Eradication of cats (Felis catus) from subantarctic Macquarie Island

The feral Cat (Felis catus) population on Macquarie Island was targeted for eradication between 1996 and 2002, with 761 cats captured during this period. After 22 years of cat control from 1974 integrated with control programmes for other pests, effort intensified for 2 years before a dedicated eradication programme began in 1998. The primary knock‐down for the eradication used cage trapping and shooting, with most surviving cats captured with leg‐hold traps. A total of 6298 field days and 216 574 trap nights were recorded in this operation. Factors contributing to the success of the programme included extensive planning, increased staff numbers at critical times, better access to remote areas of the island, introduction of leg‐hold traps, sufficient operational funding and good collaboration between government agencies operating on the island. The programme would have benefited from earlier deployment of detector dogs and better posteradication monitoring of a broader range of native species impacted by cats. The successful eradication of cats from Macquarie Island, being the second largest achieved to date, provides valuable experience for cat eradication attempts on other large remote islands. This programme relied on ground‐based techniques with minimal use of poisons and provides possible options for sites where broad‐scale poisoning, or where aerial distribution of poisons, cannot be used.     

厦门岛附近自由生活海洋线虫的研究——微口线虫属（Genus：Terschellingia De Man,1888）的两种

本文报道了厦门岛附近潮间带泥基质滩所分离到的2种自由生活线虫。其中长尾微口线虫（Terschellingia longicaudata de Man,1907）在头部感觉毛以及交合刺的形态及结构等方面很的符合前人的描述,但肛前附器的个数有差别;另外一种由于其分类地位尚不能确定,本文中建议给出其尾的分类,其主要特征为短的尾部和很发达的交合刺。     

海南岛霸王岭垂直带热带植被物种多样性的空间分析

以常用的Shannon-Wiener指数,Simpson指数以及新近提出的两个非参数指数(Chao多样性指数和二阶刀切法多样性指数),计测了海南岛霸王岭垂直带上不同植被类型(包括热带低山雨林、热带山地雨林、热带云雾林、热带山地矮林)的物种多样性.在此基础上,借助地理信息系统的空间分析技术,模拟绘制了整个梯度的多样性变化谱.总体而言,样带下部的物种多样性高于上部,或者说热带低山雨林与热带山地雨林的物种多样性高于热带云雾林与热带山地矮林,而南部稍高于北部.这种基于插值方法的空间分析技术为探索植被结构分析提供了一条新的途径.     

Comparison of Herbivores and Herbivory in the Canopy and Understory for Two Tropical Tree Species1

The Janzen–Connell model of tropical forest tree diversity predicts that seedlings and young trees growing close to conspecific adults should experience higher levels of damage and mortality from herbivorous insects, with the adult trees acting as either an attractant or source of the herbivores. Previous research in a seasonal forest showed that this pattern of distance‐dependent herbivory occurred in the early wet season during the peak of new leaf production. I hypothesized that distance‐dependent herbivory may occur at this time because the new foliage in the canopy attracts high numbers of herbivores that are limited to feeding on young leaves. As a consequence, seedlings and saplings growing close to these adults are more likely to be discovered and damaged by these herbivores. In the late wet season, when there is little leaf production in the canopy, leaf damage is spread more evenly throughout the forest and distance dependence disappears. I tested three predictions based on this hypothesis: (1) the same species of insect herbivores attack young and adult trees of a given plant species; (2) herbivore densities increase on adult trees during leaf production; and (3) herbivore densities in the understory rise during the course of the wet season. Censuses were conducted on adults and saplings of two tree species, raribea asterolepis and Alseis blackiana. Adults and saplings of both species had largely the same suite of chewing herbivore species. On adults of Q. asterolepis, the density of chewing herbivores increased 6–10 times during leaf production, but there was no increase in herbivore density on adults of A. blackiana. Herbivore densities increased 4.5 times on A. blackiana saplings and 8.9 times on Q. asterolepis saplings during the wet season, but there were no clear trends on the adults of either species. These results suggest that the potential of adult trees as a source of herbivores on saplings depends on the value of new leaves to a tree species' herbivores, which may differ across tree species.     

Demographic spatial genetic structure of the Neotropical tree, Jacaranda copaia

We used genotypes from six microsatellite loci and demographic data from a large mapped forest plot to study changes in spatial genetic structure across demographic stages, from seed rain to seedlings, juveniles, and adult diameter classes in the Neotropical tree, Jacaranda copaia. In pairwise comparisons of genetic differentiation among demographic classes, only seedlings were significantly differentiated from the other diameter classes; F(ST) values ranged from 0.006 to 0.009. Furthermore, only seedlings showed homozygote excess suggesting biparental inbreeding in the large diameter reproductive adults. We found very low levels of relatedness in the first distance class of trees, 1-26 cm diameter (F(ij) = 0.011). However, there was a 5- to 10-fold rise in relatedness in the smallest distance class, from the smallest to the largest tree diameter classes (F(ij) = 0.110 for individuals > 56 cm diameter). A variety of non-mutually exclusive mechanisms have been invoked perviously to explain such a pattern, including natural selection, history, or nonequilibrium population dynamics. The long-term demographic data available for this species allow us to evaluate these mechanisms. Jacaranda is a fast-growing, light-demanding species with low recruitment rates and high mortality rates in the smaller diameter classes. It successfully regenerates only in large light gaps, which occur infrequently and stochastically in space and time. These factors contribute to the nonequilibrium population dynamics and observed low genetic structure in the small size classes. We conclude that the pattern of spatial genetic transitions in Jacaranda is consistent with overlapping related generations and strong but infrequent periods of high recruitment, followed by long periods of population decline.     

Geographically contrasting biodiversity reductions in a widespread New Zealand seabird

Unravelling prehistoric anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity represents a key challenge for biologists and archaeologists. New Zealand's endemic Stewart Island Shag (Leucocarbo chalconotus) comprises two distinct phylogeographic lineages, currently restricted to the country's south and southeast. However, fossil and archaeological remains suggest a far more widespread distribution at the time of Polynesian settlement ca. 1280 AD, encompassing much of coastal South Island. We used modern and ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating, and Bayesian modelling, to assess the impacts of human arrival on this taxon. Our analyses show that the southeast South Island (Otago) lineage was formerly widespread across coastal South Island, but experienced dramatic population extinctions, range retraction and lineage loss soon after human arrival. By comparison, the southernmost (Foveaux Strait) lineage has experienced a relatively stable demographic and biogeographic history since human arrival, retaining much of its mitochondrial diversity. Archaeological data suggest that these contrasting demographic histories (retraction vs. stability) reflect differential human impacts in mainland South Island vs. Foveaux Strait, highlighting the importance of testing for temporal and spatial variation in human‐driven faunal declines.     

Taxonomy and biogeography of Australian species of the Ropalidia stigma group and R. variegata group (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

The taxonomy of the Australian species of two Ropalidia species groups, the R. stigma group and R. variegata group, is revised and their distribution patterns are discussed. Two species in the R. stigma group (R. darwini and R. elegantula), and four species in the R. variegata group (R. flavinoda, R. gregaria, R. mutabilis and R. revolutionalis) are recognized in Australia, with a new synonymy of R. mutabilis torresiana Richards, 1978, under R. gregaria (de Saussure, 1854). Icaria torrida Smith, 1863, from Seram Island is synonymized with R. unicolor (Smith, 1859).     

King penguin brooding and defending a sub-Antarctic skua chick

Interspecific parental care is rare, conveys no ultimate evolutionary advantage, and is usually attributed to reproductive errors in species with analogous habitat, behaviour and diet. We report on interspecific parental care (brooding and “defence” of unrelated chick) provided by a king penguin to a sub-Antarctic skua chick on Marion Island, despite substantial risk of injury to the penguin due to the presence of the true parents.     

The population of the hypogeous fungus<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Tuber aestivum</Emphasis> syn.<Emphasis Type="Italic"> T. uncinatum</Emphasis> on the island of Gotland

The aim of our study was to examine the genetic variation within Tuber aestivum on the Baltic island of Gotland, Sweden. Variation in such a limited geographical area should help illuminate the dispersal abilities of T. aestivum. Knowledge of the genetic variation in this northern outpost could also be useful in the selection of inoculum for the establishment of truffle orchards. Genetic structure and homogeneity of the population were studied using principal component and parsimony analyses of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA data. Our inventories showed that T. aestivum is abundantly distributed in suitable habitats on Gotland. The genetic variation observed suggests sexual reproduction and slow dispersal on the island. It is possible that the present population was established from one introduction, which may be due to ability to survive in this habitat rather than to rare colonising events. The T. aestivum population on Gotland may be an ecotype adapted to the climate and soil conditions on the island.     

Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation change on the Isle of Skye: new data from three coastal locations

Detailed lithostratigraphical and biostratigraphical studies from three contrasting coastal sites on the Isle of Skye were undertaken to investigate spatial variations in vegetation development on the island since the Lateglacial. The pollen profiles were then compared with the published pollen data for Skye. The new data reveal broadly similar trends for the sites studied and show that these correspond well to the previously established chronology. A date of ca. 10110 radiocarbon years B.P. has been obtained for the rational rise in Corylus, a date of ca. 8850 uncal B.P. for the appearance of Ulmus and a date of ca. 6600 uncal B.P. for the rise in Alnus. However, significant variations were evident and these were due to (a) coastal proximity, which directly affects vegetation composition through the low but persistent presence of Armeria and Chenopodiaceae, (b) altitude, which determines the effect of rising groundwater that may be related to relative sea level rise, and (c) aspect and position in relation to central Cuillin mountain range, through exposure to SW winds that restrict the development of thermophilous woodland and encourage the acidification of heathlands and development of herb-rich grasslands from ca. 4000 B.P.. This study reveals that the range of variation caused by these local factors is as great as the variation found throughout the island. This has negative implications for the reconstruction of regional patterns of vegetation change but highlights the range of local habitats and wild resources available to early inhabitants of the island.