Responses of a top and a meso predator and their prey to moon phases

We compared movement patterns and rhythms of activity of a top predator, the Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus, a mesopredator, the red fox Vulpes vulpes, and their shared principal prey, the rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, in relation to moon phases. Because the three species are mostly nocturnal and crepuscular, we hypothesized that the shared prey would reduce its activity at most risky moon phases (i.e. during the brightest nights), but that fox, an intraguild prey of lynx, would avoid lynx activity peaks at the same time. Rabbits generally moved further from their core areas on darkest nights (i.e. new moon), using direct movements which minimize predation risk. Though rabbits responded to the increased predation risk by reducing their activity during the full moon, this response may require several days, and the moon effect we observed on the rabbits had, therefore, a temporal gap. Lynx activity patterns may be at least partially mirroring rabbit activity: around new moons, when rabbits moved furthest and were more active, lynxes reduced their travelling distances and their movements were concentrated in the core areas of their home ranges, which generally correspond to areas of high density of rabbits. Red foxes were more active during the darkest nights, when both the conditions for rabbit hunting were the best and lynxes moved less. On the one hand, foxes increased their activity when rabbits were further from their core areas and moved with more discrete displacements; on the other hand, fox activity in relation to the moon seemed to reduce dangerous encounters with its intraguild predator.     

Growth and stable isotope signals associated with drought-related mortality in saplings of two coexisting pine species

Drought-induced events of massive tree mortality appear to be increasing worldwide. Species-specific vulnerability to drought mortality may alter patterns of species diversity and affect future forest composition. We have explored the consequences of the extreme drought of 2005, which caused high sapling mortality (approx. 50 %) among 10-year-old saplings of two coexisting pine species in the Mediterranean mountains of Sierra Nevada (Spain): boreo-alpine Pinus sylvestris and Mediterranean P. nigra. Sapling height growth, leaf δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O, and foliar nitrogen concentration in the four most recent leaf cohorts were measured in dead and surviving saplings. The foliar isotopic composition of dead saplings (which reflects time-integrated leaf gas-exchange until mortality) displayed sharp increases in both δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O during the extreme drought of 2005, suggesting an important role of stomatal conductance (g_s) reduction and diffusional limitations to photosynthesis in mortality. While P. nigra showed decreased growth in 2005 compared to the previous wetter year, P. sylvestris maintained similar growth levels in both years. Decreased growth, coupled with a sharper increase in foliar δ¹⁸O during extreme drought in dead saplings, indicate a more conservative water use strategy for P. nigra. The different physiological behavior of the two pine species in response to drought (further supported by data from surviving saplings) may have influenced 2005 mortality rates, which contributed to 2.4-fold greater survival for P. nigra over the lifespan of the saplings. This species-specific vulnerability to extreme drought could lead to changes in dominance and distribution of pine species in Mediterranean mountain forests.     

Morphometric and molecular variation in concert: taxonomy and genetics of the reticulate Pyrenean and Iberian alpine spiny fescues (Festuca eskia complex,Poaceae)

The Iberian mountain spiny fescues are a reticulate group of five diploid grass taxa consisting of three parental species and two putative hybrids: F. × souliei (F. eskia × F. quadriflora) and F. × picoeuropeana (F. eskia × F. gautieri). Phenotypic and molecular studies were conducted with the aim of determining the taxonomic boundaries and genetic relationships of the five taxa and disentangling the origins of the two hybrids. Statistical analyses of 31 selected phenotypic traits were conducted on individuals from 159 populations and on nine type specimens. Molecular analyses of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were performed on 29 populations. The phenotypic analyses detected significant differences between the five taxa and demonstrated the overall intermediacy of the F. × picoeuropeana and F. × souliei between their respective parents. The RAPD analysis corroborated the genetic differentiation of F. eskia, F. gautieri and F. quadriflora and the intermediate nature of the two hybrids; however, they also detected genetic variation within F. × picoeuropeana. These results suggest distinct origins for F. × picoeuropeana in the Cantabrian and Pyrenean mountains, with the sporadic Pyrenean populations having potentially resulted from recent hybridizations and the stabilized Cantabrian ones from older events followed by potential displacements of the parents. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 173 , 676–706.     

Taxonomic status of southern South American Conepatus (Carnivora: Mephitidae)

Despite recent taxonomic evaluations of Mephitidae and North American hog‐nosed skunks, southern South American species of Conepatus have not been thoroughly examined in a systematic context. Conepatus chinga and Conepatus humboldtii were described more than 150 years ago, based on external characters such as hair coloration and size. Although historically recognized as valid species, to date no detailed systematic analysis has been performed for either of these taxa. Herein, we evaluated the taxonomic status of C. chinga and C. humboldtii within the southern part of South America using geometric morphometrics of the skull and mandible, mitochondrial DNA analysis using the cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase c subunit I genes, and also control region and pelage pattern variation. We failed to find morphological (skull shape and pelage coloration patterns) or molecular differences between these two species; thus, we considered that the specimens assigned to C. chinga and C. humboldtii belong to the same species. Our results indicate that environmental variation seems to be responsible for shape and size variation in Conepatus skulls from southern South America. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London     

Revision of the section Anillochlamys Jeannel, 1909 (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae: Leptodirini)

The taxonomy of the Iberian Leptodirini species of the section Anillochlamys Jeannel, 1909 has been revised. The proposed classification is based on the study of the genital structures of both sexes, in particular the internal sac of the aedeagus. According to the different models of internal sacs, the following genera, species and subspecies are identified: genus Anillochlamys Jeannel, 1909: A. aurouxi Español, 1965, A. bueni Jeannel, 1909 (= A. avariae Comas, 1977 n.syn.), A. cullelli Lagar, 1978, A. moroderi Bolívar, 1923 (= A. negrei Comas, 1990 n. syn.), A. subtruncatus Jeannel, 1930 (= A. baguenai Jeannel, 1930) and A. tropicus (Abeille, 1881) (= Adelops hispanicus Ehlers, 1893; A. tropicus var. apicalis Jeannel, 1909); genus Paranillochlamys Zariquiey, 1940: P. catalonicus (Jeannel, 1913), P. urgellesi (Español, 1965) and P. velox Zariquiey, 1940 (= P. velox montadai Lagar, 1963 n. syn.); genus Pseudochlamys Comas, 1977: P. raholai (Zariquiey, 1922) (= Anillochlamys raholai luis-bofilli Zariquiey, 1940 n. syn.); genus Spelaeochlamys Dieck, 1870 (= Typhlochlamys Español, 1975 n.syn.): S.bardisai (Español, 1975) (= Typhlochlamys escolai Comas, 1978 n. syn.), S. ehlersi Dieck, 1870 and S. ehlersi verai Comas, 1977 n. stat.     

A new Microphorites in the Lower Cretaceous amber of the Southwest of France (Diptera: Dolichopodidae, “Microphorinae”)

A new deposit of Lower Cretaceous amber, found in Charente-Maritime (SW France) has yielded an important entomofauna with numerous arthropod associations characteristic of moist ground. We describe a new species of Dolichopodidae: ‘Microphorinae’(Diptera: Empidoidea), Microphorites deploegi n. sp. on the basis of seven male and female specimens of exceptional state of preservation. This genus was previously only known from Lebanese amber of the Lower Cretaceous. The present discovery supports a reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment as a sandy beach along the sea, under a warm climate.     

First fossil occurrence of the jewel damselflies (Odonata: Chlorocyphidae): a new species from the Late Miocene of Styria,Austria

The first fossil representative of the jewel damselflies (Calopterygoidea: Chlorocyphidae), a family of large, prominent, and often brilliantly colored Old World tropical Zygoptera, is described and figured. Chlorocypha cordasevae n. sp. was recovered from the Late Miocene (Early Pannonian, Serravalian to Tortonian, c.11 Ma) locality of Paldau, in the Styrian Basin, Austria. The fossil seems to be related to the African genus Chlorocypha Fraser, and within a larger group of African genera also including Stenocypha Dijkstra, Africocypha Pinhey, and Platycypha Fraser, and collectively set apart from southern Asiatic genera. The discovery of a central European species of Chlorocypha as recently as the Late Miocene reveals a much wider range to the family than its generally disjunctive modern distribution, demonstrating a Neogene contraction to their range, likely in connection with climatic cooling, drying, and developing seasonality. Modern chlorocyphids live under warm, humid climates, and the presence of C. cordasevae in the Pannonian fauna of Paldau further corroborates such a subtropical paleoclimate for the locality at that time.     

A new species of Borgatomelissa Patiny, 2000 from eastern Morocco: Borgatomelissa flavimaura n. sp. (Hymenoptera,Andrenidae)

Until now, two species of Borgatomelissa Patiny, 2000 have been described, both from loci typici located in the Near East and eastern Africa. Borgatomelissa brevipennis (Walker, 1871), the most widespread taxon, has also been found in the southern Sahelo-Sudanian belt of the Sahara. A third species from eastern Morocco is described in the present study: Borgatomelissa flavimaura n. sp. In addition to taxonomic insights, the new species sheds a new light on the biogeography of the genus.