of this unusual phenomenon of distinct physiological colour change helps us appreciate that we need to conserve phenomena in the insect world as well as the species themselves. Using controlled experiments, we evaluated the importance of ambient temperature as the possible primary cue for physiological colour change. We found that S. angusta responds rapidly to short-term changes in ambient temperature, even in the absence of additional environmental stimuli and without the body temperature matching the ambient temperature. Colour change is reversible when temperature returns to its earlier level. The reason why S. angusta shows this rapid and reversible colour change may be a combination of reproductive enhancement, competitive advantage and thermoregulation. This colour change appears to have strong selective advantage in a very particular habitat type, meaning that careful conservation of its habitat in all respects is important, and must be considered in any possible future translocations.     

Two new Neotropical species of Ceracis Mellié (Coleoptera, Ciidae) and redefinition of the cucullatus group

Two new Neotropical species of Ceracis Mellié are described: Ceracis cassumbensis Antunes-Carvalho & Lopes-Andrade, sp. n. from a single locality in northeastern Brazil and Ceracis navarretei Antunes-Carvalho & Lopes-Andrade, sp. n. from a single locality in southern Mexico. Scanning Electron Microscope images of adults and photographs of holotypes and male terminalia are provided for both species, their similarities and differences with other Ceracis are briefly discussed, and the cucullatus species-group is redefined for including the new species described herein.     

Seasonality of leaf litter and leaf area index data for various tree species in a cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest,Japan, 2005–2014

This paper reports seasonal data regarding leaf litter for 14 deciduous broad-leaved species and one evergreen coniferous species as well as leaf area index (LAI) data for the 14 deciduous broad-leaved species in a cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest in Japan. The seasonal leaf biomass of various tree species is important for accurately evaluating ecosystem functions such as photosynthesis and evapotranspiration under climate change. However, there is a lack of freely available, long-term data. We collected litterfall every 1 to 4 weeks from September or October to November or December each year from 2005 to 2014 in Takayama, Japan (36°08′46″N, 137°25′23″E, 1420 m a.s.l.). After sorting the litter into leaves (according to species categories), stems + branches, and “other”, we dried and weighed the litter groups. We also collected seasonal leaf data (number of leaves and leaf length and width) for each broad-leaved species, which we recorded every 1 to 4 weeks from April or May to October or November using multiple target shoots. To estimate the LAI in autumn for each deciduous broad-leaved species, we used a semi-empirical model of the vertical integration of leaf dry mass per unit leaf area. To estimate the LAI in spring and summer, we used the relationship between the LAI in autumn and the seasonal leaf data. Our data provide input, calibration, and validation parameters for determining LAI based on satellite remote-sensing observations or radiative transfer models and for use in ecosystem models.     

Scaling of species diversity and body mass in mammals: Cope’s rule and the evolutionary cost of large size

Abstract

Equations are constructed describing the inverse correlation of species diversity and body mass in extant and Cenozoic mammals. Cope’s rule, the tendency for many mammal clades to increase in body size through time, through phyletic change in single lineages or turnover within species groups, is interpreted as a probability function reducing diversity potential as a tradeoff for ecological/evolutionary gains. The inverse rule predicts that large species in clades will be less diverse than smaller species and, unless origination rates remain high among smaller clade members, clades conforming to Cope’s rule will decline in diversity, moving towards extinction. This proposition is evaluated in the Cenozoic histories of five North American mammal clades; cotton rats, felids, canids, hyaenodontids, and equids. Diversity potential of different size classes within the 3.75 million year phyletic history of the muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus, is also examined. A corollary prediction of the inverse rule, that large species should have longer durations (species lifespans) than small species, is unresolved. Successful clades maintain small size or a significant number of smaller species relative to clade average size. The potential loss of unique extant large mammal species justifies the conservation effort to protect them. The similarity of scaling exponents of species diversity to mass around a slope of -1.0 suggests that species diversity is correlated with home range size, the latter related to the probability of population fragmentation.     

A core of rhizosphere bacterial taxa associates with two of the world’s most isolated plant congeners

Plant and Soil - The hydrolysis of organic P in soils is a relevant aspect contributing to the supply P to plants, which is affected by adsorbent capacity and biological properties of soils. This...     

Relating water use to morphology and environment of Nothofagus from the world’s most southern forests

Key message

This study is the first to quantify tree water use below 50°S. Tree morphology differs markedly among the two investigated species, reflecting adjustment to different environmental cues.

Abstract

A pronounced environmental gradient dictates the dominance of Nothofagus in the foothills on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains in Patagonia, Argentina. Below 50° southern latitude, open forests of Nothofagus antarctica (ñire) dominate the landscape towards the Patagonian steppe where annual rainfall is low. With increasing rates of annual rainfall, corresponding with an increase in elevation, closed forests of N. pumilio (lenga) replace those of ñire. During a short-term study we assessed differences in stand structure and examined environmental, structural and functional traits related to tree water use of ñire and lenga. Sap velocity reached similar maximum rates (95–100 L m^?2 sapwood h^?1), but whole-tree water use (Q) was significantly lower in ñire (8–13 L day^?1 tree^?1) compared to lenga (20–90 L day^?1 tree^?1) resulting in lower stand transpiration (ñire: 0.51 mm day^?1; lenga: 3.42 mm day^?1) despite similar tree densities. Related to this, wind speed had a particularly significant impact on Q of ñire, but not lenga. The ratio of leaf area to sapwood area (A _L/A _S) clearly identified ñire to be more structurally proficient at conserving water. While stem diameter (DBH) and crown area (A _C) were well related in both species, only lenga exhibited relationships between variables related to tree allometry and physiology (A _C/Q, DBH/Q). Our results provide the first ecophysiological characterization of the two Nothofagus species that define important and widespread ecosystems in southern Patagonia (not only below 50°S), and provide useful data to scale water use of both species from tree to stand.     

Importance of species diversity in the revegetation of Alberta’s northern fescue prairies

Restoration of grassland ecosystems is critical to the provision of ecosystem services, however, legacies of historic disturbances pose a challenge to grassland restoration. In the northern Great Plains of North America, continued fragmentation and disturbance of northern fescue prairies has prompted more stringent criteria to regulate the revegetation of native prairies disturbed by industrial activities. Here, we evaluate methods of revegetating northern fescue prairies, disturbed by energy development, and test the hypothesis that higher richness of species seeded within disturbed areas improves the structure, diversity, and composition of revegetated communities. Our results demonstrate that disturbed northern fescue prairies are able to recover their structural elements, including vegetative and ground cover and plant litter, irrespective of the number of species in the seed mixes, even though revegetated areas remained similar in all measures of community diversity. Despite this, revegetated areas remained compositionally different from adjacent native prairies, 7 years following seeding treatments. Based on our observations, the persistent differences in the species composition of disturbed and undisturbed prairies highlight that all efforts should be practiced to minimize the scale of disturbance of northern fescue prairies through energy development.     

Areas of high diversity for the world’s inland-breeding waterbirds

Waterbirds are a globally-distributed, species-rich group of birds that are critically dependent upon wetland habitats. They can be used as ecosystem sentinels for wetlands, which as well as providing ecosystem services and functions essential to humans, are important habitats for a wide range of plant and animal taxa. Here we carry out the first global analysis of inland-breeding waterbird distributions using data from 471 waterbird species in 28 families to identify global areas of high waterbird diversity. First we identify the primary area of high diversity for all inland-breeding waterbird species to be in Eastern Africa. For globally threatened inland-breeding waterbirds, the area of highest diversity is in Eastern China. Second, we show that the current network of protected areas provides poor coverage for threatened waterbirds in Eastern and Central Asia, and Northern India. In contrast, there is a higher protected area coverage in most of Europe and Brazil. Targeting the specific areas that have the highest numbers of species and the poorest coverage of protected areas is vital for both waterbird and wetland conservation.     

Comparative processing practices of the world’s major oilseed crops

The major oilseed crops were domesticated primarily as sources of edible oil. However, in all cases, yields of by-products are greater than the oil fraction, and, in reality, all oilseed crops serve dual purposes as sources of oil and of protein for human food, animal feed, and industrial products. Each crop has special requirements for extraction and for processing of oil and meal, and each has limitations as to location and timing of production and as to processibility in oil mills originally designed for other crops. Further, each oilseed has unique cultural, economic and utilization characteristics; for example, rapeseed (Brassica) can be grown in cool climates with short growing seasons. Cottonseed (Gossypium) is a by-product of the more valuable fiber crop, and its availability is dictated by the profitability of growing cotton for the world market. Although peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) are used primarily as peanut butter and nuts in the United States, they are almost exclusively pressed for oil in other countries. In this paper, cultural practices and processing requirements of soybean (Glycine max), cottonseed, sunflower (Helianthus annuus), rapeseed, peanut, and sesame (Sesamum indicum) oils and byproducts are compared, as well as compositions of major oilmilling fractions, oils and proteins.     

Hong Kong’s rich marine biodiversity: the unseen wealth of South China’s megalopolis

Hong Kong is famous as a bustling harbour and financial centre, with a dense burgeoning population impacting its coastal environment. Yet, away from the skyscrapers and the pressures of anthropogenic influence, Hong Kong supports a rich marine biodiversity, including corals and mangrove communities. Despite having a small marine area (1651 km²), a total of 5943 marine species have been recorded in Hong Kong waters. Most of these species were reported during the 1980s and 1990s, but new species continue to be discovered, and ~6500 species are estimated. Even though Hong Kong’s marine area is only ~0.03 % of that of China, the number of marine species recorded in Hong Kong already accounts for ~26 % of the total recorded in China. Hong Kong also contributes to a considerable amount (>30 %) of the species records for several taxa including amphipods, cephalopods, polychaetes and fish in the South China Sea, and ~29 % of the hermit crab species in the largest global marine species database, the World Register of Marine Species. These findings demonstrate the rich marine biota found in Hong Kong, which probably reflects Hong Kong’s location within the fringes of the world’s marine biodiversity hotspot.     

Inventory of real world data sources in Parkinson’s disease

Background

Real world data have an important role to play in the evaluation of epidemiology and burden of disease; and in assisting health-care decision-makers, especially related to coverage and payment decisions. However, there is currently no overview of the existing longitudinal real world data sources in Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the USA. Such an assessment can be very helpful, to support a future effort to harmonize real world data collection and use the available resources in an optimal way.

Methods

The objective of this comprehensive literature review is to systematically identify and describe the longitudinal, real world data sources in PD in the USA, and to provide a summary of their measurements (categorized into 8 main dimensions: motor and neurological functions, cognition, psychiatry, activities of daily living, sleep, quality of life, autonomic symptoms and other). The literature search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE and internet key word search.

Results

Of the 53 data sources identified between May and August 2016, 16 were still ongoing. Current medications (81%) and comorbidities (79%) were frequently collected, in comparison to medical imaging (36%), genetic information (30%), caregiver burden (11%) and healthcare costs (2%). Many different measurements (n =?108) were performed and an interesting variability among used measurements was revealed.

Conclusions

Many longitudinal real world data sources on PD exist. Different types of measurements have been performed over time. To allow comparison and pooling of these multiple data sources, it will be essential to harmonize practices in terms of types of measurements.

     

It’s the song,not the singer: an exploration of holobiosis and evolutionary theory

That holobionts (microbial communities and their animal or plant hosts) are units of selection squares poorly with the observation that microbes are often recruited (horizontally acquired) from the environment, not passed down vertically from parent to offspring, as required for collective reproduction. The taxonomic makeup of a holobiont’s microbial community may vary over its lifetime and differ from that of conspecifics. In contrast, biochemical functions of the microbiota and contributions to host biology are more conserved, with taxonomically variable but functionally similar microbes recurring across generations and hosts. To save what is of interest in holobiont thinking, we propose casting metabolic and developmental interaction patterns, rather than the taxa responsible for them, as units of selection. Such units need not directly reproduce or form parent-offspring lineages: their prior existence has created the conditions under which taxa with the genes necessary to carry out their steps have evolved in large numbers. These taxa or genes will reconstruct the original interaction patterns when favorable conditions occur. Interaction patterns will vary (for instance by the alteration or addition of intermediates) in ways that affect the likelihood of and circumstances under which such reconstruction occurs. Thus, they vary in fitness, and evolution by natural selection will occur at this level. It is on the persistence, reconstruction, and spread of such interaction patterns that students of holobiosis should concentrate, we suggest. This model also addresses other multi-species collectively beneficial interactions, such as biofilms or biogeochemical cycles maintaining all life.     

Seven new hypselostomatid species from China,including some of the world’s smallest land snails (Gastropoda,Pulmonata, Orthurethra)

Seven new species of Hypselostomatidae are described from the Chinese province Guangxi: Angustopila dominikae Páll-Gergely & Hunyadi, sp. n., Angustopila fabella Páll-Gergely & Hunyadi, sp. n., Angustopila subelevata Páll-Gergely & Hunyadi, sp. n., Angustopila szekeresi Páll-Gergely & Hunyadi, sp. n., Hypselostoma socialis Páll-Gergely & Hunyadi, sp. n., Hypselostoma lacrima Páll-Gergely & Hunyadi, sp. n. and Krobylos sinensis Páll-Gergely & Hunyadi, sp. n. The latter species is reported from three localities. All other new species are known only from the type locality. Specimens nearly identical to the type specimens of Angustopila huoyani Jochum, Slapnik & Páll-Gergely, 2014 were found in a cave in northern Guangxi, 500 km from the type locality. Adult individuals of Angustopila subelevata sp. n. (shell height = 0.83–0.91 mm, mean = 0.87 mm) and Angustopila dominikae sp. n. (shell height of the holotype = 0.86 mm) represent the smallest known members of the Hypselostomatidae, and thus are amongst the smallest land snails ever reported. We note that Pyramidula laosensis Saurin, 1953 might also belong to Krobylos. Paraboysidia neglecta van Benthem Jutting, 1961, which was previously included in Angustopila, is classified in Hypselostoma.