Breeding ecology of the Basra Reed Warbler,Acrocephalus griseldis,in Iraq (Aves: Passeriformes: Acrocephalidae)

The population of the Basra Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus griseldis, which has a limited range confined to the marshlands of central and southern Iraq, has declined substantially due to massive degradation of its main breeding habitat in the Iraqi marshes during the 1980s and 1990s. The breeding habitat and breeding biology is described here. We discovered a remarkable extension of the breeding range in the extreme west of Iraq.     

A new species of Anthemis sect. Hiorthia (Asteraceae) from SE Sicily

A new species of Anthemis sect. Hiorthia (Asteraceae) is described from Sicily. This taxon, named A. piagnattiorum, is confined to a restricted area of the Hyblaean territory (SE Sicily), in the Natural Reserve of Cava Grande (Cassibile, Siracuse), where it takes shelter on carbonate rocky habitat and participates, with other Sicilian endemic taxa, to the composition of a termophilous chasmophytic community (Putorio calabricae–Micromerietum microphyllae).     

Lo Sviluppo Del Sistema Conduttore Di “Ginkgo Biloba” L.

Bupleurum gracile (M. Bieb.) DC. var. rollii Montel. ( ≡ Bupleurum rollii [Montel.] Moraldo) is lectotypified on a herbarium specimen kept in RO, revising the previous typification by S. Snogerup and B. Snogerup. An isolectotypes and 14 syntypes are also selected. Infraspecific variability and comparison with related Eastern species B. asperuloides Heldr. B. uechtritzianum S. Stoyanov and B. marschallianum C. A. Mey plus B. gracile D'Urv. are studied using morphometric and anatomical data. Notes on the ecology and distribution of the Italian endemic taxon are also provided.     

Social learning of predators in the dark: understanding the role of visual,chemical and mechanical information

The ability of prey to observe and learn to recognize potential predators from the behaviour of nearby individuals can dramatically increase survival and, not surprisingly, is widespread across animal taxa. A range of sensory modalities are available for this learning, with visual and chemical cues being well-established modes of transmission in aquatic systems. The use of other sensory cues in mediating social learning in fishes, including mechano-sensory cues, remains unexplored. Here, we examine the role of different sensory cues in social learning of predator recognition, using juvenile damselfish (Amphiprion percula). Specifically, we show that a predator-naive observer can socially learn to recognize a novel predator when paired with a predator-experienced conspecific in total darkness. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that when threatened, individuals release chemical cues (known as disturbance cues) into the water. These cues induce an anti-predator response in nearby individuals; however, they do not facilitate learnt recognition of the predator. As such, another sensory modality, probably mechano-sensory in origin, is responsible for information transfer in the dark. This study highlights the diversity of sensory cues used by coral reef fishes in a social learning context.     

Late Quaternary climatic vegetational shifts in an ecological transition zone of northern Madagascar: insights from genetic analyses of two endemic rodent species

The Loky‐Manambato region, located in northern Madagascar, is a biotically rich contact zone between different forest biomes. Local current forest cover is composed of both humid and dry formations, which show elevational stratification. A recent phylogeographical study of a regional dry forest rodent, Eliurus carletoni (subfamily Nesomyinae), found genetic evidence of forest contractions between 18 750 and 7500 years BP, which based on extrapolation of the pollen subfossil record, was thought to be associated with an expansion of local humid forests. Herein, we conduct a genetic test of this hypothesis and focused on populations on two neighbouring massifs of forest‐dependent rodent species, one associated with low‐elevation dry forests (E. carletoni) and the other with higher elevation humid forests (Eliurus tanala). Using mitochondrial markers and a combination of traditional and coalescent‐based phylogeographical, historical demographic and population genetic methods, we found evidence of historical connections between populations of E. tanala. Adjacent populations of E. carletoni and E. tanala exhibit opposite historical demographic patterns, and for both, evidence suggests that historical demographic events occurred within the last 25 000 years BP. These findings strongly support the proposed late Quaternary shifts in the floristic composition of the Loky‐Manambato region.     

云南省高等植物多样性与分布状况

云南省为我国乃至世界生物多样性的热点区域之一.为深入认识和保护云南的植物多样性,作者以《云南植物志》为基础,对其中记载的各物种在云南的县级分布情况进行了统计.结果显示:云南省高等植物多样性最丰富的为滇西北地区,其中的玉龙县、贡山县、香格里拉县物种数分别高达4,358种、3,981种和3,874种,其次为以西双版纳州为主体的南部热带边缘,其中的勐腊、景洪的物种数也都在3,000种以上;而以云南高原为主体的滇东和滇中地区植物多样性则较为贫乏,作者认为这与人们的关注度和野外调查的强度直接相关.云南分布有4,008种特有物种,4,509种狭域物种,特有物种的分布规律与总物种相似;含狭域物种最多的为贡山县(556种),是唯一超过500种的县.云南省多数物种的分布范围极为狭窄,64.1％的物种仅分布在1-5个县,46.0％的特有物种只分布在1个县的范围内.通过以上分析,作者指出由于此前对云南植物多样性的调查仍不完善,结果并不能全面反映真实的地带性规律,建议加大调查深度和标本采集量.如果条件许可,一些极易沦为濒危种的狭域分布种也应得到优先关注.     

中国重楼属特有种卷瓣重楼的地理分布特征及濒危状况

卷瓣重楼Paris undulatis H.Li et V.G.Soukup为中国重楼属植物特有种,然而该种从发表至今,关于其是否为峨眉山原产、是否为峨眉山特有、野生种群是否已灭绝等问题仍无定论。本文通过资源调查、分类学鉴定,并结合IUCN的濒危物种分类标准对卷瓣重楼进行了评价,澄清了上述问题。     

Parsimony analysis of endemicity and analysis of endemicity: A fair comparison

Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE) has been compared with other methods regarding its performance to identify areas of endemism. It is frequently compared with the Analysis of Endemicity (AE), which seems to perform better than PAE to identify these areas. Here I compare PAE and AE considering the sympatric taxa diagnosed as endemic, being as strictly close as possible to sympatry, and using previously published data of Sciobius (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). AE identified more candidate areas of endemism than PAE, but the number of highly restricted endemic taxa to these areas was insufficient to support them as areas of endemism. Considering strictly sympatry (homopatry), PAE performed better than AE; however, both methods may identify areas with some grade of sympatry, but the recognition of which areas constitute real areas of endemism in the strict sense depends on the interpretation of the researcher.     

Comparison between Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE), Endemicity Analysis (EA), and an alternative coding of Three-Distribution Statements based on hypothetical distributions

Areas of endemism are identified by a variety of methods, none of which is universally accepted. Performance of each method depends upon the variables chosen. Here, we compare Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE), Endemicity Analysis (EA), and a new coding method that we propose, Three-Distribution Statements (3DS). We rate performance based on the ability to identify hypothetical predefined patterns that represent non-conflicting, nested, and overlapping areas of endemism. Additionally, we also compared properties commonly used in analyses, such as shape and size of the area and the number of taxa involved. We found that 3DS has the best performance in retrieving predefined areas. EA is the only method that resolved a completely overlapping pattern, but it also found spurious patterns. Resolution with PAE always had intermediate precision and efficiency and so is not the best option for analysis of endemism. We recommend the use of 3DS together with EA as the best available option for hypothesizing areas of endemism.     

ADDITIONS TO THE CHECKLIST AND RECENT CHANGES TO THE SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN FRESHWATER FISHES

SUMMARY

Alterations and additions to the checklist of southern African freshwater fishes are given based on recent findings and the latest literature. Name changes are given for 13 taxa, and 25 species and subspecies are added to the list. Several species of marine origin (peripheral species) which form an integral part of continental fish communities in coastal lakes and low salinity lagoons are included in the checklist.