979 resultados para Cryptic species


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A large number of herbaceous and woody plants from tropical woodland, savanna, and monsoon forest were analysed to determine the impact of environmental factors (nutrient and water availability, fire) and biological factors (microbial associations, systematics) on plant delta(15)N values. Foliar delta(15)N values of herbaceous and woody species were not related to growth form or phenology, but a strong relationship existed between mycorrhizal status and plant delta(15)N. In woodland and savanna, woody species with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) associations and putative N-2-fixing species with ECM/arbuscular (AM) associations had lowest foliar delta(15)N values (1.0-0.6parts per thousand), AM species had mostly intermediate delta(15)N values (average +0.6parts per thousand), while non-mycorrhizal Proteaceae had highest delta(15)N values (+2.9 to +4.1parts per thousand). Similar differences in foliar delta(15)N were observed between AM (average 0.1 and 0.2parts per thousand) and non-mycorrhizal (average +0.8 and +0.3parts per thousand) herbaceous species in woodland and savanna. Leguminous savanna species had significantly higher leaf N contents (1.8-2.5% N) than non-fixing species (0.9-1.2% N) indicating substantial N acquisition via N-2 fixation. Monsoon forest species had similar leaf N contents (average 2.4% N) and positive delta(15)N values (+0.9 to +2.4parts per thousand). Soil nitrification and plant NO3- use was substantially higher in monsoon forest than in woodland or savanna. In the studied communities, higher soil N content and nitrification rates were associated with more positive soil delta(15)N and plant delta(15)N. In support of this notion, Ficus, a high NO3- using taxa associated with NO3- rich sites in the savanna, had the highest delta(15)N values of all AM species in the savanna. delta(15)N of xylem sap was examined as a tool for studying plant delta(15)N relations. delta(15)N of xylem sap varied seasonally and between differently aged Acacia and other savanna species. Plants from annually burnt savanna had significantly higher delta(15)N values compared to plants from less frequently burnt savanna, suggesting that foliar N-15 natural abundance could be used as marker for assessing historic fire regimes. Australian woodland and savanna species had low leaf delta(15)N and N content compared to species from equivalent African communities indicating that Australian biota are the more N depauperate. The largest differences in leaf delta(15)N occurred between the dominant ECM Australian and African savanna (miombo) species, which were depleted and enriched in N-15, respectively. While the depleted delta(15)N of Australian ECM species are similar to those of previous reports on ECM species in natural plant communities, the N-15-enriched delta(15)N of African ECM species represent an anomaly.

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Experimental treatments to compare behavioural responses included native fish species only, natives plus one exotic species and natives plus both exotic species. The mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki frequently attacked both native species, but tended to nip Melanotaenia duboulayi (especially small individuals) and chase Pseudomugil signifer The frequency of attacks by G. holbrooki on M. duboulayi rose when all four fish species were present. When food was added, all four species showed a strong increase in aggression, especially in the four-species treatment, where there were significant increases in the frequency of attacks by the swordtail Xiphophorus helleri on M. duboulay and by M. duboulayi on G. holbrooki, and of conspecific attacks by M. duboulayi. Increased attack frequency was associated with aggregation closer to the water's surface, regardless of the presence of food. The results support the hypothesis that introduced poeciliids can have deleterious competitive effects on native species. However, while juvenile M. duboulayi were particularly vulnerable to the secondary, effects of fin-nipping, R signifer appeared to be more susceptible to physical displacement and reduced food capture success.

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It is becoming increasingly clear that species of smaller body size tend to be less vulnerable to contemporary extinction threats than larger species, but few studies have examined the mechanisms underlying this pattern. In this paper, data for the Australian terrestrial mammal fauna are used to ask whether higher reproductive output or smaller home ranges can explain the reduced extinction risk of smaller species. Extinct and endangered species do indeed have smaller litters and larger home ranges for their body size than expected under a null model. In multiple regressions, however, only litter size is a significant predictor of extinction risk once body size and phylogeny are controlled for. Larger litters contribute to fast population growth, and are probably part of the reason that smaller species are less extinction-prone. The effect of litter size varies between the mesic coastal regions and the and interior of Australia, indicating that the environment a species inhabits mediates the effect of biology on extinction risk. These results suggest that predicting extinction risk from biological traits is likely to be a complex task which must consider explicitly interactions between biology and environment.

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Ten microsatellite loci are described in Araucaria cunninghamii, the first reported in the Araucariaceae. Eight were tested in sections Eutacta and Bunya, which diverged more than 200 MYA, and to the sister genus Agathis. Specific amplification products within the expected size range were obtained for six to eight loci in section Eutacta (depending on species), five loci in section Bunya and three. loci in Agathis. Two of the loci (CRCAc1 and CRCAc2, both GA repeats) produced specific amplification products in all taxa, with orthology confirmed by sequence analysis. The repeats were perfect in all taxa. The flanking sequences were extremely conserved, with sequence divergence of 0% to 2.0% within Araucaria species and 2.9% to 7.5% between Araucaria and Agathis. These microsatellites represent some of the most conserved microsatellite loci reported in plants. This may be due to a low evolutionary rate in Araucariaceae genome or the loci may be closely associated with highly conserved, unreported genes.

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The last decade has seen spirited debates about how resource availability affect the intensity of competition. This paper examines the effect that a dominant introduced species, Carrichtera annua, has upon the winter annual community in the arid chenopod shrublands of South Australia. Manipulative field experiments were conducted to assess plant community response to changing below-ground resource levels and to the manipulation of the density of C. annua. Changes in the density of C. annua had little effect on the abundance of all other species in the guild. Nutrient addition produced an increase in the biomass of the most abundant native species, Crassula colorata. An analysis of the root distribution of the main species suggested that the areas of soil resource capture of C. annua and C. colorata are largely segregated. Our results suggest that intraspecific competition may be stronger than interspecific competition, controlling the species responses to increased resource availability. The results are consistent with a two-phase resource dynamics systems, with pulses of high resource availability triggering growth, followed by pulses of stress. Smaller plants were nutrient limited under natural field conditions, suggesting that stress experienced during long interpulse phases may override competitive effects after short pulse phases. The observed differences in root system structure will determine when plants of a different species are experiencing a pulse or an interpulse phase. We suggest that the limitations to plant recruitment and growth are the product of a complex interplay between the length and intensity of the pulse of resource availability, the duration and severity of the interpulse periods, and biological characters of the species.

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Lipid, protein, ash, carbohydrate and water content and energy density of eggs were measured from different clutches over a range of egg size in two species of freshwater turtle. Dry egg contents consisted of protein (54-60%), lipid (25-31%) and ash (5-6%) while carbohydrate was found to be negligible (

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We investigated the burst swimming performance of five species of Antarctic fish at -1.0degreesC. The species studied belonged to the suborder, Notothenioidei, and from the families, Nototheniidae and Bathydraconidae. Swimming performance of the fish was assessed over the initial 300 ms of a startle response using surgically attached miniature accelerometers. Escape responses in all fish consisted of a C-type fast start; consisting of an initial pronounced bending of the body into a C-shape, followed by one or more complete tail-beats and an un-powered glide. We found significant differences in the swimming performance of the five species of fish examined, with average maximum swimming velocities (U-max) ranging from 0.91 to 1.39 m s(-1) and maximum accelerations (A(max)) ranging from 10.6 to 15.6 m s(-2). The cryopelagic species, Pagothenia borchgrevinki, produced the fastest escape response, reaching a U-max and A(max) of 1.39 m s(-1) and 15.6 m s(-2), respectively. We also compared the body shapes of each fish species with their measures of maximum burst performance. The dragonfish, Gymnodraco acuticeps, from the family Bathdraconidae, did not conform to the pattern observed for the other four fish species belonging to the family Nototheniidae. However, we found a negative relationship between buoyancy of the fish species and burst swimming performance. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

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A plant feeding mite, Sinobryobia fani n. sp. (Tetranychidae: Bryobiinae: Bryobiini) is described from Australia. It is the first record of the genus for Australia and the second record of the genus for the world. A key to the Species of Sinobryobia is provided.

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Why does species richness vary so greatly across lineages? Traditionally, variation in species richness has been attributed to deterministic processes, although it is equally plausible that it may result from purely stochastic processes. We show that, based on the best available phylogenetic hypothesis, the pattern of cladogenesis among agamid lizards is not consistent with a random model, with some lineages having more species, and others fewer species, than expected by chance. We then use phylogenetic comparative methods to test six types of deterministic explanation for variation in species richness: body size, life history, sexual selection, ecological generalism, range size and latitude. Of eight variables we tested, only sexual size dimorphism and sexual dichromatism predicted species richness. Increases in species richness are associated with increases in sexual dichromatism but reductions in sexual size dimorphism. Consistent with recent comparative studies, we find no evidence that species richness is associated with small body size or high fecundity. Equally, we find no evidence that species richness covaries with ecological generalism, latitude or range size.

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Numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain latitudinal gradients in species richness, but all are subject to ongoing debate. Here we examine Rohde's (1978, 1992) hypothesis, which proposes that climatic conditions at low latitudes lead to elevated rates of speciation. This hypothesis predicts that rates of molecular evolution should increase towards lower latitudes, but this prediction has never been tested. We discuss potential links between rates of molecular evolution and latitudinal diversity gradients, and present the first test of latitudinal variation in rates of molecular evolution. Using 45 phylogenetically independent, latitudinally separated pairs of bird species and higher taxa, we compare rates of evolution of two mitochondrial genes and DNA-DNA hybridization distances. We find no support for an effect of latitude on rate of molecular evolution. This result casts doubt on the generality of a key component of Rohde's hypothesis linking climate and speciation.

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Phyllurus gulbaru, sp. nov., is a highly distinct species of leaf-tailed gecko restricted to rocky rainforest of Pattersons Gorge, north-west of Townsville. The possession of a cylindrical, non-depressed, tapering original and regenerated tail separates P. gulbaru from all congeners except P. caudiannulatus. From this species P. gulbaru is separated by having a partially divided, as opposed to fully divided, rostral scale. Furthermore, the very small spinose body tubercles of P. gulbaru are in marked contrast to the large spinose body scales of P. caudiannulatus. An analysis of 729 bp of mitochondrial 12S rRNA and cytochrome b genes reveals P. gulbaru to be a deeply divergent lineage with closer affinities to mid-east Queensland congeners than the geographically neighbouring P. amnicola on Mt Elliot. In conservation terms, P. gulbaru is clearly at risk. Field surveys of Pattersons Gorge and the adjacent ranges indicate that this species is restricted to a very small area of highly fragmented habitat, of which only a small proportion receives a degree of protection in State forest. Further, there is ongoing, unchecked destruction of dry rainforest habitat by fire. Under current IUCN criteria, P. gulbaru warrants an Endangered ( B1, 2) listing.

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White cypress-pine stands typically support sparse densities of shrubs and grasses. The commonly held opinion is that leaching of allelopathic chemical compounds from cypress-pine litter partly facilitates this exclusion. Germination and growth of cypress pine seedlings do not appear to be similarly affected. This study set out to determine whether cypress litter had a differential effect on germination and growth of cypress-pine seedlings and on associated ground-cover species. Glasshouse trials comparing seedling emergence under cypress- and artificial-litter layers were undertaken. Cypress-pine litter did not have an inhibitory effect on the germination or growth of ground-cover species. In most cases, seedling emergence was facilitated by the application of cypress-pine litter due to its ability to increase the water holding capacity of the underlying soil. Cypress litter did not promote growth of its own seedlings over its competitors except on coarse-textured soils where it provided an ameliorative function to water stress due to the soil's reduced water holding capacity. The inhibition of ground-cover species' germination and growth in pure cypress stands was suggested to be the result of high below-ground resource competition due to the pine's expansive root morphology.

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Dactylostomum nicolli n. sp. is described from the intestine of the goatfish Upeneichthys lineatus (Bloch & Schneider) (Mullidae) caught off Point Peron, Western Australia. The problem of assigning the new species to the appropriate genus, especially with regard to its close resemblance to Paropecoelus Pritchard, 1966, which also infects goatfishes, is discussed. This is the second report of Dactylostomum Woolcock, 1935 from an Australian marine fish. The new species is distinguished by its elongate form, simple ventral sucker papillae and irregularly shaped ovary.