New piophilid in town: the first Palaearctic record of Piophila megastigmata and its coexistence with Piophila casei in central Spain

The genus Piophila Fallén (Diptera: Piophilidae) is known from only two species: Piophila casei (L.) is a major pest, a cosmopolitan species and is commonly used as a forensic indicator, whereas Piophila megastigmata McAlpine has until now only been recorded in a natural environment in South Africa. The present work reports the first occurrence of P. megastigmata in the Palaearctic region from specimens collected by carrion‐baited traps throughout different natural habitats of central Spain. Furthermore, the species was also collected with P. casei on corpses of domestic pigs used in a carrion succession study in a periurban habitat in central Spain. Both species occurred on carrion in different seasons, but P. megastigmata was more abundant than P. casei in autumn, arriving earlier at the carcasses and persisting for a longer period. The contrary pattern was observed in spring. The presence of P. megastigmata in different localities in central Spain and its coexistence with P. casei in a periurban habitat make it a potentially useful new tool for legal medicine in Europe; thus this species must be considered in forensic entomology studies.     

The position of Najas within the subclass Alismatidae (Monocotyledones) in the light of new evidence from seed coat structures in the Hydrocharitoideae (Hydrocharitales)

SHAFFER-FEHRE, M., 1991. The position of Najas within the Alismatidae (Monocotyledones) in the light of new evidence from seed coat structures in the Hydrocharitoideae (Hydrocharitaceae). This paper gives details of seed coat structure in several genera of the Hydrocharitoideae (Hydrocharitaceae) and of Najas (Najadaceae). The taxonomic position of Najas L., as a genus or as the basis of a higher taxonomic category, has changed with the publication of every new system of classification in which it was considered. In the light of evidence derived from seed coat anatomy, particularly that of the testa, and from the presence of endotegmen tuberculae, Najas is placed in the enlarged tribe Stratioteae in the subfamily Hydrocharitoideae (Hydrocharitaceae).     

Simulated mechanisms of soil N feedback on the forest CO2 response

An improved understanding of the response of forest ecosystems to elevated levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere is crucial because atmospheric CO₂ concentration continues to increase at an accelerating rate and forests are an important sink in the global carbon cycle. Several CO₂‐enrichment experiments have now been running for more than 10 years, with highly variable short‐term results after the first decade. Responses to rising [CO₂] over the next few decades will depend on several plant and ecosystem feedbacks that are inadequately understood. In this study, we conduct a sensitivity analysis, within the context of the simulated CO₂ response, using a new version of the G'DAY ecosystem model, with an improved decomposition submodel, applied to a nitrogen‐limited Norway spruce forest site in the north of Sweden. The new decomposition model incorporates important modifications to soil processes, including some that constitute negative feedbacks on an ecosystem's growth response to elevated [CO₂]. The sensitivity analysis reveals key parameters and processes that are important for the simulated CO₂ response on the short term and others that are more important on the long term. A process that has a strong impact on the short‐term response is a change in decomposer composition, potentially in response to altered litter quality. Parameters that become increasingly important in the long term are carbon allocation to root exudates that are directly or indirectly associated with atmospheric N₂ fixation, and the rate of humification of soil organic matter. We identify factors intrinsic to species and site (microbes and resources) and ecosystem nutrient supply that determine the duration of the enhanced simulated growth response to elevated [CO₂].     

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.     

Experimental evidence for the relationship between food supply, parental effort and chick survival in the Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus

We studied breeding success, chick growth, parental effort and chick behaviour in two groups of Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus whose chicks were provided with additional food until 7 days after hatching or until fledging. These data were compared with those from control pairs which we studied simultaneously to test the hypotheses that food was in short supply during the chick stage at the colony site and that in such circumstances the behaviour of adults and young is mainly responsible for the low success. Pairs whose chicks were fed with additional food until fledging showed a higher fledging success than control pairs (intermediate for pairs of first experimental group). During the first week after hatching, experimental adults of both groups were present together at the territory for longer than control pairs. In adult females of experimental pairs, the length of feeding trips was shorter than in females of control pairs, whilst the rate of chick feeding was more frequent in the experimental broods. After the chicks were 7 days old, differences were significant only for the experimental pairs whose chicks were provided with additional food until fledging. Chicks fed until fledging showed a higher daily mass and wing-length increments and reached a higher fledging mass at an earlier age than both control chicks and chicks which were provided with additional food until day 7. Starvation occurred only in control chicks and in chicks of the first experimental group after we had stopped providing food. When food was in short supply, fledging success of gulls was adversely affected as a result of both starvation (because of the lower feeding rates of chicks) and a higher predation rate (arising from changes in behaviour of both adults and chicks).     

The importance of traditional farmland areas for steppe birds: a case study of migrant female Great Bustards Otis tarda in Spain

A detailed knowledge of the habitat requirements of steppe birds living in farmland habitats is necessary to identify agricultural practices compatible with their conservation. The globally threatened Great Bustard Otis tarda is a partial migrant in central Iberia, but factors affecting its winter habitat use have not been identified. We assessed habitat differences between breeding and wintering areas and winter habitat selection of radiotagged migrant female Great Bustards in central Spain. Of 68 tagged females, 35% moved to wintering areas located 64.3 ± 24.0 km south of their breeding areas, and 80% wintered in a single area of c. 236 km². A census of the population in this area identified it as one of the most important wintering areas of this species in the world, holding c. 1500 individuals. There were significant differences between breeding and wintering habitats of individually marked migrant females. Compared with breeding areas, wintering areas of migrant females were located further from roads and urban nuclei, had lower human population densities and area of urban developments, and a higher diversity of land‐use types, with less cover of cereals and more vineyards and olive groves. Within this area, radiotracked migrant females preferred sites with more vineyards and a lower land‐use diversity. Our results highlight the importance of traditional Mediterranean dry farmland mosaics, and suggest that different conservation strategies are needed for migrant and resident populations in winter to secure the conservation of suitable wintering habitat for Great Bustards in the Iberian Peninsula.     

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, ?? , ??–??.     

The Parvidrilidae – a diversified groundwater family: description of six new species from southern Europe,and clues for its phylogenetic position within Clitellata (Annelida)

The Parvidrilidae Erséus, 1999 constitute the most recently described family of oligochaete microdriles. Prior to this study, Parvidrilus strayeri Erséus, 1999, and Parvidrilus spelaeus Martínez‐Ansemil, Sambugar & Giani, 2002, found in groundwaters of the USA (Alabama) and Europe (Slovenia and Italy), respectively, were the only two species in this family. In this paper, six new species – Parvidrilus camachoi , Parvidrilus gianii , Parvidrilus jugeti , Parvidrilus meyssonnieri , Parvidrilus stochi , and Parvidrilus tomasini – and Parvidrilus gineti (Juget, 1959) comb. nov. are added to the family. With all species being stygobiont, the Parvidrilidae is unique in being the only family of oligochaetes worldwide comprising taxa that are restricted to groundwater habitats. Parvidrilids are exceedingly small worms whose principal morphological characteristics are the presence of hair setae in ventral bundles, the markedly posterior position of setae within the segments, the presence of mid‐dorsal glandular pouches in mesosomial segments, the lateral development of the clitellum, the presence of a single male pore in segment XII, and the presence (or absence) of a single spermatheca. The phylogenetic relationships of the Parvidrilidae within the Clitellata were investigated using the nuclear 18S rRNA gene, and the most representative and taxonomically balanced data set of clitellate families available to date. The data were analysed by parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference. Irrespective of the method used, Parvidrilidae were placed far from Capilloventridae, one family once suggested to be closely related to parvidrilids. Although closer to Enchytraeidae than Phreodrilidae, two other suggested putative sister families, the exact position of Parvidrilidae within Clitellata still remained uncertain in the absence of branch support. The examination of reproductive structures, together with the similarity of other important anatomical traits of the new species herein described, reinforced the idea that phreodrilids were the best candidate to be the sister group to parvidrilids on morphological grounds. A fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene, used as a barcode, also genetically characterized a few Parvidrilus species. The observation that two species diverge from each other by high genetic distances, even though their type localities are more or less only 100 km apart, is interpreted in the context of low dispersal abilities of inhabitants of the subterranean aquatic ecosystem, and habitat heterogeneity. The Parvidrilidae appear to be a diversified, Holarctic, and probably widely distributed family in groundwater, but very often overlooked because of the small size and external similarity with the polychaete family Aeolosomatidae of its members. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 166 , 530–558.     

Botanists and their childhood memories: an underutilized expert source in ethnobotanical research

Botanists are an overlooked group of informants in ethnobotanical studies. The aim of this study was to assess their potential as sources of original ethnobotanical information. Wild food plants remembered by Polish botanists from their childhood were freelisted by 71 botanists. The results were compared with several ethnobotanical studies: three from the 21^st century and one from the mid‐20^th century. The botanists listed 123 species (mean of 9.3 species per individual). Although the average number of personal freelists was slightly lower for botanists than for local key informants in two of the other studies (11 and 13, respectively), the total list of species was longer than in any other Polish ethnobotanical study. Two of the ethnobotanical studies supplied richer material on past famine plants, whereas the botanists mentioned many alien plants and plants from urban habitats not mentioned in the ethnographical study. It can be concluded that botanists are possibly the best source of information for studies of contemporary or new uses of plants, but are inadequate for uses that are dying out. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 168 , 334–343.