Molecular species delimitation of a symbiotic fig-pollinating wasp species complex reveals extreme deviation from reciprocal partner specificity

Background: Symbiotic relationships have contributed to major evolutionary innovations, the maintenance of fundamental ecosystem functions, and the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. However, the exact nature of host/symbiont associations, which has important consequences for their dynamics, is often poorly known due to limited understanding of symbiont taxonomy and species diversity. Among classical symbioses, figs and their pollinating wasps constitute a highly diverse keystone resource in tropical forest and savannah environments. Historically, they were considered to exemplify extreme reciprocal partner specificity (one-to-one host-symbiont species relationships), but recent work has revealed several more complex cases. However, there is a striking lack of studies with the specific aims of assessing symbiont diversity and how this varies across the geographic range of the host. Results: Here, we use molecular methods to investigate cryptic diversity in the pollinating wasps of a widespread Australian fig species. Standard barcoding genes and methods were not conclusive, but incorporation of phylogenetic analyses and a recently developed nuclear barcoding gene (ITS2), gave strong support for five pollinator species. Each pollinator species was most common in a different geographic region, emphasising the importance of wide geographic sampling to uncover diversity, and the scope for divergence in coevolutionary trajectories across the host plant range. In addition, most regions had multiple coexisting pollinators, raising the question of how they coexist in apparently similar or identical resource niches. Conclusion: Our study offers a striking example of extreme deviation from reciprocal partner specificity over the full geographical range of a fig-wasp system. It also suggests that superficially identical species may be able to co-exist in a mutualistic setting albeit at different frequencies in relation to their fig host’s range. We show that comprehensive sampling and molecular taxonomic techniques may be required to uncover the true structure of cryptic biodiversity underpinning intimate ecological interactions.

Long-term storage of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes (Hebeloma spp.) at low temperature

A method for maintaining viable cultures of ectomycorrhizal Hebeloma strains in cold liquid culture medium is described. Isolates of Hebeloma spp., collected over a wide geographic range, were stored at 2 °C for a period of three years. All cultures survived this storage period, a greater time period and success rate than has previously been reported for the long term storage of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes. The method may prove useful for long-term storage of other basidiomycete genera.

Similarities in butterfly emergence dates among populations suggest local adaptation to climate

Phenology shifts are the most widely cited examples of the biological impact of climate change, yet there are few assessments of potential effects on the fitness of individual organisms or the persistence of populations. Despite extensive evidence of climate-driven advances in phenological events over recent decades, comparable patterns across species' geographic ranges have seldom been described. Even fewer studies have quantified concurrent spatial gradients and temporal trends between phenology and climate. Here we analyse a large data set (~129 000 phenology measures) over 37 years across the UK to provide the first phylogenetic comparative analysis of the relative roles of plasticity and local adaptation in generating spatial and temporal patterns in butterfly mean flight dates. Although populations of all species exhibit a plastic response to temperature, with adult emergence dates earlier in warmer years by an average of 6.4 days per °C, among-population differences are significantly lower on average, at 4.3 days per °C. Emergence dates of most species are more synchronised over their geographic range than is predicted by their relationship between mean flight date and temperature over time, suggesting local adaptation. Biological traits of species only weakly explained the variation in differences between space-temperature and time-temperature phenological responses, suggesting that multiple mechanisms may operate to maintain local adaptation. As niche models assume constant relationships between occurrence and environmental conditions across a species' entire range, an important implication of the temperature-mediated local adaptation detected here is that populations of insects are much more sensitive to future climate changes than current projections suggest.

A preliminary study of 16S rRNA sequence variation in Australia Macrobrachium shrimps (Palaemonidae: Decapoda) reveals inconsistencies in their current classification

The systematic relationships among Australian palaemonid shrimps have been the subject of speculation for some time. A preliminary phylogenetic study was undertaken to clarify the relationships of five species, Macrobrachium intermedium (Stimpson), M. australiense (Holthuis), M. atactum (Riek), M. rosenbergii (de Man) and Palaemon serenus (Heller), using 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene sequences. Phylogenetic analyses indicated inconsistencies with the current classification in two respects. First, M. intermedium formed a very well-supported clade with P. serenus distinct from M. australiense, M. atactum and M. rosenbergii. Second, the two species from inland Australia, M. australiense and M. atactum, showed a high level of genetic similarity over a substantial geographic range, suggesting that they may represent conspecific populations. The taxonomic and biogeographic implications of these findings for Macrobrachium in Australia are discussed.

On animal distributions in dynamic landscapes

Few landscapes are static and patterns of resource distribution can vary markedly in time and space. Patterns of movement and dispersal in response to environmental change are equally diverse and occur on a broad range of temporal scales. For patterns of movement and dispersal that vary spatially and temporally throughout the life-time of an individual, the concepts of home range and geographic range alone do not adequately describe the observed patterns of distribution of individuals, populations or species. Here we further simplify Gauthreaux (1982) classification of movement types into a simple bipartite system and link movements (or lack thereof) to a similarly simple classification of ranges. In addition, we introduce two new indices that describe the relationship of an individual's life-time movements to its distribution as described by home and geographic range. Our interest in this subject arose from endeavouring to interpret local changes in waterbird abundance in the arid interior of the Australian continent and to understand these changes in relation to patterns of resource distribution and movement. In this discussion we focus on terrestrial vertebrates capable of multiple breeding events throughout an extended life-time.

Unveiling the diversification dynamics of Australasian predaceous diving beetles in the Cenozoic

During the Cenozoic, Australia experienced major climatic shifts that have had dramatic ecological consequences for the modern biota. Mesic tropical ecosystems were progressively restricted to the coasts and replaced by arid-adapted floral and faunal communities. Whilst the role of aridification has been investigated in a wide range of terrestrial lineages, the response of freshwater clades remains poorly investigated. To gain insights into the diversification processes underlying a freshwater radiation, we studied the evolutionary history of the Australasian predaceous diving beetles of the tribe Hydroporini (147 described species). We used an integrative approach including the latest methods in phylogenetics, divergence time estimation, ancestral character state reconstruction, and likelihood-based methods of diversification rate estimation. Phylogenies and dating analyses were reconstructed with molecular data from seven genes (mitochondrial and nuclear) for 117 species (plus 12 outgroups). Robust and well-resolved phylogenies indicate a late Oligocene origin of Australasian Hydroporini. Biogeographic analyses suggest an origin in the East Coast region of Australia, and a dynamic biogeographic scenario implying dispersal events. The group successfully colonized the tropical coastal regions carved by a rampant desertification, and also colonized groundwater ecosystems in Central Australia. Diversification rate analyses suggest that the ongoing aridification of Australia initiated in the Miocene contributed to a major wave of extinctions since the late Pliocene probably attributable to an increasing aridity, range contractions and seasonally disruptions resulting from Quaternary climatic changes. When comparing subterranean and epigean genera, our results show that contrasting mechanisms drove their diversification and therefore current diversity pattern. The Australasian Hydroporini radiation reflects a combination of processes that promoted both diversification, resulting from new ecological opportunities driven by initial aridification, and a subsequent loss of mesic adapted diversity due to increasing aridity.

Patterns of connectivity and population structure of the southern calamary Sepioteuthis australis in southern Australia

The southern calamary, Sepioteuthis australis, is a commercially and recreationally important inshore cephalopod endemic to southern Australia and New Zealand. Typical of other cephalopods, S. australis has a short life span, form nearshore spawning aggregations and undergo direct development. Such life history traits may restrict connectivity between spawning grounds creating highly structured and genetically differentiated populations that are susceptible to population crashes. Here we use seven polymorphic microsatellite markers to assess connectivity and population structure of S. australis across a large part of its geographic range in Australia. Little genetic differentiation was found between sampling locations. Overall, FST was low (0.005, 95% CI≤<0.001-0.011) and we detected no significant genetic differentiation between any of the locations sampled. There was no strong relationship between genetic and geographical distance, and our neighbour joining analysis did not show clustering of clades based on geographical locations. Similarly, network analysis showed strong connectivity amongst most locations, in particular, Tasmania appears to be well connected with several other locations and may act as an important source population. High levels of gene flow and connectivity between S. australis sampling sites across Australia are important for this short-lived species, ensuring resilience against spatial and temporal mortality fluctuations.

Elucidating the Evolution of the Red Brocket Deer Mazama americana Complex (Artiodactyla; Cervidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Genus Paracoccidioides: Species Recognition and Biogeographic Aspects

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Zoogeography of Chiropotes albinasus (Platyrrhini, Atelidae) in southwestern Amazonia

White-nosed bearded sakis (Chiropotes albinasus) are endemic to the Madeira-Xingu interfluvium in southern Amazonia, though recent fieldwork has produced conflicting data on the southwestern limits of the species's geographic range. We reevaluated the distribution of bearded sakis on the basis of surveys from 34 sites throughout the Brazilian state of Rondonia. Chiropotes albinasus occurred at seven sites in the eastern part of the state, including two west of the Jiparana-Pimenta Bueno river system in the extreme south, but there is no record of their presence further north and west in the Jiparana-Guapore interfluvium and they were absent from the Jiparana-Mamore interfluvium. The data suggest that ecological, rather than geographic barriers restrict the distribution of Chiropotes albinasus in southern Rondonia, but are contradictory with regard to the possible determining factors. Chiropotes albinasus appears able to thrive in transitional, savanna-like ecosystems in southern Rondonia, but is unexpectedly absent from adjacent areas of terra firme forest. Syntopy with the only other pitheciine found in the state (Pithecia irrorata) appears to have a negative effect on the abundance of Chiropotes albinasus which implies that interspecific competition may reinforce a complex of limiting factors, such as the availability of key plant species. Despite showing that Chiropotes albinasus is widespread in southern Rondonia, we also confirm its absence from the western two thirds of the state, a significant reduction in the known range of the species.

Delimiting genetic units in Neotropical toads under incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A NEW and THREATENED INSULAR SPECIES of LANCEHEAD FROM SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fine-scale microhabitat selection in a bromeliad-dwelling jumping spider (Salticidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Jaguar (Panthera onca) food habits in Atlantic rain forest of southeastern Brazil

Between January and December 1996, the food habits of a relict population of jaguars were studied in 220 km(2) Linhares Forest Preserve, which comprises much of the remaining old-growth Atlantic Forest of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Fecal analysis indicated opportunistic feeding on 24 prey species (N = 101 scats). Mammals represented 87 percent of the total items, followed by reptiles (9.8%) and birds (2.8%). Considering prey weight, 23.4 percent of the items weighed 1-3 kg, 40.5 percent were 3-10 kg, and 27.7 percent weighed more than 10 kg. Analysis of relative prey frequency and biomass indicated that the diet was concentrated in two prey types: long-nosed armadillo and white-lipped peccary. Literature data suggest that forest jaguars rely on the same mammal prey over their entire geographic range.

First record of leucospis signifera bouček, 1974 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Leucospidae) in the São Paulo State, Brazil

The present note extends the geographic range of Leucospis signifera Bouček, 1974 farther to the Northeast, reaching the State of São Paulo, based on the examination of four females collected at Jataí Ecological Station, municipality of Luiz Antônio, São Paulo State, Brazil. The present finding indicates that L. signifera is associated with dry ecosystems, at least in part of its geographic distribution. © 2012 Check List and Authors.