Oldest webspinners from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia,China (Insecta: Embiodea)

The oldest webspinners, Sinembia rossi gen. et sp. nov. and Juraembia ningchengensis gen. et sp. nov. , are described in the new family Sinembiidae fam. nov. from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. They differ from the Cretaceous and more recent Embiodea in several plesiomorphic characters, namely they have a long ovipositor, three‐segmented cerci, eyes situated on the posterolateral angles of the head, and the prothoracic prescutum is absent: these characters suggest habits that strongly differ from those of the recent taxa. The loss of the ovipositor and the reduction in the number of cerci can no longer be considered as synapomorphies of the ((Embiodea + Zoraptera) + Plecoptera) and (Embiodea + Zoraptera) clades, respectively.     

Reproductive cycle of the rissoid Alvania mediolittoralis Gofas, 1989 (Mollusca,Gastropoda) at São Miguel Island (Azores,Portugal)

Summary

The reproductive cycle of an Alvania species is studied for first time. Alvania mediolittoralis Gofas, 1989 is an endemic Azorean rissoid very common in sheltered places and particularly abundant among the algal turf covering the lower half of the intertidal and upper subtidal rocky shores. This species reproduces throughout the year, with two spawning peaks, one during early spring and the other in late autumn. In an attempt to relate to current paleobiogeographical studies, inferences are made regarding the ecological advantages of species with a continuous type of reproduction, on Azorean shores, during glacial episodes.     

Adapting to global environmental change in Patagonia: What role for disturbance ecology?

Research from the Patagonian‐Andean region is used to explore challenges and opportunities related to the integration of research on wildfire activity into a broader earth‐system science framework that views the biosphere and atmosphere as a coupled interacting system for understanding the causes and consequences of future wildfire activity. We examine how research in disturbance ecology can inform land‐use and other policy decisions in the context of probable future increases in wildfire activity driven by climate forcing. Climate research has related recent warming and drying trends in much of Patagonia to an upward trend in the Southern Annular Mode which is the leading pattern of extratropical climate variability in the southern hemisphere. Although still limited in spatial extent, tree‐ring fire history studies are beginning to reveal regional patterns of the top‐down climate influences on temporal and spatial pattern of wildfire occurrence in Patagonia. Knowledge of relationships of fire activity to climate variability in the context of predicted future warming leads to the hypothesis that wildfire activity in Patagonia will increase substantially during the first half of the 21st century. In addition to this anticipated increase in extreme fire events due to climate forcing, we further hypothesize that current land‐use trends will increase the extent and/or severity of fire events through bottom‐up (i.e. land surface) influences on wildfire potential. In particular, policy discussions of how to mitigate impacts of climate warming on fire potential need to consider research results from disturbance ecology on the implications of continued planting of flammable non‐native trees and the role of introduced herbivores in favouring vegetation changes that may enhance landscape flammability.     

Distribution,host specificity,and the potential for cryptic speciation in hoverfly Microdon myrmicae (Diptera: Syrphidae), a social parasite of Myrmica ants

1. In 2002 Microdon myrmicae, a social parasite of Myrmica ants, was taxonomically separated from Microdon mutabilis. The original study in the U.K. found Microdon myrmicae to be specific to one ant species, Myrmica scabrinodis, yet it became apparent that the range of Microdon myrmicae includes at least the western Palaearctic. 2. Current knowledge of the European distributions of both Microdon myrmicae and Microdon mutabilis in Europe is reviewed. Also, in detailed studies of two Polish populations, Microdon myrmicae was found to survive equally well with two Myrmica ant species. We examine, however, the possibility that this reflects the presence of two separate Microdon species, each connected to one species of Myrmica. 3. Forty populations of Microdon myrmicae and 37 populations of Microdon mutabilis are currently known in Europe. All the populations in central and southern Europe that were visited after the separation of the two species were identified as Microdon myrmicae, while Microdon mutabilis’ recognised range is now restricted to the British Isles and Scandinavia. Myrmica scabrinodis was found to host Microdon myrmicae in 26 out of 31 populations investigated. Four other Myrmica species were identified to the host Microdon myrmicae: Myrmica gallienii (eight populations), Myrmica rubra (four), Myrmica vandeli (one), and Myrmica sabuleti (one). Microdon myrmicae occurs in waterlogged grassland habitats, mainly of the ‘Molinietum’ type, resulting in a patchy distribution relative to its host ants. 4. In two populations Myrmica scabrinodis and Myrmica gallienii are both abundant and rear Microdon myrmicae in equal proportions. Microdon myrmicae pupae from Myrmica gallienii nests were heavier and the anterior respiratory organs were of significantly different shape. In contrast, the comparisons of Microdon myrmicae pupae among all other populations showed no significant differences, suggesting only one species throughout the European range.     

Evidence against the use of surrogates for biomonitoring of Neotropical floodplains

1. Community concordance measures the level of association between the compositional patterns shown by two groups of organisms. If strong community concordance occurs, one group could be used as a surrogate for another in conservation planning and biodiversity monitoring. In this study, we evaluated the variability in the strength of community concordance, the likely mechanisms underlying community concordance and the degree to which one community can predict another in a set of Neotropical floodplain lakes (Upper Paraná River floodplain, Brazil). 2. We used a data set including six aquatic communities: fish, macrophytes, benthic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, phytoplankton and periphyton. We used Mantel and PROTEST approaches to evaluate the levels of community concordance in up to four sampling periods. Also, we used partial Mantel test and information about biotic interactions to investigate reasons for observed patterns of concordance. Finally, we used co‐correspondence analysis to evaluate the performance of one taxonomic group in predicting the structures of other communities. 3. The levels of community concordance varied over time for almost all cross‐taxa comparisons. Concordance between phytoplankton and periphyton probably resulted from similar responses to environmental gradients, whereas other patterns of concordance were likely generated by interactions among groups. However, the levels of predictability were low, and no particular taxonomic group significantly predicted all other groups. 4. The low and temporally variable levels of community concordance cast doubts on the use of surrogate groups for biodiversity management in Neotropical floodplains.     

A New Species of the Genus Metacystis (Ciliophora,Prostomatida, Metacystidae) from a Wastewater Treatment Plant

ABSTRACT. Unusual prostomatid specimens were found in the biological reactor of a wastewater treatment plant in a health resort in Valencia, Spain. These ciliates were attached to flocs unlike other free‐swimming prostomatid ciliates described to date in the mixed liquor of activated sludge plants. The morphological study of this species led to a typically different combination of characteristics: elongated cell shape, 20–30 somatic kineties, 2 perioral kineties, and 1 circumoral kinety, 1 large vacuole protruding at the terminal end, a lorica tapered toward the aperture with a smooth neck, and 11–16 annular ridges. These characteristics place this representative as a new species of the genus Metacystis—Metacystis galiani n. sp. This species became the dominant population within the biological reactor when high values of conductivity (4,244 mS/cm) and temperature (26.8 °C) were recorded.     

New Carboniferous fossils of Spilapteridae enlighten postembryonic wing development in Palaeodictyoptera

A new palaeodictyopterid nymph Bizarrea obscura gen.n. et sp.n. (Spilapteridae) and a new adult specimen of Homaloneura cf. dabasinskasi Carpenter are described from the Pennsylvanian (Moscovian) ironstone nodules of Mazon Creek (IL, U.S.A.). Both taxa share enlarged prothoracic lobes (interpreted by some as winglets), heteronomous meso‐ and metathoracic wing pads or wings, a slender abdomen with pointed laterotergites, and a unique division of the abdominal segments by two transverse sulci. An alternative hypothesis for the placement of Bizarrea within Homoiopteridae is considered on the basis of its large body size and relatively short wing pads. Based on the morphology of the new material, postembryonic development of wing pads in Palaeodictyoptera (Palaeodictyopterida) is reconsidered. Detailed investigation of the abdominal segments, including examination by scanning electron microscopy, reveals the presence of subcircular, sclerotized structures partially covered at the bases of the nymphal laterotergites I–VII, ?VIII. Based on their position and shape, these structures are interpreted as abdominal spiracles, and thus a terrestrial or semiaquatic habitat for these immatures is hypothesized. Moreover, our discovery of the same, supposedly homologous structures in the enigmatic Vogesonymphidae (Permoplectoptera), from the Middle Triassic of Grès à Voltzia in France, is evidence for the parallel coexistence of ancestrally terrestrial and derived aquatic lineages of Ephemerida (Ephemeropterida) in early Mesozoic ecosystems. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A7270D99‐5B48‐4EAC‐AEB8‐EFB8A9F55FBD .     

Quantity versus quality: Endemism and protected areas in the temperate forest of South America

Abstract Identification of biodiversity hotspots is essential to conservation strategies aimed at minimizing the possibility of losing half of the world's species in the next 50 years. The aims of the present study were: (i) to locate and designate zones of endemism in the temperate forest of South America; and (ii) to compare the distribution of these areas with the distribution of existing protected areas in this habitat type. Endemism areas were determined by using parsimonious analysis of endemism, which identified zones of endemism on the basis of sets of endemic species that were restricted to two or more study areas. We used distribution information for five unrelated taxa (ferns, trees, reptiles, birds and mammals) to provide more reliable results and patterns than would work with only a single taxon or related taxa. The northern part of this region has high endemism for all of the taxa considered in this study. We demonstrate that although the temperate forest of South America has more than 30% of its area under some type of protection, correlation between protected areas and the areas of endemism is remarkably low. In fact, less than 10% of protected areas are situated in areas that have the greatest value for conservation (i.e. high endemism). Under the current strategy, biodiversity within South America's temperate forest is in danger despite the large amount of protected area for this forest type.