Growth, reproduction and recruitment patterns of the wide-eyed flounder, Bothus podas Delaroche (Pisces: Bothidae), from the Azores

The wide-eyed flounder, Bothus podas, occurs in many East Atlantic sub-tropical and temperate inshore areas and is the dominant flatfish in shallow-water areas around the Azores. The aim of this study was to examine the growth, reproductive biology and recruitment patterns of the wide-eyed flounder in the Azores. Adult fish samples were obtained by spear fishing and SCUBA hand netting at Faial Island. Juveniles were obtained from a complementary monthly beach-seining programme undertaken at Porto Pim Bay, Faial. Sex and development stage were determined by macroscopic examination of gonads, whereas age estimates were obtained by counting the number of opaque bands in the otoliths. In the Azores, B. podas reaches 6 years old, which is more than reported for the central Mediterranean, the only other population of this species that has been studied. The studied population has a sex ratio biased to males, which contrasts to a previous observational study, which noted a female-biased sex ratio. Spawning time, as determined from the gonadosomatic ratio and the macroscopic examination of gonads, was between July and September. This time period agrees with behavioural observations in the same area. Sexual maturity was estimated at a total length (TL₅₀) of 14.1 cm and at an age (A₅₀) of 1.7 years. Small juveniles occur on sandy inshore nursery areas for most of the year, but mainly between July and August each year. The presence of small fish throughout most of the year could suggest a protracted settlement period or slow growth on occasions on the shallow-water nursery grounds.     

A comparative study of the reproductive character and genetic diversity of an autogamous Tylophora matsumurae and its progenitor Tylophora tanakae (Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae)

Reproductive character and genetic diversity were investigated for an autogamous species of Tylophora matsumurae endemic to the Ryukyu Islands and its progenitor species T. tanakae. Approximately one-fourth of bagged flowers set fruits in T. matsumurae, although no fruits were obtained from bagged flowers in T. tanakae. In situ pollen tube germination was observed with high frequency in all five populations examined in T. matsumurae. Furthermore, in T. matsumurae, anther sacs were not dehisced even at anthesis. These results suggest the highly autogamous nature of T. matsumurae. No allozymic variation was detected in all seven populations examined in T. matsumurae. The phenogram constructed using the neighbor-joining method based on Nei's unbiased genetic distance indicated that T. matsumurae clustered with the Okinoerabu Island population of T. tanakae. The estimated outcrossing rate of four populations of T. tanakae varied from 0.18 to 0.59. It is probable that T. matsumurae had been derived from the predominantly self-pollinating population of T. tanakae, and rapidly enlarged its distribution area.     

A new species of Agrostis (Gramineae) in the A. alpina complex

A new species of Agrostis L. (A. barceloi ) is described from the northern mountains of Mallorca (Balearic Islands). The new taxon belongs to sect. Agtush and is mainly related to A. alpina Scop. and A. schleicheri Jord. & Verl. on morphological grounds. However, A. barceloi differs from A. alpina by its narrowly-lanceolate inflorescence, with panicle branches erect during and after anthesis, non-scabrid leaves, and by smaller lemmas and others. The new species is distinguished from A. schleicheri by the smaller spikelets, lemma, palea, and anthers. In addition, A. barceloi is tetraploid (2n = 28), and differs cytologically from the diploid A. alpina (2n= 14) and the hexaploid A. schleicheri (2n = 56).     

Nestedness in insular floras: spatiotemporal variation and underlying mechanisms

Aims Nestedness is a characteristic of insular metacommunity structure. Relatively few studies, however, have attempted to evaluate temporal changes in nestedness, or elucidate the mechanisms underlying nestedness. I evaluated both spatial and temporal patterns of nestedness in the insular floras of four archipelagoes of small islands in the Bahamas and the potential underlying environmental gradients.Methods The NODF (a nestedness metric based on overlap and decreasing fill) and the matrix temperature measure, T, were used to quantify nestedness in insular floras on small islands near Abaco, Andros, Great Exuma and the Exuma Cays, Bahamas. Two different null models were employed for each nestedness measure. Six environmental variables were evaluated in relation to nestedness by ordering islands according to gradients and recalculating NODF scores.Important findings All archipelagoes were significantly nested. Nestedness among sites contributed more to overall nestedness than did nestedness among species. NODF scores varied among archipelagoes, but were surprisingly constant over time. Ordering islands by vegetated area yielded the highest nestedness scores for three archipelagoes; ordering islands by protection from exposure yielded the highest nestedness score for one archipelago. Nestedness scores varied little over time even though species compositions changed, indicating that extinctions occurred in a deterministic manner. The relative importance of area suggests extinction is an important mechanism in producing nestedness. Attempting to determine the relative importance of immigrations or extinctions requires some assumptions, however, and both processes are likely cumulative in most cases.     

Evolution and biogeography of the woody Hawaiian violets (Viola, Violaceae): arctic origins, herbaceous ancestry and bird dispersal

Specialists studying the genus Viola have consistently allied the Hawaiian violets comprising section Nosphinium--most of which are subshrubs or treelets--with putatively primitive subshrubs in certain South American violet groups. Hawaiian violets also possess inflorescences, a floral disposition otherwise found only in other genera of the Violaceae, thus strengthening the hypothesis of a very ancient origin for the Hawaiian species. A survey of phylogenetic relationships among infrageneric groups of Viola worldwide using nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences revealed a dramatically different biogeographic origin for the Hawaiian violets: A monophyletic Hawaiian clade was placed in a close sister relationship with the amphi-Beringian tundra violet, V. langsdorffii s. 1., in a highly derived position. This remarkable and unforeseen relationship received strong clade support values across analyses, and monophyly of the Hawaiian lineage was further indicated by a unique 26-base-pair deletion in section Nosphinium. The high polyploid base chromosome number (n approximately equal to 40) in the Hawaiian violets relates them to Alaskan and eastern Siberian populations in the polyploid V. langsdorffii complex. More than 50 species of the 260 allochthonous birds wintering in the Hawaiian Islands are found to breed in the Arctic, occupying habitats in which individual birds might have encountered ancestral V. langsdorffii populations and served as dispersers to the central Pacific region. Acquisition of derived morphological traits (e.g., arborescence and inflorescences), significance of a confirmed Arctic origin for a component of the Hawaiian flora, and the likelihood of other "cryptic" Arctic elements in the Hawaiian flora deserving independent molecular phylogenetic corroboration are discussed.     

Latitudinal pattern in plant composition along the Peruvian and Chilean fog oases

Fog oases in western South America (locally named lomas) are distributed in a kind of fragmented or patchy way into the coastal desert. Their origin, as well as their current ecological connections in terms of species' dispersal capability, remains an open question. We analyzed the latitudinal pattern in plant species and phylogenetic similarities of 13 lomas, which cover the latitudinal extent of these habitats, from 7°58′ to 26°15′ S. A data-set of 1004 species from available checklists was considered. Plant species composition and phylogenetic relationships among lomas were analyzed by non-metric multidimensional scaling. Our results show three main groups of lomas (northern Peruvian, southern Peruvian, and North-Central Chilean lomas) that are aligned along a complex, nonlinear north–south gradient in ordination space. The weak species overlap between Peruvian and Chilean lomas, together with the higher content in endemic species of the Chilean communities, supports the hypothesis that, at least recently, species composition of the three main groups of lomas has been shaped by desert barriers limiting plant dispersal.     

Effects of clonality on the genetic variability of rare,insular species: the case of Ruta microcarpa from the Canary Islands

Many plant species combine sexual and clonal reproduction. Clonal propagation has ecological costs mainly related to inbreeding depression and pollen discounting; at the same time, species able to reproduce clonally have ecological and evolutionary advantages being able to persist when conditions are not favorable for sexual reproduction. The presence of clonality has profound consequences on the genetic structure of populations, especially when it represents the predominant reproductive strategy in a population. Theoretical studies suggest that high rate of clonal propagation should increase the effective number of alleles and heterozygosity in a population, while an opposite effect is expected on genetic differentiation among populations and on genotypic diversity. In this study, we ask how clonal propagation affects the genetic diversity of rare insular species, which are often characterized by low levels of genetic diversity, hence at risk of extinction. We used eight polymorphic microsatellite markers to study the genetic structure of the critically endangered insular endemic Ruta microcarpa. We found that clonality appears to positively affect the genetic diversity of R. microcarpa by increasing allelic diversity, polymorphism, and heterozygosity. Moreover, clonal propagation seems to be a more successful reproductive strategy in small, isolated population subjected to environmental stress. Our results suggest that clonal propagation may benefit rare species. However, the advantage of clonal growth may be only short‐lived for prolonged clonal growth could ultimately lead to monoclonal populations. Some degree of sexual reproduction may be needed in a predominantly clonal species to ensure long‐term viability.     

Age–area scaling of extinction debt within isolated terrestrial vertebrate assemblages

A new model of delayed species loss (extinction debt) within isolated communities is applied to a large data set of terrestrial vertebrate assemblages (n = 188) occupying habitat fragments or islands varying greatly in size and age. The model encapsulates previous approaches based on diversity‐dependent (DD) extinction rates while allowing for a more flexible treatment of temporal dynamics. Three important results emerge. First, species loss rate slows down with the age of the isolate, a strong and general pattern largely unnoticed so far. Secondly, while being good candidates in the light of previous works, DD models fail to account for this pattern, a result that necessitates a search for other mechanisms. Thirdly, a simple diversity‐independent model based on area (converted into population size) and age explains 97% of the variability in species loss rate and appears to be a promising predictive tool to handle extinction debt following habitat loss.     

Temporal and palaeoclimatic context of the evolution of insular woodiness in the Canary Islands

Insular woodiness (IW), referring to the evolutionary transition from herbaceousness toward woodiness on islands, has arisen more than 30 times on the Canary Islands (Atlantic Ocean). One of the IW hypotheses suggests that drought has been a major driver of wood formation, but we do not know in which palaeoclimatic conditions the insular woody lineages originated. Therefore, we provided an updated review on the presence of IW on the Canaries, reviewed the palaeoclimate, and estimated the timing of origin of woodiness of 24 insular woody lineages that represent a large majority of the insular woody species diversity on the Canaries. Our single, broad‐scale dating analysis shows that woodiness in 60%–65% of the insular woody lineages studied originated within the last 3.2 Myr, during which Mediterranean seasonality (yearly summer droughts) became established on the Canaries. Consequently, our results are consistent with palaeoclimatic aridification as a potential driver of woodiness in a considerable proportion of the insular woody Canary Island lineages. However, the observed pattern between insular woodiness and palaeodrought during the last couple of million years could potentially have emerged as a result of the typically young age of the native insular flora, characterized by a high turnover.