A NEW PIPINE FROG FROM AN EOCENE CRATER LAKE IN NORTH-CENTRAL TANZANIA

Abstract:  The fossiliferous site of Mahenge, Tanzania, interpreted as a small lake that formed in a kimberlite intrusion, has yielded a vertebrate assemblage that includes scarce frog remains. Radiometric dating of the pipe indicates that the volcanic activity took place at 45·83 ± 0·17 Ma, whereas infilling of the crater was completed in 0·2–1·0 myr after emplacement. The frogs, described herein, are preserved as partially articulated skeletons that represent a new pipine taxon, Singidella latecostata gen. et sp. nov. A parsimony analysis of fossil and extant pipoid frogs indicates that Singidella is more closely related to African Hymenochirus and Pseudhymenochirus than to South American Pipa . It also provides weak support for the sister-group relationship of Singidella and the bizarre Late Cretaceous Pachycentrata taqueti (replacement name for Pachybatrachus taqueti ) from Niger, although the incomplete preservation of Pachycentrata precludes thorough comparisons. This record indicates that prior to the rifting in the Miocene the distribution of pipines extended into eastern Africa where they do not occur today.     

FRESHWATER ALGAE FROM THE UPPER TRIASSIC CUYANA BASIN OF ARGENTINA: PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract: Diverse freshwater aquatic palynomorphs are present among rich terrestrial palynofloras from the upper part of the Potrerillos and Cacheuta formations outcropping in the Cuyana Basin at the southern extremity of the Precordillera of Argentina. The Potrerillos/Cacheuta sequence includes fluvial, deltaic and lacustrine facies deposited in the early Late Triassic fault‐bounded syn‐rift Cacheuta hemigraben. The phytoplankton described and illustrated consist of representatives of colonial chlorococcalean algae belonging to the Hydrodictyaceae (Plaesiodictyon) and Botryococcaceae (Botryococcus), a diverse group of Zygnemataceae zygospores, a freshwater dinoflagellate cyst (Bosedinia) and acritarchs (sphaeromorphs). Zygnematacean zygospores are represented by species of Gelasinicysta?, Lecaniella, Mougeotia, Ovoidites, Peltacystia and Schizocystia. Of these, Gelasinicysta? cuyanensis sp. nov. is newly described. Quantitative analysis of the palynofloras permits interpretation of changes in the local vegetation and phytoplankton communities controlled by changes in environmental setting. Two algal associations are recognized as belonging to different stages in the evolution of the basin. Diverse zygnematacean assemblages along with hydrodictyacean, botryococcacean and leiosphere/sphaeromorph algae are common in fluvial–deltaic environments of the upper part of the Potrerillos Formation and the lowermost part of the Cacheuta Formation. Higher in the sections (in the Cacheuta Formation) Botryococcus dominates, in association with amorphous kerogen, representing deposition in a relatively deep, quiet‐water, lacustrine environment where anoxic conditions prevailed. In the Cacheuta hemigraben the lacustrine shales have average TOC values of 4 per cent (locally reaching 20 per cent), with some terrigenous components (Type II/III kerogen), but dominant amorphous, algal‐like, organic matter (Type I/II kerogen). Oils derived from these source rocks are predominantly waxy.     

Evolution of single-chick broods in the Swallow-tailed Gull Creagrus furcatus

Swallow-tailed Gulls lay single-egg clutches, and so raise single-chick broods. As they are pelagic seabirds, this small brood size is expected to relate to proximate food limitation owing to infrequent food deliveries. However, a previous brood doubling experiment detected an 82% increase in fledging success from experimentally doubled broods compared to controls. We repeated the brood doubling experiment, and found that none of 50 enlarged broods produced more than one independent offspring. Control and experimental parents produced fledglings of similar body size, which also had indistinguishable rates of fledging and subsequent survival and reproduction. A variety of parameters estimating survival and breeding costs of reproduction showed no treatment effect. Since two-chick broods yield dramatically higher fledging rates at some times, apparently without excess costs of reproduction, selection on brood size appears to favour a two-chick brood. However, selection may not favour a two-egg clutch if egg production is very costly. Additionally, our estimates of reproductive success do not incorporate the performance of experimental and control offspring as adults, which could differ, since growth of chicks differed slightly by treatment.     

Greenhouse gas,upwelling‐favorable winds,and the future of coastal ocean upwelling ecosystems

Coastal ocean upwelling ecosystems generally represent the most productive large marine ecosystems of the world's oceans, in terms of both primary production rates and tonnages of exploitable fish produced. The Peruvian upwelling system, in particular, stands out as a major factor in world fish production. The Pacific trade winds have traditionally been considered to be the primary driving force for the upwelling system off Peru, but are projected to weaken as climate change proceeds. This leads to concern that the upwelling process in the Peru system, to which its productivity is linked, may likewise weaken. However, other mechanisms involving greenhouse‐associated intensification of thermal low‐pressure cells over the coastal landmasses of upwelling regions suggest general intensification of wind‐driven ocean upwelling in coastal upwelling regions of the world's oceans. But although certain empirical results have supported this expectation, it has not been consistently corroborated in climate model simulations, possibly because the scale of the coastal intensification may be small relative to the scales that are appropriately reflected in the standard models. Here we summarize available evidence for the intensification mechanism and present a proxy test that uses variations in water vapor, the dominant natural greenhouse gas, to offer multiple‐realization empirical evidence for action of the proposed mechanism in the real world situation. While many potential consequences to the future of marine ecosystems would codepend on climate change‐related changes in the thermocline and nutricline structures, an important subset, involving potential increased propensities for hypoxia, noxious gas eruptions, toxic red tide blooms, and/or jellyfish outbreaks, may depend more directly on changes in the upwelling‐favorable wind itself. A prospective role of fisheries in either mitigating or reinforcing this particular class of effects is suggested.     

Cryptic diversity within the Moroccan endemic day geckos Quedenfeldtia (Squamata: Gekkonidae): a multidisciplinary approach using genetic,morphological and ecological data

Quedenfeldtia (Boettger, 1883) is a genus of diurnal geckos, endemic to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, with two species being recognized: Quedenfeldtia moerens and Quedenfeldtia trachyblepharus. Quedenfeldtia moerens is found across a wide variety of habitats, from sea level to 3000 m a.s.l., whereas Q. trachyblepharus occupies exclusively high mountain regions reaching up to 4000 m a.s.l. This differentiation, offers an interesting model for study biogeographical patterns and evolutionary scenarios in a North African endemic. Analysis of two mitochondrial (12S rRNA and ND4) and four nuclear (ACM4, MC1R, PDC, and Rag1) DNA markers revealed high genetic variation, consistent with other recent phylogeographical studies, and with the two currently described species. However, within each species, a subdivision into two groups with geographical consistence was found. Multivariate morphological analyses confirmed the existence of two main phenotypes, whereas ecological niche modelling identified various environmental variables associated with the distribution of each species, and helped to predict occurrences outside the confirmed ranges. The results obtained in the present study indicate the possible existence of additional ‘cryptic’ species within this genus, a condition found in many North African reptiles, and particularly common in geckos. In general, North African montane fauna appears to reflect the occurrence of diverse palaeoendemics, as seen in Central Africa Mountain systems, rather than the pattern of recent postglacial recolonization observed in Europe. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ?? , ??–??.     

Seasonal changes in a cactus‐hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) network

1. We analysed a cacti‐syrphid community focusing on the exploitation of decaying cacti resources by the flies, i.e. if exploitation exhibited a nested topology as a structural pattern, or whether it was temporally random. If availability of cactus resources was predictable during the rainy season, it would then be exploited by a more structured community, or as resource availability would be unpredictable during the dry season, we should expect it to be exploited by a random community. 2. We registered 12 Copestylum species (9 in dry and 11 in rainy season). Four cactus species were recorded per season, three were shared between seasons. 3. The community of Copestylum larvae in the rainy season was not randomly assembled but highly nested, revealing a highly structured pattern of resource use. It exhibited a random organization for the dry season. The high nestedness value obtained for the rainy season suggests that factors along with competition must play a major role in determining community structure. 4. Succession in the cacti‐syrphid community mediated by microorganisms involved in necrosis is an important factor structuring nested subsets. The studied networks were small, which may limit the power of the analysis, and strong conclusions could also be limited.     

Identification of Precystic Stages and Encystment Kinetics Analysis of Colpoda inflata by Using an Immunofluorescent Method

ABSTRACT. The application of an immunocytochemical method to identify precystic stages and to analyse the encystment kinetics, by using a polyclonal antiserum against isolated cyst walls from the ciliate Colpoda inflata , is reported for the first time. Three different precystic phases were chosen on the basis of morphological changes and degree of cyst wall formation. By using this procedure a better identification of mature resting cysts with regard to precystic cells or young cysts is provided. An average consensus encystment kinetics of C. inflata , by using an accumulated class frequency analysis, is reported.