A record of fossil shallow‐water whale falls from Italy

Twenty‐five Neogene–Quaternary whales hosted in Italian museum collections and their associated fauna were analysed for evidence of whale‐fall community development in shallow‐water settings. The degree of bone articulation, completeness of the skeleton and lithology of the embedding sediments were used to gather information on relative water depth, water energy, sedimentation rate and overall environmental predictability around the bones. Shark teeth and hard‐shelled invertebrates with a necrophagous diet in close association with the bones were used as evidence of scavenging. Fossil bone bioerosion, microbially mediated cementation and other mollusc shells in the proximity of the remains informed on past biological activity around the bones. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that shallow‐water whale falls differ from their deep‐water counterparts. Taphonomic pathways are more variable on the shelf and whale carcasses may not go through all steps of the ecological succession as recognised in the deep sea. Whilst the mobile scavenger and the enrichment opportunistic stages are well represented, chemosynthetic taxa typical of the sulphophilic stage were recovered only in one instance. The presence of a generalist fauna among the suspension feeding bivalves and carnivorous gastropods, and the extreme rarity of chemosynthetic taxa, suggest that predatory pressure rules out whale‐fall specialists from shallow shelf settings as in analogous cold seep and vent shallow‐water communities.     

Historical and recent processes shaping the geographic range of a rocky intertidal gastropod: phylogeography,ecology, and habitat availability

Factors shaping the geographic range of a species can be identified when phylogeographic patterns are combined with data on contemporary and historical geographic distribution, range‐wide abundance, habitat/food availability, and through comparisons with codistributed taxa. Here, we evaluate range dynamism and phylogeography of the rocky intertidal gastropod Mexacanthina lugubris lugubris across its geographic range – the Pacific coast of the Baja peninsula and southern California. We sequenced mitochondrial DNA (CO1) from ten populations and compliment these data with museum records, habitat availability and range‐wide field surveys of the distribution and abundance of M. l. lugubris and its primary prey (the barnacle Chthamalus fissus). The geographic range of M. l. lugubris can be characterized by three different events in its history: an old sundering in the mid‐peninsular region of Baja (~ 417,000 years ago) and more recent northern range expansion and southern range contraction. The mid‐peninsular break is shared with many terrestrial and marine species, although M. l. lugubris represents the first mollusc to show it. This common break is often attributed to a hypothesized ancient seaway bisecting the peninsula, but for M. l. lugubris it may result from large habitat gaps in the southern clade. Northern clade populations, particularly near the historical northern limit (prior to the 1970s), have high local abundances and reside in a region with plentiful food and habitat – which makes its northern range conducive to expansion. The observed southern range contraction may result from the opposite scenario, with little food or habitat nearby. Our study highlights the importance of taking an integrative approach to understanding the processes that shape the geographic range of a species via combining range‐wide phylogeography data with temporal geographic distributions and spatial patterns of habitat/food availability.     

Museomics Dissects the Genetic Basis for Adaptive Seasonal Coloration in the Least Weasel

Dissecting the link between genetic variation and adaptive phenotypes provides outstanding opportunities to understand fundamental evolutionary processes. Here, we use a museomics approach to investigate the genetic basis and evolution of winter coat coloration morphs in least weasels (Mustela nivalis), a repeated adaptation for camouflage in mammals with seasonal pelage color moults across regions with varying winter snow. Whole-genome sequence data were obtained from biological collections and mapped onto a newly assembled reference genome for the species. Sampling represented two replicate transition zones between nivalis and vulgaris coloration morphs in Europe, which typically develop white or brown winter coats, respectively. Population analyses showed that the morph distribution across transition zones is not a by-product of historical structure. Association scans linked a 200-kb genomic region to coloration morph, which was validated by genotyping museum specimens from intermorph experimental crosses. Genotyping the wild populations narrowed down the association to pigmentation gene MC1R and pinpointed a candidate amino acid change cosegregating with coloration morph. This polymorphism replaces an ancestral leucine residue by lysine at the start of the first extracellular loop of the protein in the vulgaris morph. A selective sweep signature overlapped the association region in vulgaris, suggesting that past adaptation favored winter-brown morphs and can anchor future adaptive responses to decreasing winter snow. Using biological collections as valuable resources to study natural adaptations, our study showed a new evolutionary route generating winter color variation in mammals and that seasonal camouflage can be modulated by changes at single key genes.     

南京中山植物园活植物信息管理子系统

以植物园植物记录国际传输格式（ITF）为标准,采用以数据库为中心的模块化与结构化的方法,开发研制了南京中山植物园活植物信息管理子系统,并于1994年正式投入使用。该系统界面友好,操作方便,修改灵活,响应速度快。文章对系统的实现、数据处理、软件结构以及软件的功能进行了讨论。     

Awareness and use of biodiversity collections by fish biologists

A survey of 280 fish biologists from a diverse pool of disciplines was conducted in order to assess the use made of biodiversity collections and how collections can better collect, curate and share the data they have. From the responses, data for how fish biologists use collections, what data they find the most useful, what factors influence the decisions to use collections, how they access the data and explore why some fish biologists make the decision to not use biodiversity collections is collated and reported. The results of which could be used to formulate sustainability plans for collections administrators and staff who curate fish biodiversity collections, while also highlighting the diversity of data and uses to researchers.     

A simple tool for calculating egg shape,volume and surface area from digital images

The geometrical properties of eggs – such as volume and surface area – have uses ranging from ecological, physiological and morphological studies in birds, to predictions of chick condition in the poultry industry. Although measurements of an egg's length and breadth can be used to approximate its geometry, the coefficients used in these models are specific to the original test population, and intraspecific variation in egg shape means these methods cannot be used reliably beyond that population. Here I present a novel mathematical formula to describe the curvature of a bird's egg that can be used to calculate the shape, volume and surface area of an egg precisely from digital images. Using data from several species I demonstrate that the model has a greater level of accuracy than length‐ and breadth‐based methods, and release the user‐friendly tool for others to use for measuring eggs from digital images.     

The orthopteroid insects described by Linnaeus,with notes on the Linnaean collection

A list is given of the recently recurated Orthoptera s.l. held by the Linnean Society of London. The status of specimens in the collection is evaluated, eight lectotype designations are made, and the orthopteroid species described by Linnaeus are listed alphabetically.