Ecology shapes metabolic and life history scalings in termites

1. Metabolic rate (B) is a fundamental property of organisms, and scales with body mass (M) as B = αM^β. There has been much debate on whether scaling parameters should be viewed as constants or variables. However, there is increasing evidence that ecological differentiation can affect both α and β. 2. In colonial organisms such as social insects, individual metabolism is integrated at the colony level. Theory and data suggest that whole‐colony metabolism partly reflects individual‐level metabolic and life‐history scalings, but whether these have been affected by ecological diversification is little known. 3. Here, this issue was addressed using termites. Data from the literature were assembled to assess the interspecific scalings of individual metabolic rate with individual mass, and of individual mass with colony mass. Concurrently, it was tested whether such scalings were affected by two key ecological traits: lifestyle and diet. 4. Individual‐level metabolic scaling was affected by diet, with β = 1.02 in wood feeders and 0.60 in soil feeders. However, there was no difference in α. Further, individual mass scaled to the 0.25 power with colony mass, but forager species had larger colonies and smaller individuals relative to wood‐dwelling, sedentary ones, thus producing a grade shift. 5. Our results show that ecological diversification has affected fundamental metabolic and life‐history scalings in termites. Thus, theory on the energetics and evolution of colonial life should account for this variability.     

Etyid crabs (Crustacea,Decapoda) from mid‐Cretaceous Reefal strata of Navarra,northern Spain

Abstract: All known etyid crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the upper Albian – lower Cenomanian Aldoirar coralgal‐dominated patch reef (Albeniz Unit, Eguino Formation), as exposed at the disused Koskobilo quarry in Navarra, northern Spain, are described, discussed and illustrated. A new species, Xanthosia koskobiloensis, the first member of the genus on record from southern Europe, is erected, and a variety that appears closely related to this, Xanthosia cf. X. koskobiloensis, is recognised. This new taxon could be a forerunner of the early Palaeocene (Danian) Xanthosia gracilis from Fakse (Sjælland, eastern Denmark), with which it shares a morphologically closely similar carapace. On the basis of a revised overview here of all species assigned to it, the genus Xanthosia may have evolved in an environment dominated by deposition of siliciclastics, rather than chalks. In addition, Etyxanthosia fossa has been collected at Koskobilo, and as the distribution of all known specimens demonstrates, E. fossa inhabited various environments. Another new species, Caloxanthus paraornatus, is closely similar as well to a species from Fakse, Caloxanthus ornatus, and constitutes the first record of the genus for southern Europe.     

Pollination biology of Prunus mahaleb L.: deferred consequences of gender variation for fecundity and seed size

This study describes the reproductive biology of Prunus mahaleb, a rosaceous treelet, in a southeastern Spanish population. The species is gynodioecious with 55.4% of the plants being male-fertile and 44.6% presenting non-functional, shrunken anthers with no pollen, and behaving as functional females. Individual trees produced the same flower morph in four consecutive study years. Fruit set in bagged inflorescences was absent in male-sterile trees and was very reduced in male-fertiles. Open-pollinated flowers of male-fertiles showed greater fruit set (x?= 29.1%) than male-steriles (x?= 25.3%). Average fruit set in three experimental treatments (control, selfed, and crossed) were 29.05%, 41.9% and 38.6%, respectively, for male-fertile trees; those for male-steriles were 25.3%, 0% and 39.2%, respectively. Seeds from male-sterile plants were heavier (71.33 mg) than those of male-fertile plants (66.05 mg) but did not differ in germination ability. Male-fertile and male-sterile trees differ significantly in average nectar concentration (73.5% and 55.9%, respectively) and nectar volume secreted/flower and day (0.142 μl and 0.171 μl, respectively). A total of 41 species of insect flower visitors were recorded. Calliphorid and tachinid flies (41.97% of total visits), and andrenid bees (30.30%), were the most frequent visitors. The diversity of insect visitors was greater in male-fertile trees. Bees and flies accounted for 50.5% and 49.5%, respectively of total visits to male-fertile trees. Flies were far more frequent than bees at male-sterile flowers (76.9% and 23.1%, respectively). Male-sterile trees received higher average visitation (47 insects/census) than male-fertile trees (32 insects/census). Individual trees. showed a relative constancy of the fecundity rankings between years. Fruit production was significantly higher in male-sterile trees, with a four-year average of 6558 fruits, in contrast with male-fertile trees which yielded 4670 fruits. This 1.77-fold difference in favour of male-sterile trees over malefertiles was not compensated by the greater fruit set of the latter. This is attributable to the lower outcrossing rate of male-fertiles, estimated as 52.68% from seed mass data. In addition, greater seed mass of female progeny, and higher visitation rate by insects might explain the maintenance of this polymorphism. These results have far-reaching implications for the demography and seed-dispersal ecology of this endozoochorus species.     

Patterns of diversification on old volcanic islands as revealed by the woodlouse-hunter spider genus Dysdera (Araneae, Dysderidae) in the eastern Canary Islands

Long-term erosion and subsidence cause dramatic alterations in the physical and ecological features of oceanic islands. Although oceanic islands have been extensively used as models for the study of speciation, little attention has been given to investigating evolutionary patterns in old volcanic islands that have suffered severe climatic degradation. The spider genus Dysdera has diversified across the Canary Islands and has evolved endemisms in the low-elevation, xeric eastern islands, which sharply contrast with the younger, higher, and more humid western islands. A combined phylogenetic analysis of seven mitochondrial and nuclear genes reveals that the eastern Canaries were colonized twice, although only one lineage underwent in situ diversification. Origins of the speciose lineage remain obscure, but probably preceded diversification of present-day Iberian and North African species. A second colonization of the eastern Canaries from North Africa has occurred in more recent times. Molecular analyses reveal several instances of geographically coherent cryptic lineages further supported by morphometric evidence. Analyses of diversification rates suggest deceleration of diversification over the course of time, and this is compatible with increasing extinction rates due to drastic yet continuous ecological changes. Extinction may also explain incongruent patterns of morphological differentiation and species coexistence. Despite a general trend towards community impoverishment, there is also evidence for recent speciation events linked to ecological shifts, which may illustrate the origins of nonspeciose relic lineages on islands.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 94 , 589–615.     

Environmental niche divergence between genetically distant lineages of an endangered water beetle

Historically, there has been considerable disagreement between researchers about the criteria used to discriminate among species. Decisions based on traditional morphological and genetic data alone can be potentially problematic, especially if the hypotheses are contradictory. Today, taxonomy is integrating new methods from different disciplines that study species' limits and evolution; this diverse range of evidence aids researchers in the recognition of species. Differences in niche characteristics could become a new and useful criterion in helping to decide the status of conflicting taxonomical entities. Ochthebius glaber (family Hydraenidae) is an endangered water beetle typical from southeast Iberian hypersaline streams that shows three clear discrete genetic units within its distribution range. However, there is no evidence to date that these lineages of O. glaber exhibit any adaptive morphological or ecological divergence. Using a modelling approach directed to generate niche representation from distributional data, we found a significant environmental niche divergence for allopatric lineages of O. glaber that followed an aridity gradient. Although we can not conclude firmly at present that the separate populations of O. glaber studied represent separate, reproductively isolated species, the present study complements and supports previous phylogeographic analyses through the inclusion of measures of another form of evolutionary change; in this case, ecological diversification. Despite the existence of some methodological limitations, also discussed in the present study, we emphasize the importance of recent conceptual advances that allow taxonomy to improve species delimitation practices through the integration of theory and methods from disciplines that study the origin and evolution of species. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 103 , 891–903.     

Predicted impact of climate change on European bats in relation to their biogeographic patterns

There has been considerable recent interest concerning the impact of climate change on a wide range of taxa. However, little is known about how the biogeographic affinities of taxa may affect their responses to these impacts. Our main aim was to study how predicted climate change will affect the distribution of 28 European bat species grouped by their biogeographic patterns as determined by a spatial Principal Component Analysis. Using presence‐only modelling techniques and climatic data (minimum temperature, average temperature, precipitation, humidity and daily temperature range) for four different climate change scenarios (IPCC scenarios ranging from the most extreme A1FI, A2, B2 to the least severe, B1), we predict the potential geographic distribution of bat species in Europe grouped according to their biogeographic patterns for the years 2020–2030, 2050–2060 and 2090–2100. Biogeographic patterns exert a great influence on a species' response to climate change. Bat species more associated with colder climates, hence northern latitudes, could be more severely affected with some extinctions predicted by the end of the century. The Mediterranean and Temperate groups seem to be more tolerant of temperature increases, however, their projections varied considerably under different climate change scenarios. Scenario A1FI was clearly the most detrimental for European bat diversity, with several extinctions and declines in occupied area predicted for several species. The B scenarios were less damaging and even predicted that some species could increase their geographical ranges. However, all models only took into account climatic envelopes whereas available habitat and species interactions will also probably play an important role in delimiting future distribution patterns. The models may therefore generate ‘best case’ predictions about future changes in the distribution of European bats.     

An artificial chimeric derivative of Citrus viroid V involves the terminal left domain in pathogenicity

The recently described Citrus viroid V (CVd-V) induces, in Etrog citron, mild stunting and very small necrotic lesions and cracks, sometimes filled with gum. As Etrog citron plants co-infected with Citrus dwarfing viroid (CDVd) and CVd-V show synergistic interactions, these host–viroid combinations provide a convenient model to identify the pathogenicity determinant(s). The biological effects of replacing limited portions of the rod-like structure of CVd-V with the corresponding portions of CDVd are reported. Chimeric constructs were synthesized using a novel polymerase chain reaction-based approach, much more flexible than those based on restriction enzymes used in previous studies. Of the seven chimeras (Ch) tested, only one (Ch5) proved to be infectious. Plants infected with Ch5 showed no symptoms and, although this novel chimera was able to replicate to relatively high titres in singly infected plants, it was rapidly displaced by either CVd-V or CDVd in doubly infected plants. The results demonstrate that direct interaction(s) between structural elements in the viroid RNA (in this case, the terminal left domain) and as yet unidentified host factors play an important role in modulating viroid pathogenicity. This is the first pathogenic determinant mapped in species of the genus Apscaviroid .