Compartmentalized organization of ecological niche occupation in insular invertebrate communities

Understanding the mechanisms of species distribution within ecosystems is a fundamental question of ecological research. The current worldwide changes and loss of habitats associated with a decline in species richness render this topic a key element for developing mitigation strategies. Ecological niche theory is a widely accepted concept to describe species distribution along environmental gradients where each taxon occupies its own distinct set of environmental parameters, that is, its niche. Niche occupation has been described in empirical studies for different closely related taxa, like ant, ungulate, or skink species, just to name a few. However, how species assemblages of whole ecosystems across multiple taxa are structured and organized has not been investigated thoroughly, although considering all taxa of a community would be essential when analyzing realized niches. Here, we investigated the organization of niche occupation and species distribution for the whole ground‐associated invertebrate community of small tropical insular ecosystems. By correlating environmental conditions with species occurrences using partial canonical correspondence analysis (pCCA), we demonstrated that the ground‐associated invertebrate community does not spread evenly across the overall niche space, but instead is compartmentalized in four distinct clusters: crustacean and gastropod taxa occurred in one cluster, attributable to the beach habitat, whereas hexapods and spider taxa occurred in three distinct inland clusters, attributable to distinct inland habitats, that is, grassland, open forest, and dense forest. Within the clusters, co‐occurrence pattern analysis suggested only a few negative interactions between the different taxa. By studying ground‐associated insular invertebrate communities, we have shown that species distribution and niche occupation can be, similar to food webs, organized in a compartmentalized way. The compartmentalization of the niche space might thereby be a mechanism to increase ecosystem resilience, as disturbances cascade more slowly throughout the ecosystem.     

内感受对成瘾行为的诱导及其岛叶的调控机制

内感受是机体对自身生理状态的感觉.近年来,越来越多的研究证据表明,内感受可以调控成瘾行为,岛叶是其发挥作用的重要神经基础之一.目前,对岛叶作用机制的研究正受到高度重视.本文从岛叶的基本结构和功能出发,结合近几年来岛叶调控成瘾行为、行为抑制以及情感决策的重要发现,讨论岛叶在成瘾发生及发展过程中的可能作用及其机制,并根据已有的实验证据,试图提出较为合理的研究展望,以推动相关神经环路和神经化学机制研究的深入.     

Reproductive biology and recruitment of the white sea bream in the Azores

The life history of the white sea bream Diplodus sargus in the Azores showed a pattern consistent with digynic hermaphroditism achieving sexual maturity during the second year of life, at 16·7 cm L _T. Spawning occurred from March to June at temperatures between 15 and 17° C and the onset and duration of spawning season in the sea bream appeared to be influenced by sea water temperatures. As latitude decreased, both in the northern and southern hemispheres, the spawning season of D. sargus populations started earlier and extended longer, highlighting the potential importance of temperature to the onset and duration of reproduction in this species. Settlement took place from late May to July, and settlers remained in the nursery area for c . 2·5 months. Emigration from the nursery area to join shoals of juveniles occurred from late July to September.     

Evolution of sexual size dimorphism in birds: test of hypotheses using blue tits in contrasted Mediterranean habitats

Many hypotheses, either sex‐related or environment‐related, have been proposed to explain sexual size dimorphism in birds. Two populations of blue tits provide an interesting case study for testing these hypotheses because they live in contrasting environments in continental France and in Corsica and exhibit different degree of sexual size dimorphism. Contrary to several predictions, the insular population is less dimorphic than the continental one but neither the sexual selection hypothesis nor the niche variation hypothesis explain the observed patterns. In the mainland population it is advantageous for both sexes to be large, and males are larger than females. In Corsica, however, reproductive success was greater for pairs in which the male was relatively small, i.e. pairs in which sexual size dimorphism is reduced. The most likely explanation is that interpopulation differences in sexual size dimorphism are determined not by sex‐related factors, but by differences in sex‐specific reproductive roles and responses to environmental factors. Because of environmental stress on the island as a result of food shortage and high parasite infestations, the share of parents in caring for young favours small size in males so that a reduced sexual size dimorphism is not the target of selection but a by‐product of mechanisms that operate at the level of individual sexes.     

中央杏仁核,外侧下丘脑／穹窿周围区,室旁核均参与岛皮层升压反应

实验用乌拉坦麻醉、箭毒制动、人工呼吸的大鼠。将谷氨酸注入岛皮层（ＩＮＳ）以及将Ｐ物质（ＳＰ）注入外侧下丘脑／穹窿周围区（ＬＨ／ＰＦ）或室旁核均引起升压反应。ＩＮＳ－升压反应可被杏仁核（ＡＣ）内预先注射普鲁卡因或谷氨酸二乙酯（ＧＤＥＥ,谷氨酸拮抗剂）以及ＬＨ／ＰＦ内注射［Ｄ－Ｐｒｏ＾２,Ｄ－Ｐｈｅ＾７,Ｄ－Ｔｒｐ＾９］－ＳＰ（ＤＰＤＰＤＴ,ＳＰ拮抗剂）明显衰减,但ＬＨ／ＰＦ内ＧＤＥＥ预处理对该反应无     

Islands as biological substrates: Continental

Aim

Describe the main geo‐physical features of the various sorts of marine islands that are associated with the continents and consider how the ontogenetic pathways of each landmass type might have shaped the hosted biotas.

Location

Global.

Methods

Review of the literature that underpins understanding of the “continental” marine islands, particularly those publications with biological, geological, geophysical, oceanographical and palaeoceanographical foci.

Results

Based on their geo‐physical settings, islands with continental basements/close connections to the continents can be assigned to one of nine categories: shelf, shelf volcano, orogenic margin, continental arc, continental fore‐arc, rifted arc‐raft, isolated raft atoll, isolated block and micro‐continental terrane. As each functions in a distinctive manner, this must have strongly imprinted the native biotas.

Main conclusions

“Continental” marine islands can be allocated to one of nine groups based on their respective geo‐physical locations. When geological time is considered, then the unique histories of each insular landmass type will have played a critical role in moulding the land‐locked faunal assemblages that have amassed and evolved atop them. Researchers investigating insular biotas, particularly those exploring biodiversity growth, may wish to accommodate these insights.