Estimating changes in species abundance from occupancy and aggregation

Predicting the change in abundance is pivotal for evaluating species’ current conservation status and population viability. Empirical works have suggested that species with an increasing abundance have a more aggregated distribution than those with a declining abundance (namely, the change-aggregation hypothesis, CAH). Here we introduced an improved negative binomial distribution model of the occupancy-abundance relationship (OAR) to estimate the change in abundance from changes in occupancy or aggregation. Analysis of the model suggests that (i) in general the change in abundance is synchronized with the change in occupancy when the level of environmental heterogeneity remains constant, and (ii) there could exist a threshold of the population density above which the CAH is no longer valid. Tests using data of epigaeic ants in Fynbos of South Africa collected from different seasons and macro-invertebrates from different localities in streams of central Spain verified these model propositions and thus support the use of this model as a monitoring method for assessing species persistence. Results suggest that the change in abundance can be estimated from the change in occupancy often obtained from cost-efficient presence-absence records, and a revision of the traditional CAH is necessary to capture the threshold phenomenon in the change-aggregation relationship. This work thus signifies the use of the three distinct but related concepts of population structure (i.e. occupancy, abundance and aggregation) in conservation biology.     

The Southern Oscillation and variations in waterfowl abundance in southeastern Australia

Mean sizes of duck hunters’ bags on the opening days of annual waterfowl seasons at selected wetlands in southeastern Australia, between 1972 and 1990, are correlated with an index of the Southern Oscillation (SOI). Simple correlations exist between bag sizes at the various sites, and the mean bag size in Victoria shows a positive relationship with that obtained at Barrenbox Swamp, New South Wales. Bag sizes are most significantly correlated with monthly SOI some 25–28 months before the eventual start of an open season. Interannual variations in rainfall in eastern Australia are generated by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, which is monitored by the SOI, and the waterfowl populations respond to changing water and wetland availability. Accepting that annual bag sizes represent an index of waterfowl abundance, the regional population size may be related to climatic events associated with changes in SOI values. Further consideration of the SOI and indices of waterfowl abundance may allow variations in legislative or management options well in advance of individual open seasons.     

福建省蝴蝶新记录

本文通过对近年在福建各地采集的蝴蝶标本整理鉴定,报道了福建省蝴蝶新记录12种,其中环蝶科1种,眼蝶科3种,蛱蝶科2种,灰蝶科3种,弄蝶科3种。新记录种分别为：白袖箭环蝶Stichophthalma louisa Wood—Mason,边纹黛眼蝶如．the marginolis Motschulsky,细黛眼蝶Lethesidereal Marshall,褐眉眼蝶Mycalesis unicaLeech,中华葩蛱蝶Patsuia sinensis（Oberthur）,白斑俳蛱蝶Parasarpa aIbomaculata（Leech）,奇娆灰蝶Arhopala comicadleNiceville,小珀灰蝶Pratapa icetas（Hewitson）,浙江生灰蝶Sinthusa zhejiangensis Yoshino,梳翅弄蝶Ctenoptilum vasava（Moore）,滚边裙弄蝶Tagiades cohaerens（MabiHe）及光荣肿脉弄蝶Zographetus doxusEliot。     

Increasing abundance of bowhead whales in West Greenland

In April 2006, a dedicated survey of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) was conducted on the former whaling ground in West Greenland to determine the current wintering population abundance. This effort included a double platform aerial survey design, satellite tracking of the movements of nine whales, and estimation of high-resolution surface time from 14 whales instrumented with time-depth recorders. Bowhead whales were estimated to spend an average of 24% (cv=0.03) of the time at or above 2m depth, the maximum depth at which they can be seen on the trackline. This resulted in a fully corrected abundance estimate of 1229 (95% CI: 495-2939) bowhead whales when the availability factor was applied and sightings missed by observers were corrected. This surprisingly large population estimate is puzzling given that the change in abundance cannot be explained by a recent or rapid growth in population size. One possible explanation is that the population, which demonstrates high age and sex segregation, has recently attained a certain threshold size elsewhere, and a higher abundance of mature females appears on the winter and spring feeding ground in West Greenland. This in combination with the latest severe reduction in sea ice facilitating access to coastal areas might explain the surprising increase in bowhead whale abundance in West Greenland.     

福建省蝴蝶新记录及新订正种

本报道福建省新记录及新订正蝴蝶11种,记叙它们的形态特征、采集地、采集生境及采集时间。     

广西5种被子植物分布新记录

By means of field investigation, specimen identification and related literatures, five species belonging to five genera in three families of angiosperms were identified as new records in Southwest of Guangxi, viz. Whytockia hekouensis Y. Z. Wang, Aeschynanthus chiritoides C. B. Clarke, Petrocodon insliifolius W. H. Chen et Y. M. Shui, Alseodaphne marlipoensis ( H. W. Li) H. W. Li and Cheirostylis malipoensis X. H. Jin et S. C. Chen. Voucher specimens are deposited in Herbarium of Guangxi Institute of Botany ( IBK) .     

New species and records of cercosporoid hyphomycetes from Panama

Cercosporoid hyphomycetes on living leaves of plants were collected in Panama, identified, described, and illustrated. Newly described species are Passalora guraniae from Gurania sp. (Cucurbitaceae), Pseudocercospora arrabidaeae from Arrabidaea cf. candicans (Bignoniaceae), Pseudocercospora hymenaeae from Hymenaea courbaril (Caesalpinioideae/Fabaceae), Pseudocercospora solandrae from Solandra sp. (Solanaceae), and Verrucisporota struthanthicola from Struthanthus sp. (Loranthaceae). New reports for Panama are Cercospora glauciana from a new host plant genus (Rhynchospora, Cyperaceae), Pseudocercospora acalyphicola from a new host plant species (Acalypha macrostachya, Euphorbiaceae), Pseudocercospora cecropiae, Pseudocercospora cecropiicola, Pseudocercospora cecropiigena, Pseudocercospora mirandensis, and Ramularia rubella.     

长江口水域鱼卵、仔稚鱼种类组成和数量的分布与变化

根据2005年4和11月、2006年4和9月在长江河口水域进行的鱼卵、仔稚鱼种类和数量调查,并结合1990年9月和1991年3月的历史数据,对该水域的鱼卵、仔稚鱼群落结构的种类组成和数量的季节变化作了研究,其结果共发现鱼卵、仔稚鱼36种(类),以海洋鱼类种类最多。秋季航次鱼卵、仔稚鱼的平均种类数和丰度均高于春季。河口咸淡水区鱼卵总数显著高于淡水区,而仔稚鱼总数略低于淡水区。与1990—1991年数据相比,2005—2006年春、秋季的鱼卵和仔稚鱼丰度均有所增加。1990、2006年秋季(9月)鱼卵、仔稚鱼种类组成差异较大,特别是翘嘴红鲌和太湖新银鱼丰度差异较大。这些都说明近20年来,长江河口水域鱼卵、仔稚鱼种类组成和数量均发生了明显的改变。     

New records of thrips (Thysanoptera) species in Brazil

This study reports four thrips species from Brazil for the first time: the terebrantians Aptinothrips rufus (Haliday) and Echinothrips caribbeanus Hood; and the tubuliferans Androthrips ramachandrai Karny and Gynaikothrips uzeli (Zimmermann). New data about biological aspects of some of these new records are presented.     

New species and new records of smut fungi from China

This paper deals with six species of smut fungi which were collected in the provinces Yunnan and Gansu in China. Among them, Anthracoidea yunnanensis and Entorrhiza guttiformis are new species. Sporisorium andropogonis-annulati, which is a new combination, Sporisorium montaniensis, Urocystis pseudoanemones, and Ustilago griffithsii are new records for China.     

Satellite tracking of ringed seals Phoca hispida off northwest Greenland

We monitored movements and haul-out patterns of four ringed seals Phoca hispida , off Northwest Greenland between 5 June and 31 October 1988 using the Argos Data Collection and Location System When the seals were hauled out on fast ice their locations were accurately determined, but when they were at sea, few accurate locations were obtained, evidently because these seals spent little time at the surface between dives The seals remained within the fjord where they were tagged, and hauled out often to early July Thereafter, as fast-ice disappeared, they dispersed widely and spent less time hauled out Time of day had no significant effect on haul-out patterns Haul-out periods declined significantly from June to August and increased in September-October Satellite contact with one seal was lost after 16 d while the seal was still in the fjord in late June One seal travelled over 200 km southwest and was located 4 July in offshore waters of Smith Sound 30 d after instrumentation Another seal moved southeast along the Greenland coast where contact was lost after 49 d on 23 July The fourth seal moved north along the Greenland coast, hauled out regularly on ice, and returned south along the coast in late September and October after 181 d of contact with the satellite     

New species and records of Laboulbeniales from the subantarctic islands of New Zealand

Until now Rhachomyces kenodactyli Balazuc & W. Rossi has been the only species of Laboulbeniales known to occur on Coleoptera in the Bounty, Antipodes, Auckland, Campbell and Snares Islands, which lie 48° to 35° S. Four new species (Diphymyces depressus, Diphymyces leschenii, Laboulbenia subantarctica and Laboulbenia loxomeri) and five new records for the subantarctic (Cucujomyces phycophilus, Diphymyces penicillifer, Laboulbenia sp. 1, Rhachomyces sp. 1 and Teratomyces sp. 1) are reported, increasing the known number of taxa tenfold. An expanded geographic range for Rhachomyces kenodactyli is reported. A relatively high percentage (12%) of known beetle species in the subantarctic serve as hosts for Laboulbeniales. This host utilization rate is higher than that in tropical and north temperate regions. The high proportion of intertidal coleopteran taxa in the subantarctic fauna probably accounts for the greater number of host species utilized. Fungi on intertidal beetles (Omaliinae [Staphylinidae], Oopterus [Carabidae] and Kenodactylus audouini [Carabidae]) are known from many host individuals and collections, while those on terrestrial species are known from few, and in some cases, a single collection or host. The sporadic occurrence of some species encountered increases the likelihood that a few species of Laboulbeniales on Coleoptera probably remain undiscovered in the region.     

New records of ant species from Yunnan,China

As with many other regions of the world, significant collecting, curation, and taxonomic efforts will be needed to complete the inventory of China’s ant fauna. This is especially true for the highly diverse tropical regions in the south of the country, where moist tropical forests harbor high species richness typical of the Southeast Asian region. We inventoried ants in the Xingshuangbanna prefecture, Yunnan, in June 2013, using a variety of methods including Winkler extraction and hand collection to sample ant diversity. We identified 213 species/morphospecies of ants from 10 subfamilies and 61 genera. After identification of 148 valid species of the 213 total species collected, 40 species represent new records for Yunnan province and 17 species are newly recorded for China. This increases the total number of named ant species in Yunnan and China to 447 and 951 respectively. The most common species collected were Brachyponera luteipes and Vollenhovia emeryi. Only one confirmed exotic species Strumigenys membranifera, was collected, although several others were potentially introduced by humans. These results highlight the high biodiversity value of the region, but also underscore how much work remains to fully document the native myrmecofauna.     

福建省4种兰科植物分布新记录

兰科( Orchidaceae)植物是一类特殊且具有较高研究价值的植物类群[1],物种数量多、生活型多样且进化水平高,中国分布有兰科植物194属1388余种[2]1,是单子叶植物中种类数量最多的一个科;同时,野生兰又是受威胁最为严重的类群之一,全部种类都被列入《野生动植物濒危物种国际贸易公约》,约占该公约涵盖的保护植物数量的90%以上,是名副其实的保护植物中的“旗舰”类群[3]。     

New species and records of West Indian Alleculidae (Coleoptera)

Lobopoda wittmeri n. sp. is described from the Dominican Republic; the male of L. notapuncta Campbell is described for the first time. Lobopoda haitensis, L. notapuncta, and Hymenorus haitius previously known only from Haiti are reported from the Dominican Republic; Allecula ramosi previously known from Puerto Rico is also reported from the Dominican Republic. Hymenorus convexus and H. jamaicensis known previously from the Bahama Islands and Cuba and from Jamaica respectively are reported for the first time from the Cayman Islands.

A key is presented to aid in identification of the Alleculidae of the Cayman Islands and Hispaniola.