Creating and destroying species: the 'new' biodiversity and evolutionarily significant units among New Zealand's galaxiid fishes

Morphological and genetic analyses of populations of two non-diadromous galaxiid species, the black mudfish and Neochanna heleios , the dwarf inanga Galaxias gracilis confirm the presence of a cryptic species, Neochanna heleios , within the geographic range of N. diversus , and indicate three distinct evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) in the latter species. Comparisons between G. gracilis and its parent taxon, G. maculatus , reveal that the former is not monophyletic and derives from three separate founding events. Significant morphological divergence between these two species is the result of ontogenic shifts in landlocked lacustrine populations and long-term morphological convergence in populations of G. gracilis. . Corresponding incipient changes are recognized in other younger landlocked populations of G. maculatus in New Zealand. These populations and the three groups within G. gracilis should be given the status of ESUs and managed accordingly by conservation agencies.     

How labile are the egg‐laying preferences of seed beetles?

Abstract.  1. Previous studies have produced conflicting results with respect to the genetic lability of host preference in the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus .
2. In this study, replicate lines of an Asian population were kept on an ancestral host (mung bean) or switched to a novel host (cowpea). After 40+ generations, lines were assayed for host preference (in choice tests) and host acceptance (under no-choice conditions), and were compared to African lines chronically associated with cowpea.
3. Host preference diverged in the expected direction. When presented a mixture of cowpeas and mung beans, females from the cowpea lines laid a greater fraction of their eggs on cowpea than did females from the mung bean lines. Preference for cowpea was nearly as strong in the cowpea lines as it was in the cowpea-adapted African lines.
4. In contrast, the experimental host shift did not affect long-term host acceptance. African females laid more eggs if given cowpeas than if given mung beans, but realised fecundities in the cowpea and mung bean lines were similar on the two hosts. Females from all lines laid more eggs if they were reared on cowpea than on mung bean, but rearing host had no effect on either relative host acceptance or host preference.
5. Comparisons with earlier studies suggest that the lability of host preference varies among beetle populations, which precludes generalisation at the species level. Because lines were maintained under no-choice conditions, modification of host preference probably occurred via a lower acceptance threshold for the novel host, without a concomitant change in the long-term acceptance of the ancestral host.     

Evolution of contest competition and its effect on host–parasitoid dynamics

In experimental populations of the cowpea bean weevil Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) and a parasitic wasp Heterospilus prosopidis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), large changes in the abundances and the fluctuations of both species occurred after approximately 20 generations. In this paper, we examine the hypothesis that this observed change in the dynamics may have been caused by an evolutionary shift in the mode of competition among the bean weevils. A Nicholson-Bailey type model is developed using parameters measured from the experiments. The host larvae can differ in the type of competitive behaviour that they exhibit, which can be either of a contest type or of a scramble type. If a bean contains one or more larvae of the contest type, only one of these will survive and any scramble-type larvae in the bean will be killed. If no contest-type larvae are present within a bean, multiple individuals of the scramble type can emerge from a single bea n. The model assumes many genotypes, differing in the fraction of offspring of the two types. If a high per capita resource availability is maintained, then the scramble type is selected for, but if resources are limited, then the contest type is selected for. The host population at the start of the experiment, taken from a stock culture, was composed mostly of the scramble type. The model is successful in explaining the initial quick increase in the host's abundance, followed by the evolutionary increase in the fraction of the contest type among hosts, resulting in the more stable population dynamics of the host–parasitoid system, as observed in the experiments. However, it predicts a parasitoid abundance much higher than that observed. We discuss alternative hypotheses to explain the observed evolutionary shift in the population dynamics. We also examine the effect of the difference in size of the beans in the stock culture and those used in the experiments.     

The impact of the egg parasitoid Uscana lariophaga on Callosobruchus maculatus populations and the damage to cowpea in a traditional storage system

In West Africa, Uscana lariophaga (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) parasitizes the eggs of Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), an important pest of stored cowpea. The impact of the egg parasitoid on pest populations was evaluated in clay pots used in traditional storage in Niger. At the beginning of the storage period cowpeas were infested with different densities of larval instars and adults of C. maculatus and inoculated with one density of U. lariophaga. The higher the initial densities of C. maculatus, the better the egg parasitoid was able to establish itself and to control the population of C. maculatus, limiting the damage to cowpea. After three months of storage, the egg parasitoid significantly reduced the number of C. maculatus adults by 68 at the lowest and 86 percent at the highest initial density of the beetle; the percentage of damaged beans was reduced by 13 and 19% respectively.     

Natural selection hampers divergence of reproductive traits in a seed beetle

Speciation is thought to often result from indirect selection for reproductive isolation. This will occur when reproductive traits that cause reproductive isolation evolve (i) as a by‐product of natural selection on traits with which they are genetically correlated or (ii) as an indirect result of diversifying sexual selection. Here, we use experimental evolution to study the degree of divergent evolution of reproductive traits by manipulating the intensity of natural and sexual selection in replicated selection lines of seed beetles. Following 40 generations of selection, we assayed the degree of divergent evolution of reproductive traits between replicate selection lines experiencing the same selection regime. The evolution of reproductive traits was significantly divergent across selection lines within treatments. The evolution of reproductive traits was both slower and, more importantly, significantly less divergent among lines experiencing stronger directional natural selection. This suggests that reproductive traits did not evolve as an indirect by‐product of adaptation. We discuss several ways in which natural selection may hamper divergent evolution among allopatric populations.     

Abundance, reproductive period, and feeding habits of eleotrid fishes in estuarine habitats of north-east Brazil

Aspects of the abundance, reproduction, and feeding habits of Dormitalor maculatus, Eleotris pisonis , and Guavina guavina were assessed in the shallow waters of the Mundaú/Manguaba estuarine system, north-east Brazil. Dormitator maculatus , the most abundant species, was caught in salinities ranging from 0·1 to 20·3 ppt and temperatures from 25·0 to 36·0° C. Eleotris pisonis , the second most abundant species, occurred in salinities from 0·1 to 18·2 ppt and temperatures from 25·0 to 33·0° C. Guavina guavina was rare at the stations sampled. Peak gonadal development was found during the winter (wet season) in D. maculatus and E. pisonis , and probably may occur during this season in G. guavina . Size-at-maturity was 51 and 46 mm T.L. for males and females of D. maculatus , respectively, and 57 and 43 mm T.L. for males and females of E. pisonis , respectively. Dormitator maculatus was omnivorous, and ingested primarily macrophytes, followed by sediment, and unidentified eggs; E. pisonis and G. guavina were predaceous, with the former preying mainly upon the gastropod Neritina virginea , and the latter mainly upon the crab Goniopsis cruentata. Dormitator maculatus and E. pisonis appear to coexist because of differences between the two in microhabitat and food utilization. The two more similar species, E. pisonis and G. guavina appear to coexist due to differences in spatial distribution.     

褐带蚜小蜂产卵器刺入对寄主桃蚜存活、生长发育和繁殖力的影响

[目的]褐带蚜小蜂Aphelinus maculatus是2016年的中国新纪录种,是桃蚜Myzus persicae的重要寄生蜂之一.为科学评估褐带蚜小蜂对桃蚜的控制作用,研究了褐带蚜小蜂产卵器刺入对寄主桃蚜存活、生长发育和繁殖力的影响.[方法]培养皿中用油菜叶单头饲养、每天记录被褐带蚜小蜂产卵器刺入1次的桃蚜存活数...     

Why Callosobruchus rhodesianus causes limited damage during storage of cowpea seeds in a tropical humid zone in Togo

The sympatric bruchids Callosobruchus rhodesianus (Pic) and Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) colonize cultures of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (Walp.) (Papilionaceae), in Togo at the end of the rainy season. Seeds containing larvae of the two bruchid species were introduced into the storage systems. Callosobruchus rhodesianus adults emerged from the seeds at the beginning of storage, but this species disappeared quickly and C. maculatus became dominant. Analysis of the reproduction of females collected at the beginning of storage made it possible to distinguish between four groups of females differing in their reproductive activity. Three groups were sexually active but they differed in their fecundity and the duration of the latency period before the first oviposition phase. The fourth group of females was in reproductive diapause. In interspecific competition, the presence of C. maculatus larvae reduced the survival chances of C. rhodesianus and therefore is disadvantageous for this species. The main factors explaining the rapid decrease of the C. rhodesianus populations under storage conditions were the variability of female reproductive activity with the emergence of insects in reproductive diapause and the significant larval mortality in interspecific competition with C. maculatus.