The taxonomy and affinities of Papaver gorgoneum from the Cape Verde Islands

A new subspecies of Papaver gorgoneum , ssp. theresias is described from the Cape Verde Islands, West Africa. A detailed comparison of the 2 subspecies is made and the ecology, the affinities of the species in the genus and the origin are discussed. The chromosome numbers of both subspecies (2n = 38) are reported for the first time and a note on the compatibility system is made.     

Monogamy does not last long in Pontonia mexicana, a symbiotic shrimp of the amber pen-shell Pinna carnea from the southeastern Caribbean Sea

Theory suggests that symbiotic species should be monogamous and form long-lasting heterosexual pairs in/on hosts when inhabiting scarce and small hosts in environments where predation risk away from hosts is high (e.g., tropical subtidal). This prediction was tested with Pontonia mexicana which inhabits the relatively small and scarce amber pen-shell Pinna carnea in the tropical Caribbean. In agreement with theory, P. mexicana were found dwelling as heterosexual pairs in the mantle cavity of pen-shell individuals with more frequency than expected by chance alone. However, additional observations suggested that male-female pairing of P. mexicana does not last long. First, males paired with females that were close to molt and become sexually receptive more frequently than expected by chance alone. In monogamous species in which pairing appears to be long lasting, males occur with females in the same host, independent of the reproductive condition of the female. Second, the body size of paired shrimps was poorly correlated and the relationship between host and shrimp body size was weak. If males and females of P. mexicana were staying within host individuals for long periods of time, a tight correlation between host and shrimp size and between males and females in a pair would have been found. Lastly, sexual dimorphism in terms of cheliped size was evident; males invested considerably more resources to this body structure compared to females. In monogamous species in which pairing appears to be long-term, sexual dimorphism is low or absent given that sexual selection is weak in this mating system. Overall, our data suggests that monogamy in P. mexicana does not last long and that males switch among host individuals in search of receptive females. Manipulative experiments are necessary to understand the conditions favoring short- and long-term monogamy in symbiotic crustaceans.     

Resistance to antibiotics in humans and animals on the Cape Verde Islands

From the Cape Verde Islands no studies are known about an efficient treatment with antibiotics and chemotherapeutics. Because of this human samples and samples of domestic animals were collected, the different bacterias were isolated and the antibiograms were analyzed by agar-diffusions-test. The human samples consisted of wound-, eye-, anal-, vaginal- and throat-smears, the animal samples consisted of jaw-, anal- and wound-smears. the aim of these investigations was to make efficient treatment with antibiotics and chemotherapeutics possible. The best efficacy had Cefotaxim, Gentamicin and Trimethoprim + Sulfonamid. Very poor were Penicillin G, Aminopenicillin and Cephalexin.     

The apid cuckoo bees of the Cape Verde Islands (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

The apid cuckoo bees of the Cape Verde Islands (Republic of Cape Verde) are reviewed and five species recognized, representing two genera. The ammobatine genus Chiasmognathus Engel (Nomadinae: Ammobatini), a specialized lineage of cleptoparasites of nomioidine bees is recorded for the first time. Chiasmognathus batelkaisp. n. is distinguished from mainland African and Asian species. The genus Thyreus Panzer (Apinae: Melectini) is represented by four species - Thyreus denoliisp. n., Thyreus batelkaisp. n., Thyreus schwarzisp. n., and Thyreus aistleitnerisp. n. Previous records of Thyreus scutellaris (Fabricius) from the islands were based on misidentifications.     

Hematozoa in endemic subspecies of common kestrel in the Cape Verde Islands

We examined 130 Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) representing two endemic subspecies and nine resident island populations on the Cape Verde archipelago between 1996 and 1999 to study diversity, prevalence, and intensity of hematozoa. Hematozoan diversity was very low; we detected only Plasmodium fallax, a species that is rarely found in Falconoformes, and, possibly, Haemoproteus brachiatus. Moreover, prevalence of Plasmodium fallax was low (1.5%) with a mean intensity of infection of 0.05 protozoa/10(-3) erythrocytes. Only one bird (0.8%) was infected with a gametocyte that was most likely Haemoproteus brachiatus; the intensity in this infected bird was 1.5 protozoa/10(-3) erythrocytes. A single parasite or two parasites were observed in blood smears in four additional birds, but identification to genus was not possible. This is the first record of blood parasites in birds on the Cape Verde Archipelago. The low prevalence of these parasites might be because of arid and less-favorable conditions for the pathogen's vectors. The sedentary nature and high level of isolation of the island kestrel populations are also factors that could decrease the probability of infection.     

Some notes about nutrition at Praia,Cape Verde

The authors have studied the data relating to a 24 hours pilot inquiry carried out at 49 rural families from the Administrative Community of Praia, Santiago Island. Cape Verde. Their aims were: 1) to know about the consum-ed food; 2) to search out, in quality and quantity, the consumption in calories, proteins and other nutrients; 3) to define the level of satisfaction of the nutritional needs of the mentioned group. The discussion of the results stated the main conclusions: the group of nutriments mostly consumed was the fourth one which is composed by foods rich in carbohydrates and proteins of low valua. In this group the four most important nutriments are: maize, wheat, rice and bean, which represent around 66% of the total weight of them. An acceptable level of satisfaction of the individual average needs per family is achieved for proteins (although the consumption of proteins of vegetable origin is much more important than the consumption of animal proteins), for vitamins B₁ and C and iron. Considering calories and other nutrients (vitamins A, B₂ and PP, and calcium) there are some shortages. The individual average values per family obtained and those recommended by FAO/OMS showed significant differences for calories and nutrients (test ≪t≫ of Student).     

Revision of the genus Diplotaxis (Brassicaceae) in the Cape Verde Islands, W Africa

The genus Diplotaxis (Brassicaceae) in the Cape Verde Islands, W Africa, is revised. Nine taxa are accepted, of which five are described as new: D. antoniensis sp. nov., D. glauca, D. gorgadensis sp. nov., D. gorgadensis ssp. brochmannii ssp. nov., D. gracilis, D. hirta, D. sundingii sp. nov., D. varia sp. nov., and D. vogelii . All species are suffruticose, yellow-flowered perennials and belong to sect. Catocarpum . The species are endemic to the Cape Verde Islands, but show morphological and karyolog-ical affinity to the N African and Mediterranean D. harra s. lat. Analyses of morphological variation in 90 populations (400 plants) revealed a complex pattern, in particular in vegetative characters, most likely evolved by parallel ecogeographical differentiation in different islands. The chromosome number is 2n = 26 (n = 13) in the five taxa investigated. Self-pollination experiments indicate that the species are self-incompatible and outcrossing. Experimental F₁ hybrids with full seed set after open pollination were obtained in 30 interspecific combinations, and the taxa are considered fully interfertile. The taxa are thus isolated mainly by geographical and partly by ecological barriers and have evolved by vicariant evolution (most islands) and adaptive radiation (one island).     

Biochemical Indices and Life Traits of Loggerhead Turtles (Caretta caretta) from Cape Verde Islands

The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is an endangered marine reptile for whom assessing population health requires knowledge of demographic parameters such as individual growth rate. In Cape Verde, as within several populations, adult female loggerhead sea turtles show a size-related behavioral and trophic dichotomy. While smaller females are associated with oceanic habitats, larger females tend to feed in neritic habitats, which is reflected in their physiological condition and in their offspring. The ratio of RNA/DNA provides a measure of cellular protein synthesis capacity, which varies depending on changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and food availability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined use of morphometric data and biochemical indices as predictors of the physiological condition of the females of distinct sizes and hatchlings during their nesting season and how temperature may influence the physiological condition on the offspring. Here we employed biochemical indices based on nucleic acid derived indices (standardized RNA/DNA ratio-sRD, RNA concentration and DNA concentration) in skin tissue as a potential predictor of recent growth rate in nesting females and hatchling loggerhead turtles. Our major findings were that the physiological condition of all nesting females (sRD) decreased during the nesting season, but that females associated with neritic habitats had a higher physiological condition than females associated with oceanic habitats. In addition, the amount of time required for a hatchling to right itself was negatively correlated with its physiological condition (sRD) and shaded nests produced hatchlings with lower sRD. Overall, our results showed that nucleic acid concentrations and ratios of RNA to DNA are an important tool as potential biomarkers of recent growth in marine turtles. Hence, as biochemical indices of instantaneous growth are likely temperature-, size- and age-dependent, the utility and validation of these indices on marine turtles stocks deserves further study.     

Population structure and conservation implications for the loggerhead sea turtle of the Cape Verde Islands

The Cape Verde Islands harbour the second largest nesting aggregation of the globally endangered loggerhead sea turtle in the Atlantic. To characterize the unknown genetic structure, connectivity, and demographic history of this population, we sequenced a segment of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA control region (380 bp, n = 186) and genotyped 12 microsatellite loci (n = 128) in females nesting at three islands of Cape Verde. No genetic differentiation in either haplotype or allele frequencies was found among the islands (mtDNA F _ST = 0.001, P > 0.02; nDNA F _ST = 0.001, P > 0.126). However, population pairwise comparisons of the mtDNA data revealed significant differences between Cape Verde and all previously sequenced Atlantic and Mediterranean rookeries (F _ST = 0.745; P < 0.000). Results of a mixed stock analysis of mtDNA data from 10 published oceanic feeding grounds showed that feeding grounds of the Madeira, Azores, and the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, and Gimnesies, Pitiüses, and Andalusia, in the Mediterranean sea, are feeding grounds used by turtles born in Cape Verde, but that about 43% (±19%) of Cape Verde juveniles disperse to unknown areas. In a subset of samples (n = 145) we evaluated the utility of a longer segment (~760 bp) amplified by recently designed mtDNA control region primers for assessing the genetic structure of Atlantic loggerhead turtles. The analysis of the longer fragment revealed more variants overall than in the shorter segments. The genetic data presented here are likely to improve assignment and population genetic analyses, with significant conservation and research applications.     

Notes on the genus Thamnobryum in Macaronesia (excluding the Cape Verde Islands)

Abstract

The genus Thamnobryum is reviewed from Macaronesia (excludingthe Cape Verde Islands). In this area there are three species, T. alopecurum (Hedw.) Gang., T. maderense (Kindb.) Hedenäs, comb. nov. and T. fernandesii C. Sérgio. T. fernandesii is only known from Madeira; the other two also occur on the Canary Islands and the Azores. Thamnobryum canariense (Ren. & Card.) Long is transferred to Isothecium, as I. atlanticum Hedenäs, comb. et nom. nov.     

Parallel ecoclinal evolution and taxonomy of F'rankenia (Frankeniaceae) in the Cape Verde Islands, W Africa

One species, the Macaronesian and N African Frankenia ericifolia , with three subspecies is recognized in the Cape Verde Islands: ssp. ericifolia (a coastal, xerophytic ecotype), ssp. caboverdeana ssp. nov. (a coastal, mesophytic ecotype), and ssp. montana ssp. nov. (a montane, hygrophytic ecotype). Subspecies caboverdeana and ssp. montana are endemic to the Cape Verde Islands. In addition, ssp. latifolia comb. et stat. nov. is tentatively recognized as endemic to the Canary Islands. Reproductive data suggest that the Capeverdean plants are self-compatible but mainly outcrossing. Mor-phometric analyses of field-collected material and progeny families cultivated under uniform conditions demonstrate that there is genetically based, clinal morphological variation connecting ssp. ericifolia and ssp. caboverdeana in several coastal areas that vary in humidity conditions because of varying exposures to the trade wind. Clinal variation was observed in leaf-, calyx-, petal-, and seed characters, probably caused by one or a few genetic factors that control organ size and are subjected to differential selection with respect to drought tolerance. The variation in progeny families derived from morphologically intermediate parents was no higher than the variation in progeny families derived from parents belonging to the "pure" subspecies. It is thus likely that the clinal variation is caused by primary evolution along continuous humidity gradients rather than hybridization. The existence of similar ecoclines in different islands and the potentially simple genetic basis of such clinality suggest that ssp. caboverdeana has evolved several times in mesic environments from xerophytic, ericifolia-like ancestors.     

On the drinking water situation on the Cape Verde Islands (Island of Santiago)

On the Cape Verde Islands drinking water investigations were made. The drinking water was tested in chemical and bacteriological respects as well as on amebas and rotaviruses. The isolated germs were investigated on their reaction against several antibiotics and chemotherapeutics by means of the agar diffusion test. The changing of drinking water quality from water-supply-places to the households was investigated as well. According to the fact, that only 10.6% of 207 public water supplies investigated show drinking water quality after ONORM, and that nearly 30% and 80.2% of them contained E. coli and coliforme germs respectively, the urgency of extensive sanitations of water supplies on the Cape Verde Islands is evident.     

XXIV.—Further Notes on the Ornithology of the Cape Verde Islands.

The following observations are the result of a second visit to the Cape Verde Islands in October 1897. Before giving them, however, I should like to withdraw two suppositions made in my previous paper ( suprà , pp. 74–118).     

An integrative taxonomic revision of the Tarentola geckos (Squamata,Phyllodactylidae) of the Cape Verde Islands

Recent phylogeographical analyses using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences indicate that the Tarentola geckos from the Cape Verde archipelago originated from a propagule that dispersed from the Canary Islands approximately 7.7 Mya and that underwent a fast evolutionary radiation. Molecular analyses carried out to date clearly show some incongruences with the current taxonomy of Tarentola from the Cape Verde Islands, with some species being paraphyletic or polyphyletic, and several independently evolving lineages needing formal taxonomic recognition. The aim of this study was to clarify the systematics of this group to unravel its taxonomy by applying an integrative approach based on information from three independent sources: mtDNA, nuclear genes, and morphology. As a result of this taxonomic revision, two novel species for the islands of S. Nicolau and Fogo are described and eight subspecies are upgraded to species level. Moreover, an identification key for the genus Tarentola from the Cape Verde archipelago is presented. This study reconciles taxonomy and phylogeny in this group, provides a better understanding of diversity patterns, new insights on evolutionary hypotheses, and supports the basic framework for the future management and conservation of this unique reptile radiation. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 164 , 328–360.     

Internal and External Influences on Near-Surface Microbial Community Structure in the Vicinity of the Cape Verde Islands

Microbial community structure in the subtropical north-east Atlantic Ocean was compared between 2 years and variation attributed to environmental variables. Surface seawater communities were analysed by flow cytometry and fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Probes specific to Alphaproteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes identified 67–100% of cells. Due to natural variation in the study region due to the occurrence of major currents and islands, data could not be pooled but were instead divided between distinct water masses. Community structure did not differ greatly around the Cape Verde Islands between sampling periods but varied substantially in the open ocean, suggesting different environmental perturbations favour specific bacterial groups. Wind speed varied significantly between years, with moderate to strong breeze in winter 2008 and gales in winter 2006 (8.9 ± 0.2 ms⁻¹ and 16.0 ± 0.4 ms⁻¹, respectively). Enhanced wind-driven turbulence was associated with domination by the SAR11 clade of Alphaproteobacteria, which were present at 2.4-fold in the abundance of Prochlorococcus (41.8 ± 1.6% cells, compared to 17.7 ± 7.1%). Conversely, the calmer conditions of 2008 seemed to favour Prochlorococcus (40.0 ± 1.2% cells). Prochlorococcus high-light adapted clade HLI were only numerous during wind-driven turbulence, whereas oligotrophic-adapted clade HLII dominated under calm conditions. Bacteroidetes were most prominent in turbulent conditions (9.5 ± 1.3% cells as opposed to 4.7 ± 0.3%), as were Synechococcus. In 2008, a considerable dust deposition event occurred in the region, which may have led to the substantial Gammaproteobacteria population (22.5 ± 4.0% cells compared to 4.6 ± 0.6% in 2006). Wind-driven turbulence may have a significant impact on microbial community structure in the surface ocean. Therefore, community change following dust storm events may be linked to associated wind in addition to dust-derived nutrients.     

云南华米虾属一新种(十足目:真虾次目:匙指虾科)

报道中国横断山区华山虾属一新种,即永胜华米虾Sinodina yongshengica sp.nov.,对其形态特征作了详细描述,并与近似种进行了比较。