Common Taxa Research Articles

Nekton Community Structure Varies in Response to Coastal Urbanization Near Mangrove Tidal Tributaries

To assess the potential influence of coastal development on estuarine-habitat quality, we characterized land use and the intensity of land development surrounding small tidal tributaries in Tampa Bay. Based on this characterization, we classified tributaries as undeveloped, industrial, urban, or man-made (i.e., mosquito-control ditches). Over one third (37 %) of the tributaries have been heavily developed based on landscape development intensity (LDI) index values >5.0, while fewer than one third (28 %) remain relatively undeveloped (LDI < 3.0). We then examined the nekton community from 11 tributaries in watersheds representing the four defined land-use classes. Whereas mean nekton density was independent of land use, species richness and nekton-community structure were significantly different between urban and non-urban (i.e., undeveloped, industrial, man-made) tributaries. In urban creeks, the community was species-poor and dominated by high densities of poeciliid fishes, Poecilia latipinna and Gambusia holbrooki, while typically dominant estuarine taxa including Menidia spp., Fundulus grandis, and Adinia xenica were in low abundance and palaemonid grass shrimp were nearly absent. Densities of economically important taxa in urban creeks were only half that observed in five of the six undeveloped or industrial creeks, but were similar to those observed in mosquito ditches suggesting that habitat quality in urban and mosquito-ditch tributaries is suboptimal compared to undeveloped tidal creeks. Furthermore, five of nine common taxa were rarely collected in urban creeks. Our results suggest that urban development in coastal areas has the potential to alter the quality of habitat for nekton in small tidal tributaries as reflected by variation in the nekton community.

The Choice of PCR Primers Has Great Impact on Assessments of Bacterial Community Diversity and Dynamics in a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Assessments of bacterial community diversity and dynamics are fundamental for the understanding of microbial ecology as well as biotechnological applications. We show that the choice of PCR primers has great impact on the results of analyses of diversity and dynamics using gene libraries and DNA fingerprinting. Two universal primer pairs targeting the 16S rRNA gene, 27F&1492R and 63F&M1387R, were compared and evaluated by analyzing the bacterial community in the activated sludge of a large-scale wastewater treatment plant. The two primer pairs targeted distinct parts of the bacterial community, none encompassing the other, both with similar richness. Had only one primer pair been used, very different conclusions had been drawn regarding dominant phylogenetic and putative functional groups. With 27F&1492R, Betaproteobacteria would have been determined to be the dominating taxa while 63F&M1387R would have described Alphaproteobacteria as the most common taxa. Microscopy and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that both Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria were abundant in the activated sludge, confirming that the two primer pairs target two different fractions of the bacterial community. Furthermore, terminal restriction fragment polymorphism analyses of a series of four activated sludge samples showed that the two primer pairs would have resulted in different conclusions about community stability and the factors contributing to changes in community composition. In conclusion, different PCR primer pairs, although considered universal, target different ranges of bacteria and will thus show the diversity and dynamics of different fractions of the bacterial community in the analyzed sample. We also show that while a database search can serve as an indicator of how universal a primer pair is, an experimental assessment is necessary to evaluate the suitability for a specific environmental sample.

The importance of species sorting differs between habitat generalists and specialists in bacterial communities

Recent studies have shown that the spatial turnover of bacterial communities, that is, beta-diversity, is determined by a combination of different assembly mechanisms, such as species sorting, that is, environmental filtering, and dispersal-related mechanisms. However, it is currently unclear to what extent the importance of the different mechanisms depends on community traits. Here, we implemented a study using a rock pool metacommunity to test whether habitat specialization of bacterial taxa and groups or their phylogenetic identity influenced by which mechanisms communities were assembled. In general, our results show that species sorting was the most important assembly mechanism. However, we found that a larger fraction of the variation in bacterial community composition between pools could be explained by environmental factors in case of habitat generalists, that is, taxa that were widespread and abundant in the metacommunity, compared with habitat specialists, that is, taxa that had a more restricted distribution range and tended to be rare. Differences in assembly mechanisms were observed between different major phyla and classes. However, also here, a larger fraction of the variation in community composition among pools could be explained for taxonomic groups that contained on average more habitat generalists. In summary, our results show that species sorting is stronger for the most common taxa, indicating that beta-diversity along environmental gradients can be adequately described without considering rare taxa.

Almond orchards with living ground cover host more wild insect pollinators

Wild pollinators are becoming more valuable to global agriculture as the commercial honeybee industry is increasingly affected by disease and other stressors. Perennial tree crops are particularly reliant on insect pollination, and are often pollen limited. Research on how different tree crop production systems influence the richness and abundance of wild pollinators is, however, limited. We investigated, for the first time, the richness and abundance of potential wild pollinators in commercial temperate almond orchards in Australia, and compared them to potential pollinator communities in proximate native vegetation. We quantified ground cover variables at each site and assessed the value of ground cover on the richness and abundance of potential wild pollinators in commercial almond systems focussing on three common taxa: bees, wasps and flies. More insects were caught in orchards with living ground cover than in native vegetation or orchards without ground cover, although overall species richness was highest in native vegetation. Percent ground cover was positively associated with wasp richness and abundance, and native bee richness, but flies showed no association with ground cover. The strongest positive relationship was between native bee abundance and the richness of ground cover plants. Our results suggest that maintaining living ground cover within commercial almond orchards could provide habitat and resources for potential wild pollinators, particularly native bees. These insects have the potential to provide a valuable ecosystem service to pollinator-dependent crops such as almond.

&lt;p class="SP253977"&gt;&lt;span class="SC1657"&gt;New additions to the shallow-water hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) &lt;/span&gt;of the French Lesser Antilles: Martinique

The present report provides the first general account of the shallow-water hydroids (excluding Eudendriidae) of Martinique, French Lesser Antilles. Of a total of 92 species recorded, 10 athecates and 31 thecates are discussed here, with the remaining species having been the subject of earlier accounts. Six hydroids, namely Halecium discoidum, H. xanthellatum, Sertularella calderi, Antennellapeculiaris, A. similis, and A. tubitheca, are new. Previously unreported data on the nematocyst complement of Heterocoryne caribbensis Wedler & Larson, 1986, Ectopleura mayeri Petersen, 1990, Ralpharia gorgoniae Petersen, 1990, and seven hebellid species are provided.'The gonotheca and the gonophore of Hebellopsis communis Calder, 1991 are described for the first time, allowing a genus transfer to Anthohebella Boero et al., 1997. Thyroscyphus longicaulis Splettstbsser, 1929, a species whose gonosome remained unknown until now, is redescribed based on new, fertile material of both sexes. The occurrence of Antennella quadriaurita Ritchie, 1909 in the Caribbean is questioned upon comparison of its cnidome with that of specimens from Tristan da Cunha, the type locality of this species. An unexpectedly wide morphological variation is noted for Aglaophenia rhynchocarpa Allman, 1877. Specimens corresponding to the Caribbean Gymnangium longicaudum (Nutting, 1900), are shown to be indistinguishable morphologically from a taxon described earlier from Brazil, Gymnangium allmani (Marktanner-Turneretscher, 1890), the latter having priority. Thorough descriptions are provided for the new, lesser known or unidentifiable species, while the common taxa are accompanied by brief remarks and/or distributional data. Illustrations are provided for each species discussed in order to justify their identification, and to facilitate identification by others. A checklist at the end of this work incorporates records of 101 species of hydroids reported from Martinique, both occurring in the present collection and cited in the literature.

Fossil Bats from the Late Pleistocene Red Hills Road Cave, Jamaica

Abstract Fossil bats (Chiroptera) are rare in the Late Pleistocene sediments of the Red Hills Road Cave, parish of St. Andrew, Jamaica. Mandibles from this site include three species, all new to the Pleistocene of the island. Stenoderma rufum Desmarest, a frugivore, is the most common taxon. It is still extant in the more eastern Greater Antilles, but has been extirpated from Jamaica. Tadarida sp. cf. T. brasiliensis I. Geoffroy St.-Hillaire represents a taxon still widespread in the Greater Antilles; S. rufum and T. brasiliensis occur together in St. John at the present day. Chiropteran spp. indet. are known from incomplete mandibles and are, at best, morphologically distinct from the other two species at this site.

Individual and combined effects of fine sediment and the herbicide glyphosate on benthic macroinvertebrates and stream ecosystem function

Summary Previous research on the combined action of various paired agricultural stressors in stream ecosystems has shown that non‐additive outcomes (i.e. synergisms or antagonisms) are more common than simple additive effects on communities, but the interplay between deposited fine sediment and widely used herbicides such as glyphosate as stressors is not well understood. A 28‐day experiment in outdoor stream mesocosms simulated effects of varying levels of fine sediment and a glyphosate‐based herbicide on macroinvertebrates and ecosystem function (leaf breakdown) in a fully factorial repeated‐measures design. Our aim was to determine whether (i) increased levels of sediment and glyphosate had individual and/or additive combined effects on invertebrates and leaf breakdown, (ii) increased sediment reduced the toxicity of glyphosate (antagonistic multiple stressor interaction) or (iii) sediment‐adsorbed glyphosate prolonged the effects of exposure (synergistic interaction). Sediment addition positively or negatively affected eight of the 10 most common invertebrate taxa colonising the mesocosms and increased or decreased the representation of 12 of 15 biological trait categories possessed by the invertebrates, while glyphosate addition negatively affected only two taxa and two invertebrate trait categories, indicating that glyphosate entering streams as a result of herbicide addition to farmland is less likely to be problematic for invertebrates than fine sediment from catchment erosion. No significant overall sediment‐by‐glyphosate interaction was detected for invertebrate taxonomic or trait compositions or for any common individual taxon, trait or community metric, indicating that the two stressors were acting additively (i.e. without interaction), rather than synergistically or antagonistically. Leaf breakdown rates (measured as mass and strength loss) were accelerated by sediment and glyphosate as individual stressors. Further, the two stressors interacted for leaf strength loss, with their combined effect being less than additive when both stressors were at their highest levels. Population, community and ecosystem variables responded differently to multiple stressors, highlighting the value of combining structural, functional taxonomic and trait data to assess the effects of anthropogenic stressors.

Phylogenetic affinities and distribution of the Hawaiian freshwater red algae (Rhodophyta)

Carlile A.L. and Sherwood A.R. 2013. Phylogenetic affinities and distribution of the Hawaiian freshwater red algae (Rhodophyta). Phycologia 52: 309–319. DOI: 10.2216/12–097.1The present study documents the nonmarine red algal species present in the Hawaiian Islands, including their distribution patterns and phylogenetic affinities of the most common taxa. Large-scale survey collections of freshwater algae were made throughout the six largest main Hawaiian Islands, resulting in 155 red algal isolates. Of these, 69 were used for molecular analyses, with DNA sequences generated for four markers from three genomes. Phylogenetic affinities with global reference sequences for the two most common taxa, Composopogon caeruleus (Compsopogonales, Rhodophyta) and the form genus Chantransia, were inferred in an effort to determine the origin of Hawaiian populations. Morphometric measurements and cluster analysis were used to assess the congruence between morphology and molecular data among Chantransia lineages. Phylogeographic patterns within Hawaii were examined for the most common form of Chantransia, Batrachospermum arcuatum (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta). Seven species of freshwater red algae were found, with some new records for Hawaii. These species had contrasting distributions; some were widespread species, and others were confined to a single island. Molecular data also revealed contrasting patterns for the two most common taxa: one was widespread with no genetic variation even in the context of global sequences, and the other exhibited substantial phylogeographic structure, following the progression rule within the Hawaiian Islands. Morphometric analysis demonstrated little agreement between morphology and molecular data among Chantransia. This is the first comprehensive survey of the freshwater red algae in Hawaii and revealed 28% endemic taxa, with one putative new species reported from Kauai. Contrasting examples of global phylogeographic structure were found; the taxon from which patterns could be deduced showed a western Pacific origin. This study highlights the need for global sampling of freshwater red algae to infer dispersal patterns, especially for those algae with cosmopolitan distributions.

Variation in susceptibility of threatened flora to Phytophthora cinnamomi

Determination of susceptibility to Phytophthora cinnamomi affirms the exceptional broad host range of the pathogen and diversity of host–pathogen interactions in the native flora of the South-West Botanical Province of Western Australia. Positioning taxa on the P. cinnamomi resistance-susceptibility continuum prioritises taxa in relation to the threat posed by the pathogen. Variation in susceptibility of 501 Western Australian plant taxa to P. cinnamomi infection was evaluated after soil inoculation. Disease progress curves following soil inoculation were analysed with the three logistic model parameters of upper asymptote (Kmax), lag time (t½K) and intrinsic rate of increase (r). The susceptibility continuum represented by the ordination of parameters of the logistic model for % plant mortality in two dimensions was similar for threatened, priority and common taxa. Variation in parameters of the logistic model decreased with susceptibility. Although resistant taxa had low Kmax, the values for delay and rate varied. In comparison, susceptible taxa tended to have high Kmax short delay and fast rate. Most of the taxa in Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Myrtaceae and Poaceae tested were resistant to P. cinnamomi. A few taxa in Fabaceae and Myrtaceae (18 and 10 %, respectively) were susceptible to the pathogen. Casuarinaceae were mainly resistant, but showed a range of responses to P. cinnamomi. Ericaceae were mainly susceptible. Proteaceae showed a broad range of responses from resistant to susceptible. Significantly greater resistance of sprouters than seeders and the significant negative relationship between mortality and leaf phenolics, may be examples of resistance mechanisms through fortuitous side effects of ecological fitting of functional traits that evolved in response to different sets of biotic and abiotic conditions that occurred before the introduction of P. cinnamomi. Identification of resistant individuals in threatened taxa would ensure survival of taxa and conservation of genetic diversity.

Ectomycota Associated with Hibernating Bats in Eastern Canadian Caves prior to the Emergence of White-Nose Syndrome

Abstract - The emergence of the fungal disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) among hibernating bats in North America and its causative pathogen, Geomyces destructans, underscores how little is known about fungi associated with bats and their subterranean environments. Investigating 8 caves and mines in New Brunswick, Canada, we cultured a diverse array of fungi from the fur and skin of apparently healthy, hibernating Myotis lucifugus (Little Brown Bat) and M. septentrionalis (Northern Long-eared Bat) in the year prior to the emergence of WNS in the province. Among the 117 isolated fungal taxa, we found an array of psychrophilic, psychrotrophic, keratinolytic, coprophilous, and saprobic fungi. The most common taxa were Geomyces pannorum sensu lato, Penicillium spp., Mortierella spp., Mucor spp., Cephalotrichum stemonitis, Leuconeurospora spp., Penicillium solitum, Cladosporium spp., and Trichosporon dulcitum. Each bat hosted 6.9 ± 3 (SD) fungal taxa, and 30.8 ± 5 taxa were isolated per hibernaculum. Number of ...

산림청 수목원 조성 및 진흥에 관한 법률의 특산식물 목록의 재고

각 국가별로 고유종(혹은 특산종)은 보전생물학자들의 관심 대상이 되며 국가의 법률 시행에 의해 각 국가별로 분포의 제한이 되는 특산식물에 대한 관리를 하게 된다. 국가 기관인 환경부에서는 2005년도에 고유종목록을 출간하였고, 2011년 산림청에서는 수목원 조성 및 진흥에 관한 법률 시행 규칙 중[별표 1의 4] 특산식물 목록을 법으로 공표하였다. 이 법의 목록을 중심으로 법제화된 목록에서 제시된 빈번한 학명의 오류와 잘못된 종의 개념에 의한 목록을 점검할 필요가 있어 본 연구를 시도하였다. 환경부는 527종, 산림청은 360종의 목록을 발표하였는데 양 국가 기관에서 공통으로 언급한 종은 환경부 목록의 품종(107) 수를 제외한 분류군(416)으로 계산하면 286종으로 산림청 목록의 약 80%에 해당된다. 산림청의 특산식물 목록을 근간으로 분석한 결과, 확인되는 단순 오타 오류는 67개(18.7%), 서명과 나명의 비합법적으로 발표한 이름은 모두 14종(3.9%)이며, 중국에 분포해서 특산식물에서 배제되어야 하는 12종(3.4%) 등 전체 목록의 4분의 1(24.9%)이 오류에 해당된다. 반면, 목록 중 분류학적 연구와 검토가 불충분해서 분류군의 실체를 인정하기 어려운 분류군(미해결후보종, unresolved candidates)인 73종(19.6%), 분류학적 이명으로 확인된 196종(55.5%)을 제외하면 특산식물은 59종(16.5%)에 불과하였다. 본 연구 결과에 의하면, 이런 특산식물 목록의 오류는 종에 대한 개념 문제, 해당 종에 대한 정보 부족, 그리고 국가기관의 학명관련 데이터베이스의 오류에 대한 수정이 없는 잘못된 정보의 제공이 원인이다. 실제 고유종 대상이 되는 종들의 보전관리가 시급하게 필요함에도 불구하고, 현재의 과도한 고유종 선정에 의해 상대적인 관심에서 멀어져 미래에 멸종위기에 대한 문제를 자초하는 우를 범할 수 있다. The existence of endemism in many parts of the world is an important factor for conservationists. Conservation can only be carried out under national legislation, and national endemics, which have very limited ranges, fully depend on the effort and success of conservation. A total of 523 vascular plant taxa were listed in the latest national checklist by Ministry of Environment in 2005, while the 'Creation and Furtherance of Arboretums Act' including a national endemic list (appendix 4-1) was established by Korea Forest Service and was legislated as a law in late 2011. This legislation by Korea Forest Service on endemism of Korean vascular plants have required much attention because of discrepancies of nomenclature, taxonomic bias and inflation. Examining data for both lists proposed by Ministry of Environment and Korea Forest Service, of the total of 360 legislated taxa, around 286 taxa are shared with the list of Ministry of Environment, of which about 80% have been found as common taxa. Around 67(18.7%) are typographic errors, and 14 taxa (3.9%) are recorded as illegitimate and invalidly published names. Through this analysis 12 taxa (3.4%) were found in China as well as in Korea and these are thought to be non Korean endemic taxa. Taken together, the legislated list displayed 1/4 (24.9%) errors out of the total list. Only 59 taxa (16.5%) are identified as national endemic species. The remainder are either unresolved candidates (73 taxa, 20.4%) or synonyms (196 taxa, 54.7%) status. It must be noted, that the concept of endemism very much depends on the knowledge of the species concept, taxonomic bias and geographical range of a species. Also, the most major nomenclatural problem tend to be more stable if the information on database about Korea Plant Name, which is managed by Korea National Arboretum are well updated year to year. These exaggerated numbers underscore the urgency for regional conservation planning and implementing effective strategies to preserve these real endemic taxa into the future.

Biotic response of Tethyan bathyal ostracodes through the Eocene–Oligocene Transition: The composite faunal record from the Massicore and Massignano Global Stratotype Section and Point (east central Italy)

Abstract The Eocene–Oligocene Transition (EOT) is marked by a double-stepped positive δ 18 O excursion of ~ 1.3‰ and a deepening of the calcium compensation depth (CCD) interpreted to represent marked Antarctic glaciation and global ocean–atmosphere cooling (i.e., Oi-1 event). A ~ 0.5-m (~ 55–70 kyr) resolution ostracode faunal study of the Massicore, drilled up-section from the Italian Massignano Quarry containing the Eocene–Oligocene Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), revealed a relative increase in Krithe and decreases in faunal evenness and Shannon Index correlative to the Oi-1 event. These transient faunal changes may reflect local water column changes (e.g., export production) or intensified thermohaline flow of cooler deep waters through the paleotethyan seaway. Comparison of these Massicore ostracode faunal data to previously-published Massignano Quarry ostracode faunal data reveals similar relative abundances among common taxa where the study intervals overlap, and thereby provide a more complete Tethyan ostracode record spanning all of C13n and the broader EOT at the GSSP locality.

Dietary habits in the endangered Bearded VultureGypaetus barbatusfrom Upper Pleistocene to modern times in Spain: a paleobiological conservation perspective

SummaryAlthough most Old World vulture species are declining or threatened in Asia and Africa, in Europe healthy vulture populations still exist. However, recent application of sanitary legislation that has greatly reduced the availability of animal carcasses is now a concern for conservationists. Until now, no studies have been undertaken to determine long-term dietary shifts in these species in Europe, but such studies are essential to optimising the resources invested in conservation and to anticipating the ecological needs of the target species. Here, we present a first attempt to examine the dietary variation in the Bearded VultureGypaetus barbatusfrom the late Pleistocene to the present day. Medium-size wild ungulates such as southern chamoisRupicapra pyrenaica, Spanish ibexCapra pyrenaica,red deerCervus elaphusand roe deerCapreolus capreolusdominate the diet during the Pleistocene supporting the hypothesis that Bearded Vulture distribution was largely determined by the presence of such species. On the contrary, domestic species, such as sheepOvis ariesand goatCapra hircus,are the most common taxa in the diet in modern and historic periods. The actual dependence of the species on livestock, along with a restrictive sanitary legislation, threaten the conservation of this and other endangered avian scavengers in Europe. This new paleobiological conservation perspective confirms that efforts to establish a self-sustaining Bearded Vulture population should be enhanced by the widespread availability of medium-sized wild ungulates and by the presence of extensive and traditional grazing practices.

Late Ordovician Ostracods of the Girvan District, South-West Scotland

The Late Ordovician ostracod fauna recorded from the Girvan district, south-west Scotland, comprises 54 species from 26 genera and 15 families, but includes 22 species described in open nomenclature and a further 17 that are considered as nomina dubia. The ostracods include representatives of the podocope suborders Palaeocopina, Binodicopina, Leiocopina and Metacopina, and the new genera and species Danemestrinus scotus n. gen. et sp., Leperditella girvanensis n. sp. and Krausella jonesiana n. sp. are described. The fauna includes several species that allow inter-continental correlation with the Late Ordovician succession of North America, including the Sandbian species Eurychilina sunbloodensis, Balticella deckeri, Baltonotella parsispinosa and Hippula ventrospinosa. The Katian species Kinnekullea comma has correlative value between Scotland, Ireland, England and the East Baltic. Biogeographically, the Girvan ostracod fauna of Sandbian age shows strong affinities at species-level with the fauna of palaeocontinental Laurentia, but from the early Katian onwards there are species level links with the Baltic region, and some common taxa at generic and species-level with palaeocontinental Avalonia.

Multi-proxy evidence of Late Quaternary environmental changes in the coastal area of Puerto Lobos (northern Patagonia, Argentina)

A multidisciplinary approach involving geomorphology, taxa composition of mollusks and taphonomy performed on bivalve shells, linked to mineralogical and microstructural analyses, provide evidence of Late Quaternary environmental changes in the coastal area of Puerto Lobos, in northern Patagonia. Digital elevation models (DEMs) showed a beach ridge system developed parallel to the coast, indicating sea level variations during MIS1, MIS5e, and earlier in the Pleistocene. These ridges can be correlated with other marine ridges along the Patagonian coast, showing a similar geomorphological pattern and similar temporal evolution. In relation to faunal composition, when comparing the Pleistocene with the Holocene, the most relevant differences are the presence of Tegula atra and Mactra patagonica in the Pleistocene sediments and a diversification of taxa in the Holocene. During the late Holocene, the coastal area of Puerto Lobos also recorded a faunal shift in which species belonging to the Magellan Province displaced the fauna of the Argentinean Province to the north, probably in coincidence with the Little Ice Age (LIA). Taphonomic analysis on Glycymeris longior and Venus antiqua shells, two common taxa in these beach ridges, indicate greater energy in the depositional environment correlated with the youngest Holocene beach ridge. These shells exhibited taphonomic differences between them in relation to fracturing, explained on the basis of higher elasticity in the G. longior shell than in V. antiqua shell, because of its crossed lamellar microstructure.

Undersampling and the measurement of beta diversity

Summary Beta diversity is a conceptual link between diversity at local and regional scales. Various additional methodologies of quantifying this and related phenomena have been applied. Among them, measures of pairwise (dis)similarity of sites are particularly popular. Undersampling, i.e. not recording all taxa present at a site, is a common situation in ecological data. Bias in many metrics related to beta diversity must be expected, but only few studies have explicitly investigated the properties of various measures under undersampling conditions. On the basis of an empirical data set, representing near‐complete local inventories of the Lepidoptera from an isolated Pacific island, as well as simulated communities with varying properties, we mimicked different levels of undersampling. We used 14 different approaches to quantify beta diversity, among them dataset‐wide multiplicative partitioning (i.e. ‘true beta diversity’) and pairwise site x site dissimilarities. We compared their values from incomplete samples to true results from the full data. We used these comparisons to quantify undersampling bias and we calculated correlations of the dissimilarity measures of undersampled data with complete data of sites. Almost all tested metrics showed bias and low correlations under moderate to severe undersampling conditions (as well as deteriorating precision, i.e. large chance effects on results). Measures that used only species incidence were very sensitive to undersampling, while abundance‐based metrics with high dependency on the distribution of the most common taxa were particularly robust. Simulated data showed sensitivity of results to the abundance distribution, confirming that data sets of high evenness and/or the application of metrics that are strongly affected by rare species are particularly sensitive to undersampling. The class of beta measure to be used should depend on the research question being asked as different metrics can lead to quite different conclusions even without undersampling effects. For each class of metric, there is a trade‐off between robustness to undersampling and sensitivity to rare species. In consequence, using incidence‐based metrics carries a particular risk of false conclusions when undersampled data are involved. Developing bias corrections for such metrics would be desirable.

Mitochondrial lineage sorting in action – historical biogeography of the Hyles euphorbiae complex (Sphingidae, Lepidoptera) in Italy

BackgroundMitochondrial genes are among the most commonly used markers in studies of species’ phylogeography and to draw conclusions about taxonomy. The Hyles euphorbiae complex (HEC) comprises six distinct mitochondrial lineages in the Mediterranean region, of which one exhibits a cryptic disjunct distribution. The predominant mitochondrial lineage in most of Europe, euphorbiae, is also present on Malta; however, it is nowadays strangely absent from Southern Italy and Sicily, where it is replaced by 'italica'. A separate biological entity in Italy is further corroborated by larval colour patterns with a congruent, confined suture zone along the Northern Apennines. By means of historic DNA extracted from museum specimens, we aimed to investigate the evolution of the mitochondrial demographic structure of the HEC in Italy and Malta throughout the Twentieth Century.ResultsAt the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the European mainland lineages were also present at a moderate frequency in Southern Italy and Sicily. The proportion of 'italica' then steadily increased in this area from below 60 percent to near fixation in about 120 years. Thus, geographical sorting of mitochondrial lineages in the HEC was not as complete then as the current demography suggests. The pattern of an integral 'italica' core region and a disjunct euphorbiae distribution evolved very recently. To explain these strong demographic changes, we propose genetic drift due to anthropogenic habitat loss and fragmentation in combination with an impact from recent climate warming that favoured the spreading of the potentially better adapted 'italica' populations.ConclusionsThe pattern of geographically separated mitochondrial lineages is commonly interpreted as representing long term separated entities. However, our results indicate that such a pattern can emerge surprisingly quickly, even in a widespread and rather common taxon. We thus caution against drawing hasty taxonomic conclusions from biogeographical patterns of mitochondrial markers derived from modern sampling alone.

Chapter 18 Ordovician and Silurian polychaete diversity and biogeography

Abstract Eunicidan polychaetes formed a significant part of Early Palaeozoic marine invertebrate communities, as shown by the abundance and diversity of scolecodonts (polychaete jaws) in the fossil record. In this study we summarize the early radiation and biodiversity trends and discuss the palaeobiogeography of these fossils. The oldest (latest Cambrian–Early Ordovician) representatives had primitive, usually symmetrical, placognath/ctenognath type jaw apparatuses. The first more advanced taxa, possessing labidognath-type jaw apparatuses or placognath apparatuses with compound maxillae, are first recorded in the Middle Ordovician. The most significant increase in generic diversity occurred in the Darriwilian, when many common taxa appeared and diversified. The Ordovician and Silurian scolecodont occurrences allow some palaeobiogeographical units and distribution patterns to be explored and outlined. The most robust data presently at hand derive from successions in Baltica and Laurentia. That information, together with new records from other palaeocontinents, reveals a wide distribution for the most frequent and species-rich genera and families, similar to the biogeographical patterns of extant polychaetes. Like many other benthic and pelagic fossil groups, scolecodont-bearing polychaetes show an increased cosmopolitan character in the Silurian as compared with the Ordovician. Species-level endemism appears to be relatively common, inferring a potential for scolecodonts as biogeographical tools in the future.

Янский флористический комплекс из верхнемеловых вулканогенных отложений Северного Приохотья

The Yana floristic assemblage occurs from tuffs and tuffites of the upper part of the Ola Formation (the Campanian) of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanogenic belt (OCVB). The locality is situated in the upper part of the Yana River basin (Magadan Region). The Yana assemblage is composed of 18 taxa: Polypodiophyta: Cladophlebis sp., Mygdykitia ochotica Golovn. et Shczep., gen. et sp. nov. Cycadopsida: Ctenis paljavaensis Philipp. Czekanowskiopsida: Phoenicopsis ex gr. angustifolia Heer Pinopsida: Picea yanensis Golovn. et Shczep., sp. nov., Piсea sp., Pityostrobus sp., Pityolepis sp. 1, 2, Pityocladus sp., Cupressinocladus sp., Elatocladus anorovii Golovn. et Shczep., sp. nov. Magnoliopsida: Quereuxia angulata (Newb.) Krysht. ex Baik., Trochodendroides sp. 1, 2, Dicotylophyllum sp. 1—3. Among them, three species and one genus are firstly described. According to general systematic composition the Yana floristic assemblage is similar to the Ola flora (the Campanian) from the Arman River and the Maltan River basins and has some common taxa with the Chaun flora (the Coniacian) of the Central Chukotka. But the Yana assemblage does not contain typical species of the Ola and the Chaun floras and differs from them by some endemic species. The Yana floristic assemblage comes from coarse-grained weakly stratified tuffites, whereas the plant remains of the Ola flora are usually connected with fi ne-grained bedded volcanogenic-terrigenous lacustrine deposits. It is possible to assume, that the Yana floristic assemblage reflects the vegetation of upland slope habitats, whereas the Ola flora characterizes the vegetation of lowlands near the lakes at volcanic plateau.

Mosses of the Egyptian Conservation Areas: II. Omayed Protected Area

Twenty-nine moss taxa are recorded, for the first time, from Khashm El-Aish plateau in Omayed Protected Area (OPA), Mediterranean coast, Egypt. Sixteen of them represent new records to the western Mediterranean coast (Mm) and six [Aloina brevirostris (Hook, et Grev.) Kindb., Entosthodon cf. commutatus Durieu et Mont., Didymodon cordatus Jur., Tortella flavovirens (Bruch.) Broth., Tortula cuneifolia (Dicks.) Turner, T. muralis Hedw. var. aestiva (Hedw.) Brid.] to Egypt bringing their totals to 63 and 170 taxa, respectively. OPA represents 0.07% of Egypt's area but sustains over 17% of its moss flora. The most common taxa are species of Tortella. The most frequent genera are Tortella, Didymodon and Bryum. The largest genera are Didymodon, Bryum and Tortula. The Pottiaceae represent ca. 76% of the flora and comprise over 70% of taxa recorded with sporophytes. Similarity of the bryoflora of OPA is mainly with Sinai and Isthmic Desert in Egypt.