Long-distance Dispersal Research Articles

Continuous colonization of the Atlantic coastal rain forests of South America from Amazônia.

The two main extensions of rain forest in South America are the Amazon (Amazônia) and the Atlantic rain forest (Mata Atlântica), which are separated by a wide 'dry diagonal' of seasonal vegetation. We used the species-rich tree genus Inga to test if Amazônia-Mata Atlântica dispersals have been clustered during specific time periods corresponding to past, humid climates. We performed hybrid capture DNA sequencing of 810 nuclear loci for 453 accessions representing 164 species that included 62% of Mata Atlântica species and estimated a dated phylogeny for all accessions using maximum likelihood, and a species-level tree using coalescent methods. There have been 16-20 dispersal events to the Mata Atlântica from Amazônia with only one or two dispersals in the reverse direction. These events have occurred over the evolutionary history of Inga, with no evidence for temporal clustering, and model comparisons of alternative biogeographic histories and null simulations showing the timing of dispersal events matches a random expectation. Time-specific biogeographic corridors are not required to explain dispersal between Amazônia and the Mata Atlântica for rain forest trees such as Inga, which are likely to have used a dendritic net of gallery forests to cross the dry diagonal.

Spatial Patterns of Taxonomic, Functional, and Phylogenetic Diversity of Mammals in Southern Mexico

ABSTRACTBiodiversity is multidimensional and should therefore be characterized using multiple approaches to understand the patterns at various temporal and spatial scales. Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic measurements of diversity are now recognized as comprehensive methods for understanding the relationships among species diversity, associated ecological processes, and the evolutionary history of species within communities. However, spatial incongruence among these different dimensions of diversity has been found to be common at global and regional levels, posing challenges for conservation. By using species distribution models built with correlative method, we investigated whether downscaling spatial analyses of multidimensional diversity across mammal groups (flying mammals, small‐sized mammals, and medium and large‐sized mammals) maintain mismatch patterns in a megadiverse mammal unit (Oaxaca state, southern Mexico) at three spatial resolutions and how well diversity hotspots are protected. We found similar spatial patterns and high correlations across the analyzed resolutions, suggesting interchangeability. As expected, we observed incongruence in spatial patterns among multidimensional biodiversity measurements (average of 68.7%). Species richness partially matched the global pattern, as topographic heterogeneity facilitated refugia and speciation in mountains, while productivity in lowlands supported a high number of species. As observed globally, functional diversity was higher in temperate areas; however, redundancy was not found in tropical ecosystems but rather in semiarid ones, suggesting that environmental filtering plays an important role in structuring communities. Contrary to expectations, phylogenetic diversity increased in tropical ecosystems, where dispersal events allow species to accumulate through invasion processes. Among mammal groups, we also found disparate patterns, suggesting differences in dispersal potential and energy demand. Protected area systems overlapped very little with the proposed multidimensional conservation areas, with a higher overlap found in social initiatives than in governmental ones. Our findings support the notion that there is spatial incongruence between the dimensions of biodiversity, which has implications for subregional mammal conservation.

Biome conservatism prevailed in repeated long-distance colonization of Madagascar's mountains by Helichrysum (Compositae, Gnaphalieae).

Colonization and diversification processes are responsible for the distinctiveness of island biotas, with Madagascar standing out as abiodiversity hotspot exceptionally rich in species and endemism. Regardless of its significance, the evolutionary history and diversification drivers of Madagascar's flora remain understudied. Here we focus on Helichrysum (Compositae, Gnaphalieae) to investigate the evolutionary and biogeographic origins of the Malagasy flora. We inferred a highly resolved phylogeny based on target-enrichment data from 327 species (including 51% of Malagasy endemics) and conducted ancestral range estimation analyses. Our results revealed at least six trans-oceanic dispersal events from different African regions to Madagascar during the Pliocene. In this process, biome conservatism prevailed, as evidenced by similarities between Malagasy lineages and their African relatives. The southern African grasslands, known to be the center of diversification and the main source of African Helichrysum lineages, played a key role in the colonization of Madagascar as the ancestral source area of at least three clades. The Tropical Afromontane region was revealed as the source of at least two montane Malagasy lineages that substantially radiated in-situ. Finally, a dispersal event from southwestern Africa led to a lineage represented by a single species adapted to the island's southwestern arid conditions. The main radiations of Helichrysum in Madagascar's mountains occurred within the last 2 My, coinciding with a transition towards cooler and drier conditions and the expansion of open habitats, likely driven by a combination of geographic and ecological speciation. Overall, our findings highlight the affinities between the montane floras of continental Africa and Madagascar.

Diffuse soil pollution from agriculture: Impacts and remediation.

Agricultural activities are essential for sustaining the global population, yet they exert considerable pressure on the environment. A major challenge we face today is agricultural pollution, much of which is diffuse in nature, lacking a clear point of origin for chemical discharge. Modern agricultural practices, which often depend on substantial applications of fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water, are key contributors to this form of pollution. These activities lead to downstream contamination through mechanisms such as surface runoff, leaching, soil erosion, wind dispersal, and sedimentation. The environmental and human health consequences of diffuse pollution are profound and cannot be ignored. Accurate assessment of the risks posed by agricultural pollutants is crucial for ensuring the production of safe, high-quality food while safeguarding the environment. This requires systematic monitoring and evaluation of agricultural practices, including soil testing and nutrient management. Furthermore, the development and implementation of best management practices (BMPs) are critical in reducing the levels of agricultural pollution. Such measures are essential for mitigating the negative impacts on ecosystems and public health. Therefore, the adoption of preventive strategies aimed at minimizing pollution and its associated risks is highly recommended to ensure long-term environmental sustainability and human well-being.

Wastewater-based analysis of antimicrobial resistance at UK airports: Evaluating the potential opportunities and challenges.

With 40 million annual passenger flights, airports are key hubs for microbial communities from diverse geographic origins to converge, mix, and distribute. Wastewater derived from airports and aircraft represent both a potential route for the global dispersion of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) organisms and an under-utilised resource for strengthening global AMR surveillance. This study investigates the abundance and diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater samples collected from airport terminals (n=132), aircraft (n=25), and a connected wastewater treatment plant (n=11) at three international airports in the UK (London Heathrow, Edinburgh and Bristol). A total of 76 ARGs were quantified using high throughput qPCR (HT-qPCR) while a subset of samples (n=30) was further analysed by metagenomic sequencing. Our findings reveal that aircraft wastewater resistomes were compositionally distinct from those observed at airport terminals, despite their similar diversity. Notably, flights originating from Asia and Africa carried a higher number of unique ARGs compared to those from Europe and North America. However, clustering of the ARG profile displayed no overall association with geography. Edinburgh terminal and pumping station wastewater had compositionally comparable resistomes to that of the connected urban wastewater treatment plant, though further research is needed to determine the relative contributions of the local population and international travellers. This study provides the first comprehensive investigation of AMR in wastewater from both aircraft and terminals across multiple international airports. Our results highlight aircraft wastewater as a potential route for cross-border AMR transmission and a valuable tool for global AMR surveillance. However, the findings also underscore the limitations and need for standardised approaches for AMR monitoring in airport environments, to effectively mitigate the global spread of AMR and enhance public health surveillance strategies.

Environmental changes and uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau drive genetic diversification and speciation of the birds.

Being the most magnificent plateau in elevation and size on Earth, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has a profound impact on biodiversity due to the unique geographic and climatic conditions. Here we review the speciation patterns and genetic diversity of the birds from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in relation to the geological history and climatic changes. First, the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau forms a geographic barrier and promotes interspecific and intraspecific genetic differentiation. Second, the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has provided new ecological niches for many endemic birds and facilitated their speciation. Third, the emigration and immigration of bird species between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and adjacent zoological regions have promoted species divergence, colonization and dispersal. Furthermore, Pleistocene glaciations and associated climate change drive postglacial colonization and lead to secondary contact, which influenced the genetic divergence of the conspecific populations and sister species. The multi-omics approach has increasingly been used in the studies on the ecological adaptive evolution of birds in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Future studies should focus on the role of geological and climatic factors in species differentiation, develop integrative approach with multi-omics methods, and explore the ecological mechanisms of high-elevation adaptation of plateau species. As an important region for biodiversity conservation, more efforts should be implemented to maintain the stability and sustainability of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its ecosystem in light of global change.

Discovering the allure of forests: Exploring adolescent queries in nature-rich environments.

This study explores adolescents' inherent curiosity about nature through the production of self-generated questions during a field visit to a nature-rich environment, followed by descriptive-interpretative analysis using focus groups. Utilizing cultural probes and content-free question tokens, we collected 164 valid questions produced by 36 adolescents during the field session. Biotic elements, like species, turned out to be more intriguing than abiotic elements, originating 89.6% of the questions. The predominant topics were related to species adaptation, extinction, dispersion, and diversity, with younger adolescents showing a notable interest in nature conservation, while older adolescents highlighted biodiversity dynamics. These findings were corroborated by the ranking of the TOP-5 most interesting questions, where biodiversity dynamics, nature conservation and plant physiology occupied the same relative positions. Our results indicate that in a nature-rich environment and through an inquiry-based approach, adolescents were encouraged to express curiosity about nature. This approach could be a valuable educational strategy to enhance their connection to nature, promote conservation responsibility, and benefit the environment.

MetaRange.jl: A Dynamic and Metabolic Species Range Model for Plant Species.

Process-based models for range dynamics are urgently needed due to increasing intensity of human-induced biodiversity change. Despite a few existing models that focus on demographic processes, their use remains limited compared to the widespread application of correlative approaches. This slow adoption is largely due to the challenges in calibrating biological parameters and the high computational demands for large-scale applications. Moreover, increasing the number of simulated processes (i.e., mechanistic complexity) may further exacerbate those reasons of delay. Therefore, balancing mechanistic complexity and computational effectiveness of process-based models is a key area for improvement. A promising research direction is to expand demographically explicit metapopulation models by integrating metabolic constraints. We translated and expanded a previously developed R metapopulation model to Julia language and published it as a Julia module. The model integrates species-specific parameters such as preferred environmental conditions, biomass and dispersal ability with demographic rates (e.g., reproductive and mortality rates) derived from local temperature and biomass via the metabolic theory of ecology. We provide a simple application example for the model in which we illustrate a typical use case by predicting the future occurrence of Orchis militaris in Bavaria under different climate change scenarios. Our results show that climate change reduces habitat suitability overall, but some regions like the Franconian Forest and the Alps see increased suitability and abundance, confirming their role as refugia. Simulating metapopulation dynamics reveals that local population dynamics and dispersal are crucial for accurate predictions. For instance, increasing dispersal distance reduces overall abundance loss but also lessens population growth in refugia. This highlights the importance of measuring traits like dispersal ability to improve climate change forecasts.

Anostracans muddy the water: Anostracans from North American lakes show unclear phylogenetic relationships between taxa, and distinctive dispersal patterns

Dispersal is essential for all organisms to enable colonization of new areas. Like many other aquatic invertebrates, Anostraca (Crustacea) disperse passively as dormant fertilized eggs. Here, we first study the genetic diversity of Branchinecta fairy shrimps (identified morphologically as B. readingi) inhabiting lakes in Saskatchewan and British Columbia, Canada. Secondly, we attempt to reconstruct the phylogeny and dispersal events that explain their genetic distribution. Finally, we compare genetic diversity and distribution of Branchinecta sp. and Artemia franciscana, the two anostracans inhabiting the Saskatchewan lakes but with different salinity niches. To this aim, we sequenced CO1 and 16S gene fragments of the Branchinecta individuals collected from eight Saskatchewan lakes. We found a relatively high number of haplotypes for both markers (79 in CO1 and 76 in 16S) in Branchinecta from Saskatchewan. Three genetic clades at the CO1 gene region were found in Saskatchewan Branchinecta, with one of these clades being widely recorded previously in the USA (but described as B. mackini). In contrast, 54 CO1 haplotypes were previously recorded in A. franciscana in Saskatchewan for which all CO1 sequences belonged to one genetic clade. This suggests that Branchinecta sequences might be originating from several distinct Ice Age refugia, contrary to A. franciscana which might be originating from a single refuge. High density of suitable habitats (>100,000 lakes in Saskatchewan), weak priority effects and frequent dispersal events could explain high genetic diversity found in the studied Branchinecta. However, we found no genetic support for a distinction between B. readingi and B. mackini.

Methane Valorization through Direct Conversion to Methanol Using Catalysts Based on Copper-Modified Natural Clays

Introduction: A series of Cu-montmorillonite clay composites (MtCs), prepared through cation exchange and wet impregnation with varying amounts of copper, have been tested for the direct oxidation of methane to methanol. Methods: The catalysts were characterized using several analytical techniques, including surface area BET, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Ammonia Temperature-Programmed Desorption (NH3-TPD), and pyridine desorption, followed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Catalytic tests were conducted at various temperatures and pressures using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent. Results: The characterization results indicated the incorporation of copper species to not significantly modify the clay composite morphology. The TEM images of the samples with low copper content (0.8 Cu wt.%) showed the copper particles to be uniformly distributed. Conversely, for the higher copper content samples (3.5 Cu wt.%) prepared by wet impregnation, the copper particles distributed around the montmorillonite clay composites. It has been observed that silica (MtC-Si) and aluminum (MtC-SiAl) montmorillonite clay composites have exhibited notable differences in acid site strength and distribution, influencing the dispersion and type of copper species being active for direct oxidation of methane to methanol. Conclusion: The findings have indicated the well-dispersed copper species, favored by the structure MtCs, to resulted in enhanced catalytic activity for methane’s oxidation to methanol.

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Textiles for Hydrogen-Rich Syngas Production over NiO/Al2O3 Catalyst

Hydrogen production through the catalytic pyrolysis of low-value organic solid waste offers a promising low-carbon and environmentally friendly pathway. However, the design of efficient hydrogen-producing catalysts remains a significant challenge. Herein, NiO/Al2O3 as a catalyst precursor was utilized to investigate the effects of reduction temperature gradients (300–800 °C) on the distribution of three-phase products and the composition of gaseous products during the pyrolysis of waste textiles. Compared to unreduced NiO/Al2O3, increasing the reduction temperature (300–700 °C) led to a gradual decrease in liquid-phase products and a notable increase in gas-phase products, with the latter rising by 10.59% at 700 °C. Most strikingly, hydrogen gas production increased by 6.42% under the same conditions. Multi-characterization analyses, including XRD, TEM, and H2-TPR, revealed significant aggregation of highly dispersed Ni species in NiO/Al2O3 at higher reduction temperatures. The emergence of XRD characteristic peaks and the (111) crystal face of metallic Ni (Ni0) became apparent at 700 °C. More importantly, the XPS test inferred that the increasement of hydrogen-rich gas production was ascribed to the appropriate Ni0/Ni2+ ratio, and the highest hydrogen yield of 41.50% was achieved as the Ni0/Ni2+ ratio reached about 1.57. This work not only provides an effective solution for the consumption of waste textiles, but also converts it into high value-added hydrogen-rich gas.

Design, Implementation and Environmental Impact of Cutoff Wall for Pollution Control in an Industrial Legacy Site.

Heavy metal-organic pollutants compound pollution at industrial legacy sites and have caused damage to the ecological environment and human health during recent decades. In view of the difficulty and high cost of post-contamination remediation, it is worth studying, and practically applying, cutoff walls to reduce the spread of pollution in advance. In this study, field-scale studies were carried out at e-waste dismantling legacy sites in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province of China, through the process of site investigation, numerical simulation, and cutoff wall practical application. Firstly, the concentrations and spatial distributions of Pb, Cd and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and poly brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were identified in both soil and groundwater. Then, potential dispersal routes of key combined contaminants (Pb and PCBs) at the soil-groundwater interface were systematically studied through numerical simulation applying Visual MODFLOW-MT3DMS. One site was chosen to predict the barrier effect of differently sized cutoff walls based on the migration path of compound pollutants. A protocol for a cutoff wall (50 m length × 2 m width × 3 m height) was finally verified and applied at the real contaminated site for the blocking of compound pollutant diffusion. Further, the groundwater quality of the contaminated site was monitored consecutively for six months to ensure the durability and stability of barrier measures. All pollutant indicators, including for Pb and PCB complex pollutants, were reduced to below the national Grade IV groundwater standard value, achieving environmental standards at these polluted sites and providing possibilities for land reuse. In summary, this field-scale test provided new ideas for designing cutoff walls to block the diffusion of complex pollutants; it also laid a basis for the practical application of cutoff walls in pollution prevention and control of complex contaminated sites and for soil-groundwater environmental protection at industrial heritage sites.

FACTORS PREDICTING PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY ENLARGEMENT IN SETTLEMENTS OF RA

In 2022, the elections of local self-government bodies in the Republic of Armenia ended the process of community enlargement, which was started in 2011.The community enlargement process deviated several times from the initial implementation methodology, and was conceptually revised in 2018 after the velvet revolution. Currently, multiple deviations and changes from the prescribed approaches have created a situation where a number of communities have been enlarged using the pre-2018 methodology and the rest using the post-2018 methodology. As a result, there was no coincidence that complaints arose, especially among the population of small rural settlements related to the possible deterioration of the socio-economic condition of settlements, the weakening of local self-governance and the disproportionate increase of dependence on large settlements. Illegitimate communal enlargement implies an uncontrollable increase of mistrust among the population towards the policies implemented at the local level and those who implement them, which can lead to the disruption of public life. In this context, the lack of knowledge related to the public perceptions of the changes implemented in the enlarged communities, especially in the context of the discussed problems and the risks arising from them, makes the implementation of research aimed at clarifying the abovementioned issue more than relevant. In April-June 2024, a survey was conducted in the enlarged communities of RA, with the aim of identifying, in addition to a number of research problems, public perceptions of the impact of community enlargement in individual settlements and the factors affecting them. As a result of the ordinal regression analysis carried out in this context, it becomes clear that among a number of research variables, only social capital, place leadership and population dispersion index in enlarged communities meet the statistical assumptions for inclusion in the specified regression model. The odds ratios calculated in the later stages of the model construction show that in the case of social capital, place leadership and dispersion index, the transition to each next category increases the probability of recording positive perceptions of community enlargement among the population. Thus, the proposed hypothesis is also confirmed, according to which: Each 1-level increase in social capital, place leadership and dispersion index in enlarged communities increases the probability of recording positive perceptions of community enlargement impact among residents.

Constructing SiO2-Supported Atomically Dispersed Platinum Catalysts with Single-Atom and Atomic Cluster Dual Sites to Tame Hydrogenation Performance.

Construction and optimization of stable atomically dispersed metal sites on SiO2 surfaces are important yet challenging topics. In this work, we developed the amino group-assisted atomic layer deposition strategy to deposit the atomically dispersed Pt on SiO2 support for the first time, in which the particle size and ratio of Pt entities from single atom (Pt1) to atomic cluster (Pt n ) and nanoparticle (Pt p ) on the SiO2 surface were well modulated. We demonstrated the importance of dual-site synergy for optimizing the activity of single-atom catalysts. The Pt1+n /SiO2-N catalysts with the coexistence of Pt1 and Pt n showed excellent activity and optimized selectivity (99% for haloanilines) in halonitrobenzenes hydrogenation, while Pt1/SiO2-N catalysts were almost inactive in the reaction. Mechanism investigation indicates that the Pt n site is beneficial for H2 dissociation, and the Pt1 site is energetically favorable for adsorption of the nitro group to complete the selective hydrogenation, which synergistically contributes to the optimized catalytic performances. This study provides a new strategy for constructing atomically dispersed metal species over the SiO2 support and demonstrates the significance of the synergy of dual active sites for enhancing the catalytic efficiency.

Plate tectonics, cold adaptation and long-distance range expansion to remote archipelagos and the high Andes as drivers of a circumantarctic freshwater arthropod radiation.

Disjunct distributions, characterised by spatially separated populations of related species, offer insights into historical biogeographic patterns and evolutionary processes. This study investigates the evolutionary history of the diving beetle subfamily Lancetinae through a phylogenomic approach incorporating ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and heritage genetic markers. Our findings support an early Miocene origin for Lancetinae, with subsequent diversification influenced by historical vicariance events and long-distance dispersal. The divergence from the closely related subfamily Coptotominae in the late Cretaceous is not consistent with a Gondwanan origin, although highlights a likely Pangean origin for these taxa. This research underscores the significant impact of Gondwanan fragmentation on biogeographic patterns and highlights the remarkable dispersal capabilities of Lancetinae beetles.

New finding on a migratory bird, the fowl tick Argas (Persicargas) persicus (Oken, 1818), in Italy

Migratory birds reach Europe from sub-Saharan Africa, and some avian species may harbor and transport infected ectoparasites, mainly ticks, native to the territories of departure. In 2022, a project focused on identifying the introduction of pathogens in Italy from Africa via migratory birds represented an important opportunity to investigate this particular route of tick dispersal. Among ticks collected from migratory birds on the island of Ventotene, Latium Region, we found one larva of a soft tick on a common whitethroat (Curruca communis) that was morphologically and molecularly identified to the species level as Argas (Persicargas) persicus (Oken 1818). This study reports the fifth detection of this species in Italy; therefore, it is considered very rare. Further monitoring programmes should be implemented to better monitor the spread of this species and possibly update its distribution.

Biome evolution in subfamily Cercidoideae (Leguminosae): a tropical arborescent clade with a relictual depauperate temperate lineage

Some plant lineages remain within the same biome over time (biome conservatism), whereas others seem to adapt more easily to new biomes. The c. 398 species (14 genera) of subfamily Cercidoideae (Leguminosae or Fabaceae) are found in many biomes around the world, particularly in the tropical regions of South America, Asia and Africa, and display a variety of growth forms (small trees, shrubs, lianas and herbaceous perennials). Species distribution maps derived from cleaned occurrence records were compiled and compared with existing biome maps and with the literature to assign species to biomes. Rainforest (144 species), succulent (44 species), savanna (36 species), and temperate (10 species) biomes were found to be important in describing the global distribution of Cercidoideae, with many species occurring in more than one biome. Two phylogenetically isolated species-poor temperate (Cercis) and succulent (Adenolobus) biome lineages are sister to two broadly distributed species-rich tropical clades. Ancestral state reconstructions on a time-calibrated phylogeny suggest biome shifts occurred throughout the evolutionary history of the subfamily, with shifts between the succulent and rainforest biomes, from the rainforest to savanna, from the succulent to savanna biome, and one early occurring shift into (or from) the temperate biome. Of the 26 inferred shifts in biome, three are closely associated with a shift from the ancestral tree/shrub growth form to a liana or herbaceous perennial habit. Only three of the 13 inferred transcontinental dispersal events are associated with biome shifts. Overall, we find that biome shifts tend to occur within the same continent and that dispersals to new continents tend to occur within the same biome, but that nonetheless the biome-conserved and biogeographically structured Cercidoideae have been able to adapt to different environments through time.

Сообщества пресмыкающихся пустынных ландшафтов и анализ герпетофауны Юго-восточного Казахстана

We used the route method to carry out quantitative counts of reptiles in nine regions of Southeastern Kazakhstan. The results yielded data on the population density of reptiles in fourteen habitats. We observed the greatest diversity of species and the largest number of reptiles in sandy deserts. Both measures were much smaller in loamy plains and low mountains. In desert habitats, the Central Asian tortoise Agrionemys horsfieldii and the rapid racerunner Eremias velox were more common than other species. In the desert habitat, agama Trapelus sanguinolentus was less common. Despite its wide distribution, the Central Asian tortoise was rare or common in most habitats: its population density values did not exceed four individuals/ha. High numbers (23.2±8.4 ind./ha) were recorded for the species only in the north of the Moyinkum desert. The population density of the tortoise in commercial harvesting areas from 1950 up to the 1980s remained low (3.5±0.9 ind./ha) and failed to recover. Using the population density data, we calculated similarity indices of reptile communities and then grouped communities into several complexes based on similarity indices and the ecological specialization of numerically dominant species. In loamy, sandy loam, and stony deserts, eurytopic species formed the basis of the population. These were A. horsfieldii, E. velox, and T. sanguinolentus. In the sands of Taukum and Saryesik Atyrau, racerunners (Eremias) dominated in the reptile communities. These were E. intermedia, E. lineolata, and E. velox, among these stenotopic species dominated. The community of the foothills of the Kyrgyz ridge turned out to be the most isolated from the others. The similarity was revealed between nine desert areas in terms of reptile fauna. The deserts that are similar in landscape features (especially the substrate and vegetation) had high indices of commonality regardless of their remoteness and isolation. This shows that the process of historical dispersal of species and their movement between territories faced no obstacles.

Highly Efficient Ru-VOx/TiO2 Catalysts for Hydrodeoxygenation of Amides to Amines: The Promotion Effect of Monolayer Dispersed VOx on Rutile TiO2.

The hydrodeoxygenation of amide to amine is one of the most important amine synthetic approaches in chemical engineering. However, low amide reactivity and poor amine selectivity remain big challenges for catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of amides. Here, Ru-VOx/TiO2 catalysts with different V/Ru atomic ratios were prepared with the sequential impregnation method. The physicochemical properties of catalysts were characterized by using XRD, Raman, TEM, CO chemisorption, NH3-TPD, H2-TPR, XPS, and Formamide-DRIFTS. The hydrogenation of butyramide as a model reaction was used to evaluate the catalytic performance. The butyramide conversion and butylamine selectivity varied with V/Ru atomic ratio in a volcano-type relationship, and the 2V-4Ru/TiO2 catalyst (V/Ru atomic ratio = 1) presented the best catalytic performance (96% conversion and 82% butylamine selectivity) at 423 K with 5 MPa H2. The catalyst was also reused five successive times without an obvious decline in either activity or selectivity, showing excellent stability. Based on characterization and evaluation results, the interaction between Ru nanoparticles (∼2 nm) and VOx species promoter generated abundant Ru-VOx boundary with V4+ species adjacent to oxygen vacancies (Ru-Vo-V4+). As the V/Ru atomic ratio was 1, the 2V-4Ru/TiO2 catalyst, with monolayer dispersed VOx species, presented the maximum Ru-VOx boundary and showed the best catalytic activity and selectivity to amine. The monolayer dispersed VOx species also minimized the catalyst surface acidity and suppressed the secondary side reaction. Moreover, the hydrodeoxygenation reaction evaluations of various amides including aliphatic primary amides and cyclic amides showed 90-99% conversion and 78-99% selectivity to corresponding amines, suggesting wide applicability of 2V-4Ru/TiO2 catalyst. The study provides a highly efficient strategy to improve amine selectivity in the hydrodeoxygenation of amides by optimizing the interaction between metal and metal oxide promoters.

The Contemporary Distribution of Scincine Lizards Does Not Reflect Their Biogeographic Origin

ABSTRACTAimWe assess the systematic relationships and historical biogeographic patterns in the subfamily Scincinae, a group of lizards that primarily inhabits the Afro‐Madagascan and Saharo‐Arabian regions with isolated lineages in Europe, North America, East Asia, India and Sri Lanka. The contemporary distribution of these lineages on the historical Laurasian and Gondwanan landmasses make scincines an ideal system to study the roles of vicariance and dispersal on a geologic scale of tens of millions of years.LocationGlobal.TaxonSubfamily Scincinae (Family Scincidae).MethodsWe conducted biogeographic analyses on a reconstructed, time‐calibrated species tree of scincine genera, including members of the other Scincidae subfamilies, using seven nuclear loci (~6 k base pairs). We also constructed a lineage‐through‐time plot to assess the timing of diversification within scincines.ResultsOur analysis estimated strong support for the monophyly of Scincinae that is further comprised a strongly‐supported Gondwanan clade nested within a broader Laurasian group. While most of the extant, genus‐level diversity within the Gondwanan clade was accrued post‐Eocene, the majority of the Laurasian lineages diverged during the Palaeocene or earlier, suggesting large‐scale extinctions on continents of Laurasian origin. Counterintuitively, scincines from India and Sri Lanka have distinct biogeographical origins despite a long tectonic association between these landmasses, suggesting at least two independent, long‐distance, trans‐oceanic dispersal events into the subcontinent. Our biogeographic analyses suggest that scincines likely originated in East and Southeast Asia during the late Cretaceous (ca. 70 Ma), and eventually dispersed westwards to Africa and Madagascar, where their greatest current‐day species richness occurs.Main ConclusionsOur study demonstrates the concomitant roles of dispersal and extinction in shaping modern‐day assemblages of ancient clades such as scincine lizards. Our range evolution analysis shows that despite the greater diversity observed in the Afro‐Madagascan region, the origin of scincines can be traced back to Southeast Asia and East Asia, followed by westward dispersals. These dispersals may have been followed by significant extinctions in tropical East Asia, resulting in relatively lower diversity of scincines in these regions. Notably, our analysis reveals that Sri Lankan and Peninsular Indian scincines have distinct evolutionary origins.