Development of 14 multiplexed microsatellite loci for raccoons Procyon lotor

In order to complement ecological information with genetic data we isolated and characterized 14 polymorphic microsatellite markers from raccoons (Procyon lotor). Three multiplexed panels comprising the loci were developed and 29 individuals from a contiguous habitat patch in northern Indiana, USA were genotyped. The number of alleles per locus ranged from four to 18, and overall heterozygosities ranged from 0.31 to 1.00. One locus was identified as possibly being X‐linked, since males appeared to be hemizygous. Data generated using these markers will be used to further our understanding of small‐scale raccoon population dynamics in a highly fragmented landscape.     

A rapid altitudinal range expansion in the pine processionary moth produced by the 2003 climatic anomaly

Climatic anomalies may produce, or accelerate, geographic range expansions of species limited by temperature or other climatic variables. Most such expansions are only temporary, before the prevailing climatic conditions drive the founder populations extinct. In contrast, here, we report a recent rapid shift of the range limit during the record hot summer of 2003 in southern Europe that has the potential to be both permanent, and to have important implications on species range dynamics in general. The winter pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa), an important pine defoliator whose larvae feed in colonies during the winter, is limited in its distribution by winter temperatures. In the last three decades, warmer winters have led to a gradual but substantial expansion of its range both latitudinally and altitudinally. In the summer of 2003, T. pityocampa underwent an extraordinary expansion to high elevation pine stands in the Italian Alps; its altitudinal range limit increased by one third of the total altitudinal expansion over the previous three decades. In an experiment, we found flight activity of newly emerged females to increase with temperature. By determining a threshold temperature for flight take‐offs under controlled conditions, we calculated that the nights above the threshold temperature were over five times more frequent, and considerably warmer, at the range limit in 2003 than in an average year. We therefore attribute the colonization of extreme, high‐elevation sites to increased nocturnal dispersal of females during the unusually warm night temperatures in June – August 2003. Importantly, the colonies established at extreme sites survived the winter and produced offspring in 2004, although the range did not expand further because of low night temperatures that year. We discuss several life‐history characteristics of T. pityocampa that maximize the likelihood of population persistence at the new range limit. As global warming continues and climatic anomalies are predicted to become more frequent, our results draw attention to the importance of extreme climatic events in the range formation of phytophagous insects.     

TRANSPORT OF UNCONTAMINATED AND MOLLUSCICIDE-CONTAINING FOOD IN THE DIGESTIVE TRACT OF THE SLUG DEROCERAS RETICULATUM (MULLER)

By X-ray analysis of food transport in the alimentary tractof Deroceras reticulatum it was shown that even ten hours afteringestion of a thorium sulfate-containing bait, this materialcan be detected in the crop. After 2.5 h, some parts of labelledfood passes down from the anterior to the posterior part ofthe gut. After 13 h, thorium sulfate-containing material canbe observed only in the gut. After 19 h, no more labelled materialis present in the alimentary tract of the animals. After addition of Cloethocarb, the animals feed on only smallamounts of food. The labelled material only enters the anteriorpart of the gut. After ten hours, the food does not move anymore and does not leave the crop even 19 h after feeding. After molluscicide application, the crop epithelium is moreinfolded than in control animals and the cells are elongated.After 30 h, cells protrude into the lumen of the digestive tract. (Received 11 May 1992; accepted 26 June 1992)     

Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) Provides Molecular Markers for the Identification of Caladium bicolor Cultivars

Caladiums are popular ornamental plants that have not been wellstudied at the molecular level. Identification of species withinthe genus Caladium (Araceae) has been based primarily on morphology.However, the lack of comprehensive references makes identificationof Caladium cultivars extremely difficult. Amplified fragmentlength polymorphism (AFLP) analysis using 17 primer combinationswas carried out on two species of Caladium (C. bicolor and C.schomburgkii), including six cultivars of C. bicolor. Resultsshowed that AFLP can be used to distinguish these two speciesby their unique and different banding patterns. Unweighted PairGroup Method using Arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) permitted clusteranalysis of data from 17 selected primer combinations on sixcultivars of C. bicolor and one cultivar ofC. schomburgkii .It showed that closely related species can clearly be differentiatedand that genetic difference between cultivars can also be established.Unique AFLP molecular markers were detected for all the C. bicolorcultivars used. The use of AFLP has potential for preciselycharacterizing and identifying particular caladium cultivarsas well as for the registration of new cultivars. It will alsobe useful in future breeding programmes and systematics studies.Copyright 1999 Annals of Botany Company Araceae, Caladium species and cultivars, AFLP DNA fingerprinting, diversity, AFLP markers.     

Structure and diversity of stream invertebrate assemblages: the influence of temperature with altitude and latitude

1. Structure and diversity of the macroinvertebrate fauna were studied in relation to altitude and latitude among three groups of streams from Ecuador (lowland: 100–600 m, Central Valley: 2600–3100 m, páramo: 3500–4000 m), and one group from the temperate lowland region of Denmark. The streams in the four regions were comparable with regard to physical characteristics such as size, current and substratum.
2. In terms of faunal composition the Ecuadorian highland streams bore more resemblance to the Danish lowland streams than the Ecuadorian lowland streams. The greater similarity between the Ecuadorian highland and the Danish streams, however, was due to the large number of insect families in the Ecuadorian lowlands, many of which were not found in the other regions. Of ten physico-chemical parameters measured, maximum stream temperature explained by far the most variability in faunal composition.
3. The number of insect orders and families increased linearly with maximum stream temperature and therefore decreased with altitude and latitude. A compilation of literature data on insect richness and maximum water temperature from streams around the world confirmed this pattern, yielding a common linear relation for both temperate and tropical streams. This pattern may arise due to a direct temperature effect on speciation but is probably also related to geological history and the influence of climatic changes on stream ecosystems. We estimate that small, tropical, lowland streams have, on average, a two- to fourfold higher species richness than temperate lowland streams.     

Patterns of morphological evolution in Marmota (Rodentia, Sciuridae): geometric morphometrics of the cranium in the context of marmot phylogeny, ecology and conservation

Marmots are of great interest for both sociobiologists studying the evolution of mammal societies and conservationists trying to protect them from extinction. In contrast, their phylogeny and morphological evolution are poorly understood and studied. Recently, a phylogenetic analysis using cytochrome b provided the first reconstruction of marmot evolutionary history and suggested that a high level of sociality evolved at least twice independently in the two proposed marmot subgenera. A morphological analysis of the marmot mandible supported this subgeneric classification and showed interesting, and unexpected, patterns in the evolution of marmot skeletal characters. In the present study we investigated a more complex, and potentially informative structure, the ventral cranium. Geometric morphometric techniques were applied in the first analysis of cranial morphology including all marmot species. Three main phenetic groups were found, which reflect phylogeny (subgenus Petromarmota , and Palaearctic subgenus Marmota ) or geographical distribution (Palaearctic vs. Nearctic subgenus Marmota ). Convergence in skeletal characters due to size similarities, a common finding in the sciurid skeleton according to traditional morphological analyses, did not occur in the marmot ventral cranium. Despite a genetic distance between Marmota vancouverensis and Marmota caligata similar to that among different populations of the latter species, the Vancouver Island marmot had the most atypical ventral cranium in the subgenus Petromarmota . This finding confirmed results obtained with the mandible, and emphasized the uniqueness of M. vancouverensis and the usefulness of complementing molecular analyses with morphological studies for a thorough characterization of population divergence, and a careful planning of conservation strategies.  © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2004, 82 , 385–407     

Carbon partitioning to mobile and structural fractions in poplar wood under elevated CO2 (EUROFACE) and N fertilization

To determine whether globally increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations can affect carbon partitioning between nonstructural and structural carbon pools in agroforestry plantations, Populus nigra was grown in ambient air (about 370 μmol mol^?1 CO₂) and in air with elevated CO₂ concentrations (about 550 μmol mol^?1 CO₂) using free‐air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) technology. FACE was maintained for 5 years. After three growing seasons, the plantation was coppiced and one half of each experimental plot was fertilized with nitrogen. Carbon concentrations and stocks were measured in secondary sprouts in seasons of active growth and dormancy during 2 years after coppicing. Although FACE, N fertilization and season had significant tissue‐specific effects on carbon partitioning to the fractions of structural carbon, soluble sugars and starch as well as to residual soluble carbon, the overall magnitude of these shifts was small. The major effect of FACE and N fertilization was on cell wall biomass production, resulting in about 30% increased above ground stocks of both mobile and immobile carbon pools compared with fertilized trees under ambient CO₂. Relative C partitioning between mobile and immobile C pools was not significantly affected by FACE or N fertilization. These data demonstrate high metabolic flexibility of P. nigra to maintain C‐homeostasis under changing environmental conditions and illustrate that nonstructural carbon compounds can be utilized more rapidly for structural growth under elevated atmospheric [CO₂] in fertilized agroforestry systems. Thus, structural biomass production on abandoned agricultural land may contribute to achieving the goals of the Kyoto protocol.     

Specialized use of pollen vectors by Caesalpinia gilliesii, a legume species with brush-type flowers

The pollination of Caesalpinia gilliesii (Fabaceae) , a legume species with long, brush-type flowers, was studied in wild populations in Argentina. A total of 341 hawkmoths (Sphingidae), belonging to 10 species, with tongues ranging from 1.5 to 13.5 cm in length, were captured by means of light traps. Hawkmoths could be classified in four significantly different tongue-length classes or guilds: short (15.35 ± 1.11 mm), medium (30.23 ± 2.24 mm), long (55.85 ± 4.98 mm) and very long (95.61 ± 13.63 mm). A total of 133 of the hawkmoths, belonging to seven species, carried pollen of Cae. gilliesii , mainly on their venter. Successful contact with anthers while drinking nectar depended upon hawkmoth tongue length. The relative frequency of pollen-carriage and the mean tongue length of each species were positively and significantly correlated. Considering a null hypothesis of nonspecialization, in which hawkmoths carrying pollen are distributed at random among individuals of the four guilds, long-tongued hawkmoths carried Cae. gilliesii pollen more frequently than would be expected by chance. In contrast, short- and medium-tongued guilds carried pollen less frequently than is predicted by random expectation. Individuals with short tongues accessed nectar from below without touching the anthers, whereas very long-tongued hawkmoths, with tongues longer than the length range of the flower reproductive organs, can probably reach nectar without touching the fertile organs. Results show that a pterotribic pattern of pollen deposition on the body of long-tongued hawkmoths is operating in this species. This suggests that brush-type blossoms are not necessarily unspecialized, despite popular belief.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 88 , 579–592.     

Monteiro's Storm‐petrel Oceanodroma monteiroi: a new species from the Azores

The existence of two seasonally distinct breeding populations of Oceanodroma storm‐petrels in the Azores islands was first documented in 1996. The discovery of morphological differences between the populations led to the suggestion that they may represent cryptic sibling species. Recent mtDNA and microsatellite analysis from storm‐petrel populations has considerably advanced our understanding of their taxonomic relationships. Here we present new information on the timing of breeding and moult of the two Azores populations, the extent of exchange of individuals between seasons, and diet from feather isotopes. We conclude that the hot‐season Azores population should be considered a new species for which we propose the name Oceanodroma monteiroi, Monteiro's Storm‐petrel. The species is both genetically distinct and genetically isolated from the sympatric cool‐season population of Madeiran Storm‐petrel Oceanodroma castro, and from all other populations of Oceanodroma castro in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans examined to date. Differences in the vocalizations permit species recognition, and the extent of primary feather wear and stage of moult aids separation of the two species in the Azores, which is especially valuable during August when both attend the breeding colonies in large numbers. Feather carbon and nitrogen isotopes reveal that the diet of Monteiro's Storm‐petrel differs from that of the sympatric Madeiran Storm‐petrel during both breeding and non‐breeding seasons, and unlike the Madeiran Storm‐petrel, Monteiro's Storm‐petrel appears to maintain the same foraging environment during the summer and winter months, though it shows a dietary shift to higher trophic levels during the non‐breeding season. Monteiro's Storm‐petrel is thought to be confined to the Azores archipelago, where it is currently known to nest on just two small neighbouring islets. The total population size was estimated at 250–300 pairs in 1999.     

Sculpin hybrid zones: natural laboratories for the early stages of speciation

Firmly rooted as we are in the genomic era, it can seem incredible that as recently as 1974, Lewontin declared, 'we know virtually nothing about the genetic changes that occur in species formation'. To the contrary, we now know the genetic architecture of phenotypic differences and reproductive isolation between species for many diverse groups of plants, animals, and fungi. In recent years, detailed genetic analyses have produced a small but growing list of genes that cause reproductive isolation, several of which appear to have diverged by natural selection. Yet, a full accounting of the speciation process requires that we understand the reproductive and ecological properties of natural populations as they begin to diverge genetically, as well as the dynamics of newly evolved barriers to gene flow. One promising approach to this problem is the study of natural hybrid zones, where gene exchange between divergent populations can produce recombinant genotypes in situ . In such individuals, genomic variation might be shaped by introgression at universally adaptive or neutral loci, even as regions associated with local adaptation or reproductive isolation remain divergent. In Nolte et   al . (2009) , the authors take advantage of two independent, recently formed hybrid zones between sculpin species to investigate genome-wide patterns of reproductive isolation. Using a recently developed genomic clines method, the authors identify marker loci that are associated with isolation, and those that show evidence for adaptive introgression. Remarkably, Nolte et   al . (2009) find little similarity between the two hybrid zones in patterns of introgression, a fact that might reflect genetic variation within species or heterogeneous natural selection. In either case, their study system has the potential to provide insight into the early stages of speciation.