Dispersal Ability Determines the Role of Environmental,Spatial and Temporal Drivers of Metacommunity Structure

Recently, community ecologists are focusing on the relative importance of local environmental factors and proxies to dispersal limitation to explain spatial variation in community structure. Albeit less explored, temporal processes may also be important in explaining species composition variation in metacommunities occupying dynamic systems. We aimed to evaluate the relative role of environmental, spatial and temporal variables on the metacommunity structure of different organism groups in the Upper Paraná River floodplain (Brazil). We used data on macrophytes, fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, periphyton, and phytoplankton collected in up to 36 habitats during a total of eight sampling campaigns over two years. According to variation partitioning results, the importance of predictors varied among biological groups. Spatial predictors were particularly important for organisms with comparatively lower dispersal ability, such as aquatic macrophytes and fish. On the other hand, environmental predictors were particularly important for organisms with high dispersal ability, such as microalgae, indicating the importance of species sorting processes in shaping the community structure of these organisms. The importance of watercourse distances increased when spatial variables were the main predictors of metacommunity structure. The contribution of temporal predictors was low. Our results emphasize the strength of a trait-based analysis and of better defining spatial variables. More importantly, they supported the view that “all-or- nothing” interpretations on the mechanisms structuring metacommunities are rather the exception than the rule.     

The Potential Distance of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Dispersal by Mallard, Common Teal and Eurasian Pochard

Waterbirds represent the major natural reservoir for low pathogenic (LP) avian influenza viruses (AIV). Among the wide diversity of subtypes that have been described, two of them (H5 and H7) may become highly pathogenic (HP) after their introduction into domestic bird populations and cause severe outbreaks, as is the case for HP H5N1 in South-Eastern Asia. Recent experimental studies demonstrated that HP H5N1 AIV infection in ducks does not necessarily have significant pathological effects. These results suggest that wild migratory ducks may asymptomatically carry HP AIV and potentially spread viruses over large geographical distances. In this study, we investigated the potential spreading distance of HP AIV by common teal (Anas crecca), mallard (A. platyrhynchos), and Eurasian pochard (Aythya ferina). Based on capture-mark-recapture method, we characterized their wintering movements from a western Mediterranean wetland (Camargue, South of France) and identified the potential distance and direction of virus dispersal. Such data may be crucial in determining higher-risk areas in the case of HP AIV infection detection in this major wintering quarter, and may serve as a valuable reference for virus outbreaks elsewhere.     

Using Marine Snails to Teach Biogeography and Macroevolution: The Role of Larvae and Dispersal Ability in the Evolution and Persistence of Species

While some marine animals are capable of traveling great distances, many have limited mobility as adults and spend the majority of their lifetimes in a small geographical area or may even be cemented to a single place. While it might be expected that species with limited mobility would have small geographic distributions, some nevertheless occur over very large areas. This is the case for some marine snails (gastropods). A key factor that impacts the geographic distribution of marine snails is the type of larvae they have during the phase of their life history that follows hatching from an egg. Because adult snails do not typically travel vast distances, the mobility of the larval stage determines the species?? ability to reach new territories. Some larvae are capable of long-distance travel, while others are not. An important component of the process of speciation involves geographic isolation, so the type of larvae a snail species possesses impacts the likelihood that it will become geographically isolated and give rise to a new species. Larval form also affects how long snail species will persist on geological timescales before going extinct, as well as rates of speciation. This paper briefly reviews the evolutionary consequences of different types of larval development in marine gastropods (especially cone snails, which are one of the most diverse groups of marine animals), particularly in determining the dispersal ability and geographic ranges of individual species, the amount of genetic exchange among populations within species, and the duration of species through time. The goal of this short review is to provide context and examples for classroom discussions of the connections between biogeography and macroevolution. Furthermore, a classroom activity is presented that involves students?? using information about snail life history and biogeography to develop research plans (and predicted results) that could be utilized to test (i.e., support or reject) several macroevolutionary hypotheses.     

Seed Size, Fruit Size, and Dispersal Systems in Angiosperms from the Early Cretaceous to the Late Tertiary

Fossil data from 25 angiosperm floras from the Early Cretaceous ( approximately 124 million years ago) to the Pliocene ( approximately 2 million years ago) were compiled to estimate sizes of seeds and fruits and the relative proportion of two different seed-dispersal systems by animals and by wind. The results suggest that, first, seed and fruit sizes were generally small during most of the Cretaceous, in agreement with previous suggestions, but the trend of increasing sizes started before the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary; second, there was a decrease in both seed and fruit sizes during late Eocene and Oligocene, reaching a level that has continued to the Late Tertiary; third, the fraction of animal dispersal was, in contrast to previous suggestions, rather high also during the Cretaceous but increased drastically in the Early Tertiary and declined congruently with the declining seed and fruit sizes from the late Eocene; and fourth, the fraction of wind dispersal showed a bimodal pattern, being high in the Late Cretaceous and in the Oligocene-Miocene but with a drop in between. We find that the observed trends are only weakly related to the availability of animal fruit dispersers. Instead, the trends are congruent with a climate-driven change in environmental conditions for recruitment, where larger seeds are favored by closed forest vegetation. The prevalence of semiopen, dry, and probably herbivore-disturbed vegetation during the Cretaceous, the development of closed multistratal forests in the Eocene, and the later development of a more open vegetation and grasslands starting in the Oligocene-Miocene, are reflected in the distribution of angiosperm seed and fruit sizes and in the dispersal systems.     

Survival, Gap Formation, and Recovery Dynamics in Grassland Ecosystems Exposed to Heat Extremes: The Role of Species Richness

A field experiment was performed in which the richness of perennial grasses (S) was varied in model ecosystems exposed to a simulated heat wave (free air temperature increase and drought). The proportion of individuals that survived the heat wave decreased with S, which could be ascribed to higher water consumption in the species-rich systems. Higher transpiration at high diversity was also observed in other studies using functional groups and could have originated from increased leaf area, less intense stomatal closure, or a combination of both. The increased tiller number per plant that we observed, while leaf area per tiller remained constant, suggests that an enhanced leaf area index was most likely responsible. However, competitive interactions also seemed to play a role in the influence of S on survival. Regrowth of the surviving individuals, expressed as leaf area per living plant after a recovery period following the heat wave, increased with S, most likely due to the dominance of productive species, which was facilitated by the additional space yielded by more intense gap formation at higher S (due to higher plant mortality). Species richness affected both the size and density of the gaps. Mean size increased exponentially with S, while density increased at low S but decreased at higher S when connectance of the gaps occurred. Size distribution of the gaps was not affected. Received 18 January 2000; accepted 31 May 2001.     

Seed Dispersal by Salvin's Curassow,Mitu salvini (Cracidae), in a Tropical Forest of Colombia: Direct Measurements of Dispersal Distance1

Seed dispersal by Salvin's curassows (Mitu salvini) was studied in a lowland tropical forest at La Macarena on the border of the Macarena and Tinigua National Parks, the Department of Meta, Colombia. Continuous observations were made on the feeding and ranging behavior of a well-habituated pair of birds from 0600 to 1800 h for 19 days. Ibtal observation time was 222 h. The daily distance traveled by the birds ranged from 630 to 3750 m, with a mean of 1959 m (± 776 m). The total home range was ca 34.4 ha. Although curassows were observed consuming fruits of 13 species belonging to the families Rubiaceae, Meliaceae, Moraceae, Burseraceae, Leguminosae, and Lecythidaceae, only seeds of Geophila re fens (Rubiaceae) and Picas spbenophylla (Moraceae) were found in their feces. For G. repens, the mean and maximum retention times were 1 h 52 min (± 1 h 20 min) and 6 h 08 min, and the mean and maximum direct dispersal distances were 245 m (± 164 m) and 633 m. More than half the seeds were dispersed in canopy gaps. For F. sphenophylla, the mean and maximum retention times were 3 h 1 5 mm (± .37 min) and 7 h 08 min, and the mean and maximum direct dispersal distances were 329 m (± 46 m) and 451 m. Nearly 60 percent of the estimated seed intake of G. repens and 92-94 percent of F. sphenophylla were digested or damaged. The retention times and the dispersal distances for Streptogyna americana, which has adhesive burrs, were also measured. The mean and maximum retention times were 1 h 55 min (± 1 h 56 min) and 9 h 11 min, and the mean and maximum direct dispersal distances were 128 m (± 68 m) and 280 m. This is the first study in which direct measurements were made for retention times and dispersal distances of the epizoochory and endozoochory for birds in the field.     

Long-Term Nitrogen Addition Leads to Loss of Species Richness Due to Litter Accumulation and Soil Acidification in a Temperate Steppe

Background

Although community structure and species richness are known to respond to nitrogen fertilization dramatically, little is known about the mechanisms underlying specific species replacement and richness loss. In an experiment in semiarid temperate steppe of China, manipulative N addition with five treatments was conducted to evaluate the effect of N addition on the community structure and species richness.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Species richness and biomass of community in each plot were investigated in a randomly selected quadrat. Root element, available and total phosphorus (AP, TP) in rhizospheric soil, and soil moisture, pH, AP, TP and inorganic N in the soil were measured. The relationship between species richness and the measured factors was analyzed using bivariate correlations and stepwise multiple linear regressions. The two dominant species, a shrub Artemisia frigida and a grass Stipa krylovii, responded differently to N addition such that the former was gradually replaced by the latter. S. krylovii and A. frigida had highly-branched fibrous and un-branched tap root systems, respectively. S. krylovii had higher height than A. frigida in both control and N added plots. These differences may contribute to the observed species replacement. In addition, the analysis on root element and AP contents in rhizospheric soil suggests that different calcium acquisition strategies, and phosphorus and sodium responses of the two species may account for the replacement. Species richness was significantly reduced along the five N addition levels. Our results revealed a significant relationship between species richness and soil pH, litter amount, soil moisture, AP concentration and inorganic N concentration.

Conclusions/Significance

Our results indicate that litter accumulation and soil acidification accounted for 52.3% and 43.3% of the variation in species richness, respectively. These findings would advance our knowledge on the changes in species richness in semiarid temperate steppe of northern China under N deposition scenario.     

Sex-Linked Inheritance in Macaque Monkeys: Implications for Effective Population Size and Dispersal to Sulawesi

Sex-specific differences in dispersal, survival, reproductive success, and natural selection differentially affect the effective population size (N_e) of genomic regions with different modes of inheritance such as sex chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA. In papionin monkeys (macaques, baboons, geladas, mandrills, drills, and mangabeys), for example, these factors are expected to reduce N_e of paternally inherited portions of the genome compared to maternally inherited portions. To explore this further, we quantified relative N_e of autosomal DNA, X and Y chromosomes, and mitochondrial DNA using molecular polymorphism and divergence information from pigtail macaque monkeys (Macaca nemestrina). Consistent with demographic expectations, we found that N_e of the Y is lower than expected from a Wright–Fisher idealized population with an equal proportion of males and females, whereas N_e of mitochondrial DNA is higher. However, N_e of 11 loci on the X chromosome was lower than expected, a finding that could be explained by pervasive hitchhiking effects on this chromosome. We evaluated the fit of these data to various models involving natural selection or sex-biased demography. Significant support was recovered for natural selection acting on the Y chromosome. A demographic model with a skewed sex ratio was more likely than one with sex-biased migration and explained the data about as well as an ideal model without sex-biased demography. We then incorporated these results into an evaluation of macaque divergence and migration on Borneo and Sulawesi islands. One X-linked locus was not monophyletic on Sulawesi, but multilocus data analyzed in a coalescent framework failed to reject a model without migration between these islands after both were colonized.THE effective size of a population (N_e) determines the relative impact of genetic drift and natural selection on mutations with mild effects on fitness (Charlesworth 2009). Differences in N_e are hypothesized to affect virtually every aspect of genome evolution, including rates of molecular evolution, abundance of introns and transposable elements, and persistence of duplicate genes, and this has important implications for the evolution of complexity via both adaptive and degenerative processes (Lynch 2007). Of relevance are not only the number of different individuals in a population, but also the number of copies of a gene within each individual. In diploid species with separate sexes, sex chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) differ in copy number from autosomal DNA (aDNA): both sexes have two alleles at autosomal loci whereas in species with male heterogamy, males have one X and one Y chromosome, females have two Xs, and a female/male pair has effectively only one copy of mtDNA due to maternal inheritance. Sex-specific differences in demographic parameters such as migration, adult sex ratio, and variance in reproductive success also affect relative copy number and associated levels of neutral polymorphism at mtDNA, aDNA, the X chromosome (xDNA), and the Y chromosome (yDNA) (Hedrick 2007).The effective population size is the number of individuals in a Wright–Fisher idealized population (Fisher 1930; Wright 1931) that have the same magnitude of genetic drift as an observed population, where ideal individuals are diploid, and have discrete (nonoverlapping) generations, constant population size, and random mating. N_e can be quantified in terms of variance in allele frequency over generations (variance N_e) or variance in inbreeding over time (inbreeding N_e). If population size is constant with random mating, these approaches for quantifying N_e produce identical results (Kimura and Crow 1963; Whitlock and Barton 1997). At mutation–drift equilibrium with an equal number of males and females and a Poisson distributed number of offspring with a mean of two offspring per individual, N_e-aDNA and N_e-xDNA are expected to be four and three times as large, respectively, as N_e-yDNA and N_e-mtDNA; we refer to this as the “ideal expectation with an equal proportion of males and females.”Demography can alter relationships between N_e of different parts of the genome. For example, extreme skew in adult sex ratio can cause N_e of uniparentally inherited portions of the genome to exceed N_e of biparentally inherited portions (Figure 1A; Nunney 1993; Caballero 1994; Hoelzer 1997; Hedrick 2007). With a skewed sex ratio, the more common sex has a higher variance in reproductive success than the rare one, and this causes the overall variance in reproductive success to increase as the sex-ratio bias increases (Nunney 1993). Sex-biased dispersal such as female philopatry also alters relationships between N_e-aDNA, N_e-xDNA, N_e-yDNA, and N_e-mtDNA (Figure 1B), causing N_e of portions of the genome that disperse less to increase (Nei and Takahata 1993; Hoelzer 1997; Wang and Caballero 1999).Open in a separate windowFigure 1.—N_e of aDNA, xDNA, mtDNA, and yDNA as a function of (A) sex ratio skew and (B) the probability of female dispersal. In B, a finite island model of subdivided populations of constant size is assumed with a population size of 10,000 individuals, 10 subpopulations, and a male probability of migration equal to 0.1.At least five factors related to natural selection also can cause the relative N_e of aDNA, xDNA, yDNA, and mtDNA to depart from expectations: (1) very low or absent recombination in mtDNA and a portion of yDNA, (2) haploidy of mtDNA and yDNA, (3) hemizygosity of xDNA in males, (4) sexual selection and differences in gene content, and (5) differences in the rate and variance of mutation. “Selective sweeps” in which an advantageous mutation is fixed by natural selection, reduces N_e of linked sites (Maynard Smith and Haigh 1974) and this can affect the entire mitochondrial genome and nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome. Nonrecombining portions of yDNA and mtDNA are also affected by stochastic loss of alleles containing the fewest deleterious mutations (“Muller''s ratchet”; Muller 1964; Felsenstein 1974), which results in a gradual decline of fitness of these chromosomes over time. N_e of nonrecombining DNA is further reduced by elimination of variation linked to substantially deleterious mutations (“background selection”; Charlesworth et al. 1993), by interference between linked polymorphisms that impedes fixation of advantageous alleles and extinction of deleterious ones (the “Hill–Robertson effect”; Hill and Robertson 1966; McVean and Charlesworth 2000), and by increased frequency of deleterious mutations linked to advantageous ones during a selective sweep (“genetic hitchhiking”; Rice 1987). Hemizygous X-linked and haploid Y-linked loci in males and mtDNA loci in both sexes are more vulnerable to recessive deleterious mutations because they are not masked by a second allele (Otto and Goldstein 1992). Hemizygosity on the X chromosome can also increase the rate of selective sweeps when advantageous mutations are recessive (Charlesworth et al. 1987). Similarly, these loci are also susceptible to recessive species incompatibilities—a factor that at least partially accounts for Haldane''s rule for hybrid sterility (Haldane 1922; Orr 1997). Sexual selection differentially influences the probability of fixation of mutations depending on mode of inheritance (Wade and Shuster 2004), especially mutations with antagonistic fitness effects between the sexes (Gibson et al. 2002). Additionally, the rate of evolution of animal mtDNA is much higher than aDNA, xDNA, and yDNA (Haag-Liautard et al. 2008) and this presumably contributes to variation in the frequency of nonneutral mutations in different parts of the genome.Differences among N_e of mtDNA, yDNA, xDNA, and aDNA are thought to be particularly pronounced in papionin monkeys (macaques, baboons, geladas, mandrills, drills, and mangabeys). These monkeys have a highly sex-biased adult demography; females form stable philopatric groups of close relatives, whereas males generally change social groups and disperse more widely (Dittus 1975). Often adult sex ratio of papionins is female biased (Dittus 1975; Melnick and Pearl 1987; O''Brien and Kinnard 1997; Okamoto and Matsumura 2001), and males have higher variance in reproductive success than females (Dittus 1975; de Ruiter et al. 1992; Keane et al. 1997; Van Noordwijk and Van Schaik 2002; Widdig et al. 2004). These sex differences predict strong population subdivision of mtDNA with little or no subdivision of aDNA, deep mtDNA coalescence times, and frequent mtDNA paraphyly among species, and discordant genealogical relationships between mtDNA and yDNA—and this has been observed in multiple studies (Melnick and Pearl 1987; Melnick 1988; Melnick and Hoelzer 1992; Melnick et al. 1993; Hoelzer et al. 1994; Evans et al. 1999, 2001, 2003; Tosi et al. 2000, 2002, 2003; Newman et al. 2004). Female philopatry and obligate male migration is a common social system in mammals (Greenwood 1980; Dobson 1982; Johnson 1986), though less so in humans (Seielstad et al. 1998), and molecular variation provides an effective tool for exploring the impact of natural selection and demography on aDNA, the sex chromosomes, and mtDNA (Nachman 1997; Bachtrog and Charlesworth 2002; Stone et al. 2002; Berlin and Ellegren 2004; Hellborg and Ellegren 2004; Wilder et al. 2004; Hammer et al. 2008).We explored the genetic effects of demography and linked selection in structuring sequence polymorphism of a papionin monkey—the macaques—at two levels. We first tested whether levels of polymorphism in aDNA, xDNA, yDNA, and mtDNA in a Bornean population of the pigtail macaque, Macaca nemestrina, match expectations under scenarios involving natural selection and also whether the data might be explained by simple demographic models with sex-specific dispersal or a biased sex ratio. We then explored demography on a larger, inter-island scale by estimating the time of divergence between macaques on Borneo and Sulawesi islands and by testing for evidence of ongoing migration between these islands.     

Founding Swarms in a Tropical Social Wasp: Adult Mortality, Emigration Distance, and Swarm Size

When colonies of swarm-founding wasps lose their nests to predation or accident, the entire adult population escapes, emigrates as an absconding swarm, and renests elsewhere. Such an event causes a reduction in the adult population due to losses during the emigration itself and to adult attrition without replacement during the subsequent preemergence growth period in the new nest. We addressed the first of these sources of mortality for 27 absconding swarms of Polybia occidentalis in Costa Rica. Adult mortality over the day that included swarm emigration averaged 0.044 ± 0.039 (SD) of the original population and was a weak positive function of distance moved, but not of swarm size. A larger data set showed that emigration distance increased with swarm size. This is the first study to measure mortality rates during emigration in a swarm-founding social insect.     

Biological Invasions Across Spatial Scales: Intercontinental, Regional, and Local Dispersal of Cladoceran Zooplankton

The frequency of dispersal of invertebrates among lakes depends upon perspective and spatial scale. Effective passive dispersal requires both the transport of propagules and the establishment of populations large enough to be detected. At a global scale, biogeographic patterns of cladoceran zooplankton species suggest that effective dispersal among continents was originally rare, but greatly increased in the past century with expanded commerce. Genetic analysis allows some reconstruction of past dispersal events. Allozyme and mitochondrial DNA comparisons among New World and Old-World populations of several exotic cladocerans have provided estimates for likely source populations of colonists, their dispersal corridors, and timing of earlier dispersal events. Detecting the Old-World tropical exotic Daphnia lumholtzi early in its invasion of North America has allowed detailed analysis of its spatial spread. Twelve years of collection records indicate a rapid invasion of reservoirs in the United States, by both regional spread and long-distance jumps to new regions. Combining landscape features with zooplankton surveys from south-central US reservoirs revealed higher colonization rates of D. lumholtzi at lower landscape positions, a result which can be explained by either greater propagule load or by higher susceptibility of these downstream reservoirs. Because invaded reservoirs provide a source of propagules for nearby floodplain ponds, the rarity of this species in ponds suggests limitation by local environments. Such analyses of invading species over multiple spatial scales allow a better understanding of ecological processes governing invasion dynamics.     

Disentangling the Role of Climate,Topography and Vegetation in Species Richness Gradients

Environmental gradients (EG) related to climate, topography and vegetation are among the most important drivers of broad scale patterns of species richness. However, these different EG do not necessarily drive species richness in similar ways, potentially presenting synergistic associations when driving species richness. Understanding the synergism among EG allows us to address key questions arising from the effects of global climate and land use changes on biodiversity. Herein, we use variation partitioning (also know as commonality analysis) to disentangle unique and shared contributions of different EG in explaining species richness of Neotropical vertebrates. We use three broad sets of predictors to represent the environmental variability in (i) climate (annual mean temperature, temperature annual range, annual precipitation and precipitation range), (ii) topography (mean elevation, range and coefficient of variation of elevation), and (iii) vegetation (land cover diversity, standard deviation and range of forest canopy height). The shared contribution between two types of EG is used to quantify synergistic processes operating among EG, offering new perspectives on the causal relationships driving species richness. To account for spatially structured processes, we use Spatial EigenVector Mapping models. We perform analyses across groups with distinct dispersal abilities (amphibians, non-volant mammals, bats and birds) and discuss the influence of vagility on the partitioning results. Our findings indicate that broad scale patterns of vertebrate richness are mainly affected by the synergism between climate and vegetation, followed by the unique contribution of climate. Climatic factors were relatively more important in explaining species richness of good dispersers. Most of the variation in vegetation that explains vertebrate richness is climatically structured, supporting the productivity hypothesis. Further, the weak synergism between topography and vegetation urges caution when using topographic complexity as a surrogate of habitat (vegetation) heterogeneity.     

The Long and Winding Road to Uncertainty: The Link between Spatial Distance and Feelings of Uncertainty

Construal Level Theory (CLT) [1] defines psychological distance as any object, event, or person that cannot be experienced by the self in the here and now. The goal of the present research was to demonstrate that feelings of uncertainty are closely linked to the concept of psychological distance. Two experiments tested the assumption that spatial distance and uncertainty are bidirectionally related. In the first experiment, we show that perceived spatial distance leads to a feeling of uncertainty. The second experiment revealed that a feeling of uncertainty leads to a perception of greater distance. By demonstrating that distance is closely tied to uncertainty, the present research extends previous research on both distance and uncertainty by incorporating previously unexplained findings within CLT. Implications of these findings such as the role of uncertainty within CLT are discussed.     

Shaping Taste: The Molecular Discovery of Rice Genes Improving Grain Size,Shape and Quality

<正>Modern-day human life is absolutely dependent upon the food that we derive from our crop plants.We eat grains,fruits,roots,tubers and other structures,all of which are constructed via coordinated organ growth.Whilst plant organ identity is first established in apical meristems(vegetative and floral shoot meristems and root meristems),and in other meristematic regions,the final size and shape of organs are defined by subsequent coordination of organ expansion in longitudinal and     

Determinants of Spatial Distribution in a Bee Community: Nesting Resources,Flower Resources,and Body Size

Understanding biodiversity distribution is a primary goal of community ecology. At a landscape scale, bee communities are affected by habitat composition, anthropogenic land use, and fragmentation. However, little information is available on local-scale spatial distribution of bee communities within habitats that are uniform at the landscape scale. We studied a bee community along with floral and nesting resources over a 32 km² area of uninterrupted Mediterranean scrubland. Our objectives were (i) to analyze floral and nesting resource composition at the habitat scale. We ask whether these resources follow a geographical pattern across the scrubland at bee-foraging relevant distances; (ii) to analyze the distribution of bee composition across the scrubland. Bees being highly mobile organisms, we ask whether bee composition shows a homogeneous distribution or else varies spatially. If so, we ask whether this variation is irregular or follows a geographical pattern and whether bees respond primarily to flower or to nesting resources; and (iii) to establish whether body size influences the response to local resource availability and ultimately spatial distribution. We obtained 6580 specimens belonging to 98 species. Despite bee mobility and the absence of environmental barriers, our bee community shows a clear geographical pattern. This pattern is mostly attributable to heterogeneous distribution of small (<55 mg) species (with presumed smaller foraging ranges), and is mostly explained by flower resources rather than nesting substrates. Even then, a large proportion (54.8%) of spatial variability remains unexplained by flower or nesting resources. We conclude that bee communities are strongly conditioned by local effects and may exhibit spatial heterogeneity patterns at a scale as low as 500–1000 m in patches of homogeneous habitat. These results have important implications for local pollination dynamics and spatial variation of plant-pollinator networks.     

热带森林树种多度和丰富度空间分布特征研究

用巴拿马50 hm2森林动态监测样地内直径≥1 cm的树种资料,分析了该样地树种多度(个体数)和丰富度(物种数)及其方差和变异系数在6个取样尺度(5 m×5 m,10 m×10 m,20 m×20 m,25 m×25 m,50 m×50 m,100 m×100 m)的变化规律.结果显示:(1)由于多度的可加性,不同取样尺度在样地内树种多度的变化表现出一致性;随取样尺度的增加,多度方差呈线性增加,而变异系数呈线性减小.(2)丰富度随取样尺度的变化较为复杂,随取样尺度的增加,丰富度方差呈非线性变化,在取样尺度为25 m×25 m时方差最大;变异系数随取样尺度的增加而呈线性减小.研究表明,大尺度的多度值可以由小尺度的多度值通过外推法估计,而丰富度却不能,在生物多样性的保护和管理中不能简单地从一个取样尺度的生物丰富度推测另一个取样尺度丰富度.     

Fitness Traits and Dispersal Ability in the Herb Tragopogon pratensis (Asteraceae): Decoupling the Role of Inbreeding Depression and Maternal Effects

Abstract: Inbreeding depression can decrease several fitness traits and maternal effects can strongly influence the amount of inbreeding depression. Understanding the effects of inbreeding depression on plant fitness is especially important in the context of habitat fragmentation, where plant populations become smaller and more isolated, exhibiting increasing levels of inbreeding depression. We examined the joint influence of inbreeding depression and maternal effects on life cycle traits and dispersal ability in the herb Tragopogon pratensis that grows in fragmented populations in Europe. We conducted experimental crosses to obtain selfed and outcrossed progeny in two contrasted environments. In particular, we produced a first generation of seeds and plants that were self-pollinated again to produce a second generation of seeds. Individual seeds were weighed and their pappuses measured to estimate the dispersal potential. Pollination treatment only had a significant effect on seed mass and dispersal ability. Coefficients of inbreeding depression did not differ between selfed and outcrossed plants. Seed mass had a significant effect on germination date. Environment had a significant effect on mass of the second generation of seeds and the interaction between pollination treatment and family was significant for six traits, indicating the existence of strong maternal effects in T. pratensis. Results suggest population differentiation. Overall, T. pratensis populations exhibited a good performance under selfing, in terms of life cycle traits and dispersal ability, which would allow the species to cope with problems associated with fragmentation.     

Phylogeographic Studies Depict the Role of Space and Time Scales of Plant Speciation in a Highly Diverse Neotropical Region

Phylogeographic studies have merged different disciplines to explain speciation processes at both spatial and time scales. Although the number of phylogeographic extant studies has increased almost exponentially, few have been conducted in tropical countries, especially using plants. Plants are interesting models for such studies because their responses to different habitat conditions are reflected directly in the size and distribution of populations, enabling direct tests of alternative demographic scenarios. Here, we review phylogeographic studies using plant species occurring in different vegetation domains within Brazil, which has the greatest number of plant species in the world. Based on a detailed examination of 41 published articles, we synthesized the current knowledge and discussed the main processes driving the high levels of plant diversity within Brazilian domains. General patterns of diversification could be inferred due to the number of species studied, especially in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, the most intensively studied domains (34.1% and 17.1% of the studies, respectively). Distinct vegetation types within both biomes were affected differently by the Pleistocene climatic oscillations. Edaphic conditions and geographical barriers (rivers and mountains) have also influenced the phylogeographical patterns of plants species from Amazonia and the Atlantic Forest. Other Brazilian domains, such as the Caatinga, Pantanal, and Pampas, have been studied to a lesser extent and no common phylogeographic pattern across species could be inferred. Issues regarding past connections between distinct domains also remain unclear, including those affecting the two main forest domains in South America. Future research on plant species will fill these information gaps, improving our understanding of the complex diversification processes affecting the South American biota.     

Multivalent Binding of a Ligand-Coated Particle: Role of Shape,Size, and Ligand Heterogeneity

We utilize a multiscale modeling framework to study the effect of shape, size, and ligand composition on the efficacy of binding of a ligand-coated particle to a substrate functionalized with the target receptors. First, we show how molecular dynamics along with steered molecular dynamics calculations can be used to accurately parameterize the molecular-binding free energy and the effective spring constant for a receptor-ligand pair. We demonstrate this for two ligands that bind to the ${\alpha }_5{\beta }_1$-domain of integrin. Next, we show how these effective potentials can be used to build computational models at the meso- and continuum-scales. These models incorporate the molecular nature of the receptor-ligand interactions and yet provide an inexpensive route to study the multivalent interaction of receptors and ligands through the construction of Bell potentials customized to the molecular identities. We quantify the binding efficacy of the ligand-coated-particle in terms of its multivalency, binding free-energy landscape, and the losses in the configurational entropies. We show that 1) the binding avidity for particle sizes less than 350 nm is set by the competition between the enthalpic and entropic contributions, whereas that for sizes above 350 nm is dominated by the enthalpy of binding; 2) anisotropic particles display higher levels of multivalent binding compared to those of spherical particles; and 3) variations in ligand composition can alter binding avidity without altering the average multivalency. The methods and results presented here have wide applications in the rational design of functionalized carriers and also in understanding cell adhesion.     

Energy, Density, and Constraints to Species Richness: Ant Assemblages along a Productivity Gradient

Species richness describes the number of species of a given taxon in a given time and space. The energy limitation hypothesis links the species richness of consumer taxa to net primary productivity (NPP) through two relationships: NPP limits a taxon's density, and taxon density limits species richness. We study both relationships with a survey of 15 ground ant assemblages, along a productivity gradient from deserts to rain forests. Ant density (colonies m-2) was a positive, decelerating function of net aboveground productivity (NAP). A stepwise regression suggests that the efficiency with which NAP is converted to ant colonies increases with maximum summer temperature and decreases with precipitation. Ant species richness was a positive decelerating function of density at three spatial scales. This supports the energy limitation hypothesis' assumption that average population densities are higher in environments that are more productive. These two nonlinear functions (NAP-density and density-species richness) combine to create, at a variety of scales, positive, decelerating, productivity-diversity curves for a common, ecologically dominant taxon across the terrestrial productivity gradient. However, variance in the density and diversity explained by NAP decreases with scale, suggesting that energy limitation of diversity predominates at small spatial scales (<1 ha).