Rediscovery of Passiflora clypeophylla (subgenus Decaloba ): a highly threatened and narrow endemic species found within a karstic canyon in Guatemala

Many observations concerning biological and ecological differentiation between narrow endemic and widespread congeneric plant species suggest that narrow endemic species are constrained to colonize marginal habitats because of a low tolerance to competition. Despite this topic being an important issue both for understanding evolutionary processes leading to endemism and for conservation purposes, few studies have been performed to compare competitive abilities between endemic and widespread species. Here, we present two independent experiments performed under controlled conditions using two different pairs of endemic and widespread congeneric species: Centaurea corymbosa/Centaurea maculosa and Arenaria provincialis/Arenaria serpyllifolia, both endemic species occurring in rocky calcareous habitats.

Dams and reservoirs have played a key role in economic development serving a variety of purposes, including electricity generation, flood control, irrigation and drinking water. However, there is a growing concern that dam projects cause irreversible environment change, which are often complex, multiple and essentially negative. Among the ill effects on environment, settlement of suspended particles limiting storage capacity, limiting the flow of sediments downstream thus limiting nutrient rich sediments to floodplains and leading to scouring of the riverbed, impact on biological diversity are some of the physical and ecological impacts. On the sociological side, large dams have enormous consequences for people’s lives and livelihoods which include displacement and resettlement.The case study in this article is the construction of a reservoir across Per Aru River in Vavuniya District, Sri Lanka for the purpose of providing drinking water by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board. The earth dam is 10.5 m high and 3 km long. The capacity of the reservoir at the full supply level of 71m is 3.85 MCM and the reservoir area is 238.74 ha. The rate of abstraction is 6700 cum/day. The land use of the affected area is dry mixed evergreen forest and scrub forest (168 ha), paddy lands (65.87 ha) and uplands (14.94 ha). There are no houses in the reservoir area.Among the major ecological impacts, submergence of the lands including forest (riverine, dry mixed evergreen and scrub forest) amounting to losing 279 species of plants can be mentioned. Among them there are 25 endemic species, 4 vulnerable species and 3 nationally threatened species. 316 faunal species had been identified in the affected habitats including 28 endemic species, 3 proposed endemic species, 3 critically endangered species, 1 endangered species, 11 vulnerable species and 19 nearly threatened species. However, most of them are found in similar habitats in the locality. The most affected are the aquatic fish. There are 3 endemic fish species in the river (Flying barb/Bearded rasbora, Lanka labuca and Filamented barb) and a nearly threatened species (Climbing perch). Due to the reservoir loading and the reduced flow to the downstream river they will be much affected. The reservoir is to be located across a proposed jungle corridor and therefore there would be an impact on the migration of fauna especially elephants although the availability of water for most part of the year will be beneficial. With regard to the social impacts, 130 claimants will lose their cultivations (paddy and uplands). One kovil will also be submerged.The above ecological and social impacts have been mitigated in the Project to minimize the adverse impacts. An environmental flow will be maintained which varies from 0.1 to 0.4 MCM throughout the year based on the natural flow pattern, a fish pass in the dam will facilitate fish migration downstream. A compensatory afforestation programme has been planned including planting/enrichment of 100m buffer zone from FSL which will also include plant species which will be lost due to the project. River reservations and areas in the upper catchment will also be enriched. The reservoir will not be fenced to facilitate the animals to use it too.With regard to the mitigation of social impacts, alternative lands will be provided to the farmers who will lose the land in a location preferred by them. This will be done according to the National Involuntary Resettlement Policy. The progress of the mitigations will be monitoring closely by adhering to the Monitoring Programme.Therefore it can be concluded that the concerns and adverse impacts of dams can be minimized or eliminated by careful planning and design that incorporate public involvement and input early in the process. The challenge for the future will be the utilization of dams and reservoirs for the wise management of the world’s water resources as part of each nation’s social and economic development goals.

The objective of this study is to examine whether habitat, herbivory and traits related to resource acquisition, resource conservation, reproduction and dispersal differ between narrow endemic plant species and their widespread congeners. We undertook pairwise contrasts of 25 ecological characteristics and biological traits in 20 congeneric pairs of narrow endemic and widespread plant species in the French Mediterranean region. Within each pair, the two species had the same life‐form, pollination mode and dispersal mode. Endemic species differed significantly from widespread congeners for a number of attributes. Endemic species occur in habitats on steeper slopes, with higher rock cover and in lower and more open vegetation than their widespread congeners. Endemic species are significantly smaller than widespread species, but show no differences in traits related to resource acquisition (specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen content, maximum photosynthetic rate) or resource conservation (leaf dry matter content). After accounting for their smaller stature, endemic species produce fewer and smaller flowers with less stigma‐anther separation and lower pollen/ovule ratios and produce fewer seeds per plant than their widespread congeners. No consistent variation in seed mass and propagule structure was found between congeneric species. Herbivory levels did not differ between congeneric species. Ecological characteristics, notably the occupation of rocky habitats with low aboveground competition, may thus have played an important role in the differentiation of narrow endemic species in the Western Mediterranean. Morphological and ecophysiological traits of narrow endemic species indicate that they are not more stress‐tolerant than their widespread congeners. Lower investment in pollen transfer and seed production suggest that local persistence is a key feature of the population ecology of narrow endemic species.

Effects of grassland management on plants and invertebrates in Transylvania, Romania : a threat to local biodiversity hotspots

BackgroundIn the projected climate change scenarios, assisted migration might play an important role in the ex situ conservation of the threatened plant species, by translocate them to similar suitable habitats outside their native distributions. However, it is unclear if such habitats will be available for the Rare Endemic Plant Species (REPS), because of their very restricted habitats. The aims of this study were to perform a population size assessment for the REPS Picea martinezii Patterson and Picea mexicana Martínez, and to evaluate the potential species distributions and their possibilities for assisted migration inside México and worldwide.MethodsWe performed demographic censuses, field surveys in search for new stands, and developed distribution models for Last Glacial Maximum (22,000 years ago), Middle Holocene (6,000 years ago), current (1961–1990) and future (2050 and 2070) periods, for the whole Mexican territory (considering climatic, soil, geologic and topographic variables) and for all global land areas (based only on climate).ResultsOur censuses showed populations of 89,266 and 39,059 individuals for P. martinezii and P. mexicana, respectively, including known populations and new stands. Projections for México indicated somewhat larger suitable areas in the past, now restricted to the known populations and new stands, where they will disappear by 2050 in a pessimistic climatic scenario, and scarce marginal areas (p = 0.5–0.79) remaining only for P. martinezii by 2070. Worldwide projections (based only on climate variables) revealed few marginal areas in 2050 only in México for P. martinezii, and several large areas (p ≥ 0.5) for P. mexicana around the world (all outside México), especially on the Himalayas in India and the Chungyang mountains in Taiwan with highly suitable (p ≥ 0.8) climate habitats in current and future (2050) conditions. However, those suitable areas are currently inhabited by other endemic spruces: Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss and Picea morrisonicola Hayata, respectively.ConclusionsAssisted migration would only be an option for P. martinezii on scarce marginal sites in México, and the possibilities for P. mexicana would be continental and transcontinental translocations. This rises two possible issues for future ex situ conservation programs: the first is related to whether or not consider assisted migration to marginal sites which do not cover the main habitat requirements for the species; the second is related to which species (the local or the foreign) should be prioritized for conservation when suitable habitat is found elsewhere but is inhabited by other endemic species. This highlights the necessity to discuss new policies, guidelines and mechanisms of international cooperation to deal with the expected high species extinction rates, linked to projected climate change.

Estrogenic, anti-estrogenic and cytotoxic effects elicited by water from the type localities of the endangered goodeid fish Girardinichthys viviparus

Hypoestes lanata Dalzell (Acanthaceae), a narrow endemic species is rediscovered after a lapse of 80 years from the type locality, i.e. north Konkan, Maharashtra, India. A distribution note on the genus Hypoestes, detailed description of the species, illustration, distribution map, threat status and photographs are provided to facilitate identification. As multiple specimens are associated with H. lanata, a note on the original material is provided and lectotype designated.

Is it correct to look for a supposedly missing species by focusing research at the type locality? A species can be declared extinct because for an unusual amount of time it has not been seen again; however, in the frame of the climate change it is likely that a supposedly missing species is a lucky survivor not seen because it was not searched for in the correct environment. We used the strictly endemic Leistus punctatissimus Breit, 1914 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) as the case study for testing the latter hypothesis vs. the type locality approach. On the basis of past unsuccessful searches in the Dolomites (a mountain range in the eastern Alps, Italy) driven by the type locality approach, a study area was selected where climate change may have exerted environmental constraints on endemic species. Five pitfall traps were used in each of seven sample sites, at an average altitude of 2600 m a.s.l., within a high altitude alpine plateau covered by scarce patchy vegetation. Leistus punctatissimus was rediscovered, far from its type locality, after one hundred years since its first collection. It was part of a group of species well adapted to the extreme ecological factors of the alpine environments above the vegetation line. Following a biogeographical approach (i.e., the biogeographer’s eye rather than the collector’s eye) it was possible to find an endemic species of the alpine ecological landscape in places from where it probably had never disappeared. The supposed refugial area was a nunatak during the last glacial period, where Leistus punctatissimus found suitable habitat conditions, and from where it alternated between downward and uphill changes in its distribution range after the last glacial period, under the effect of climate change. From such a perspective, it can be concluded that the type locality may be the wrong place to look for a supposedly extinct species.

Is it correct to look for a supposedly missing species by focusing research at the type locality? A species can be declared extinct because for an unusual amount of time it has not been seen again; however, in the frame of the climate change it is likely that a supposedly missing species is a lucky survivor not seen because it was not searched for in the correct environment. We used the strictly endemic Leistuspunctatissimus Breit, 1914 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) as the case study for testing the latter hypothesis vs. the type locality approach. On the basis of past unsuccessful searches in the Dolomites (a mountain range in the eastern Alps, Italy) driven by the type locality approach, a study area was selected where climate change may have exerted environmental constraints on endemic species. Five pitfall traps were used in each of seven sample sites, at an average altitude of 2600 m a.s.l., within a high altitude alpine plateau covered by scarce patchy vegetation. Leistuspunctatissimus was rediscovered, far from its type locality, after one hundred years since its first collection. It was part of a group of species well adapted to the extreme ecological factors of the alpine environments above the vegetation line. Following a biogeographical approach (i.e., the biogeographer’s eye rather than the collector’s eye) it was possible to find an endemic species of the alpine ecological landscape in places from where it probably had never disappeared. The supposed refugial area was a nunatak during the last glacial period, where Leistuspunctatissimus found suitable habitat conditions, and from where it alternated between downward and uphill changes in its distribution range after the last glacial period, under the effect of climate change. From such a perspective, it can be concluded that the type locality may be the wrong place to look for a supposedly extinct species.

The Solomon Islands support a diverse and highly endemic rodent fauna. Most species are poorly known and rarely encountered. Solomys salamonis is one such endemic species known only from the holotype collected in 1881. The type locality for the species has been repeatedly confused in the literature, and this uncertainty has hampered attempts to evaluate the status of the species. I reassessed the type locality based on review of the published literature and records and archives of the Australian Museum, Sydney. My review indicates that the type locality is Ugi Island, not Florida Island as widely reported in the recent literature. A subsequent, preliminary survey on Ugi Island failed to confirm the presence of the species; however, the occurrence of some original forest on Ugi Island encourages further detailed surveys to determine whether S. salamonis is still extant.

The endemic New World eucheiloid complex is distinguished from the other complexes (thyreopteroid, eurycoleoid, somotrichoid, and pericaloid) of pericaline Lebiini by securiform labial palpomere 3, serrate-setose margins of the pronotum, and flattened stylomere 2 of the ovipositor. The geographical range of eucheiloids extends from northern Argentina to southernmost United States (Brownsville, Texas). All taxa are believed to be arboreal. A key distinguishes among the three genera and 16 species, and each taxon is characterized in terms of structural features, habitat, and geographical distribution. The genera are:Hansus, new genus (generitype—H. reichardti, new species);InnaPutzeys (generitype—Inna punctataPutzeys =Polystichus boyeri(Solier)); andEucheilaDejean (generitype—Euchyla flavilabris(Dejean)). Seven new species and one new subspecies are described:Hansus reichardti(type locality—Guyana, EssequiboR.. Morrabali Ck.);Inna palpalis,I. atrata arbor, andI. inpa(type locality—Brazil, Amazonas, near Manaus);I. purpurea(type locality—Brazil, Amazonas, 60 km n. Manaus);I. splendens(type locality—Venezuela, Aragua, Rancho Grande);Eucheila adisi(type locality—Brazil, Amazonas, 60 km n. Manaus); andE. cordova(type locality—México, Veracruz, Cordova). The following new synonymies of specific names are proposed (valid names listed first):Inna costulataChaudoir, 1872 =I. granulataChaudoir, 1872;Inna boyeri(Solier, 1835) =I. punctataPutzeys, 1863, andI. texanaSchaeffer, 1910. A reconstructed phylogeny of the eucheiloids, based on analysis of 60 character states included in 33 characters, shows thatHansusis sister group of the ancestral stock ofInna+Eucheila. Evolutionary modifications have affected principally body size, head and mouthparts (feeding and associated adaptations), reproductive structures, and features of the body surface thought to be associated with avoidance of predators (concealment and flash coloration). Diversification may also have involved differentiation by habitat (type of forest occupied). The principal theater of evolution has been tropical South America, with incursions both southward and northward. Middle America has been invaded by five lineages, probably during Cenozoic time, from Middle Tertiary to the Quaternary. Of these lineages, three are represented in Middle America by endemic species:E. cordova,I. planipennisBates, andI. nevermanniLiebke. Two lineages are represented by species whose ranges extend northward from South America:I. costulataChaudoir andI. boyeri(Solier).

The maintenance of species boundaries between widespread and narrow endemic congeneric species in sympatric sites remains a fundamental question in ecology and evolutionary biology. For plants with specialized pollination mechanisms, pre‐ and postpollination isolation mechanisms likely play distinct roles in reproductive isolation and species integrity. Parnassia (Celastraceae) is characterized by one‐by‐one stamen movement and has its distribution center in southwest China, where many widespread and local endemic species coexist. To quantify pre‐ and postpollination barriers and their relative roles in maintaining species boundaries, we conducted field experiments with the widespread Parnassia wightiana Wall. ex Wight & Arn. and the local endemic Parnassia amoena Diels over two separate years at Jinfo Mountain, southwest China. We examined four prepollination barriers (ecogeography, blooming phenology, stamen movement, and pollinator type) and three postpollination barriers (fruit set, seed production, and seed viability). Our findings indicate that prepollination barriers played a more significant role in reproductive isolation than postpollination barriers. For the widely distributed P. wightiana, ecogeographical isolation was the primary barrier, followed by phenology and pollinator type isolation. In the narrow endemic P. amoena, which exhibits slower stamen movement, this feature contributed significantly to isolation, with phenological isolation being the second most important factor. Among postpollination barriers, seed viability was the most significant for both species. Our results indicate that prepollination barriers are the predominant isolation mechanism for these two sympatric Parnassia species, and stamen movement may serve as a novel type of prepollination barrier, particularly for the narrow endemic species.

Begonia versicolor Irmscher, a narrow endemic Begonia species in southeast Yunnan of China, is a wonderful ornamental plant with huge diversity in colored foliage. To investigate its variations, the genetic diversity and population structure were studied based on 56 individuals sampled from four localities using 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci transferred from other species of Begonia. The results showed a relatively low level of genetic diversity in B. versicolor comparing with other species of Begonia using microsatellite. Positive inbreeding coefficient (FIS) values were found in three populations (SWC, XPZ and DSD). AMOVA analysis indicated that genetic variations occurred mainly within populations (55.9%) rather than among populations (9.7%) and among groups (34.4%). Four populations were grouped into two clusters based on STRUCTURE. AMOVA and STRUCTURE analysis showed a high level and significant genetic differentiation in the populations of B. versicolor. Based on its genetic status and rarity in the wild, the sustainable in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies should be urgently carried out to protect this species with high horticultural and scientific values.

The Malagasy endemic wolf spider Hippasosa ghost (Jocque & Jocqué, 2017), previously known from a single small patch of sandy habitat adjacent to a permanent lake in the Mariarano Classified Forest in northwestern Madagascar, is recorded from two additional localities with similar habitat along the Mariarano River, 10 km and 45 km from the type locality. These finds indicate the possibility that this highly specialized species could have a larger distribution than originally thought, but also they show the importance of protecting such vulnerable habitats.

Eleutherodactylus heterodactylus was rediscovered in Cerrado montane forest of eastern Bolivia, 250–300 km airline from its type locality in Brazil, in similar habitat. The advertisement call is described for the first time. This species shares morphological features with species of the Eleutherodactylus binotatus and Eleutherodactylus discoidalis groups but is not assigned to either group pending further study. We confirm that Eleutherodactylus crepitans and Eleutherodactylus dundeei are valid species easily distinguishable from Eleutherodactylus fenestratus. Bolivian populations of the Andes previously assigned to E. dundeei correspond to an undescribed species allied to Eleutherodactylus peruvianus.