Different dung beetle diversity patterns emerge from overlapping biotas in a large mountain range of the Mexican Transition Zone

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Joaqui ◽  
Carlos A. Cultid‐Medina ◽  
Wesley Dáttilo ◽  
Federico Escobar
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Dung Beetle ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Diversity Patterns ◽  
Mexican Transition Zone

scholarly journals BIOGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF SCARABAEINAE AND GEOTRUPINAE ALONG A TRANSECT IN CENTRAL MEXICO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEOIDEA)

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Halffter ◽  
José R. Verdú ◽  
Juan Márquez ◽  
Claudia E. Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Transition Zone ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Old World ◽  
High Plateau ◽  
Mexican Transition Zone ◽  
Tropical Lowlands

Scarabaeinae and Geotrupinae (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) species composition is analyzed along a 150 km long altitudinal transect that runs S-NE in the Mexican Transition zone. The transect is located in the state of Hidalgo in central-eastern Mexico. The spatial unit of analysis is the landscape. The transect crosses five different landscapes. As terms of reference for studying the geographic distribution of the species, the entomofauna distribution patterns for the Mexican Transition zone were used. The transect includes all the patterns established by Halffter for this zone. Only genera with northern origins were found in landscape of the Pachuca Sierra (mountain range). The two landscapes of the High Plateau (temperate and arid) have one genus with a northern origin (<em>Onthophagus</em>), along with species belonging to genera with Neotropical origins that evolved on the High Plateau. For the landscapes of the zacualtipán Sierra and the slope down to the Gulf–Las Huastecas region genera of Neotropical affinity dominate, and there are also some species with a tropical distribution and of northern-Old World origin. The relationship between the mountains and the phyletic lineages or genera of northern origin and of recent entry into the Mexican Transition zone is confirmed, as is that between the tropical lowlands and the Neotropical lines or genera, also recent arrivals. Taxa that arrived a long time ago, of either origin, do not exhibit this geographic-ecological dependence. The Hidalgo Transect is compared with two other, similar transects sampled in the Mexican Transition zone: the Cofre de Perote–Gulf Coast transect (Veracruz) and that of Manantlán (Jalisco). In the mountain landscapes, High Plateau and Tropical Lowlands, there were no important differences in the species composition of the groups studied. In contrast, in the Transition landscape (zacualtipán in the Hidalgo Transect) there were very notable differences. In the Cofre de Perote transect, an important functional group is missing from the treeless habitats: the roller Scarabaeinae. For the same landscape, in Manantlán, lineages with Neotropical affinities are represented by a single species which completely dominates the beetles of northern affinities. This contrasts markedly with the Hidalgo and Cofre de Perote transects where, in the Transition landscape, Neotropical taxa are well represented. It appears that, unlike the tropical lowlands where (geologically recent) penetration of Neotropical taxa is massive in all three transects, in the transition landscapes (originally covered by cloud forest) the penetration of Neotropical taxa is highly variable, and depends on the mountain range in which they are found. In the Conclusions section, we analyze how the beetle fauna with different distribution patterns have contributed to the composition of the fauna of the Hidalgo Transect and in general that of the Mexican Transition zone, resulting in a mixture (genera with northern-Old World affinity, and genera with Neotropical affinities) that give the Mexican Transition zone its unique character.

Estimating the snow-rain transition zone in a semi-arid Andean catchment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Schauwecker ◽  
Gabriel Palma ◽  
Shelley MacDonell ◽  
Katerina Goubanova
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Snow Line ◽  
Snow Cover Extent ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Precipitation Events

&lt;p&gt;The height of the snow-rain transition during infrequent but high impact precipitation events, closely related to the 0&amp;#8304;C-isotherm, is a crucial variable for snow cover extent, high discharge flows and flash floods in semi-arid northern Chile. Estimations of the snow-rain transition zone and its past and future changes are therefore fundamental for adaptation strategies and might eventually serve to develop early warning systems in this region. However, there are important challenges that hinder the assessment of the snow-rain transition zone in semi-arid environments and little is known about past and future changes under different global warming scenarios. For example, there are few radiosonde observations along the Andes and most weather stations are located in valley bottoms, influenced by local conditions and the assumption of free-air temperature lapse rates contributes to the uncertainty. We combine different data sets to estimate the past snow-rain transition zone of our study site, the semi-arid Elqui river catchment. Pictures of the snow line after precipitation events - available from social networks - are used to visually estimate the snow line elevation. These values are in high agreement with vertically extrapolated temperature from meteorological stations. Furthermore, we identified considerable biases between the extrapolated 0&amp;#8304;C-isotherm from meteorological stations and ERA5 reanalysis data. These large biases are probably due to the lowering of the freezing level over complex terrain and need further analysis. Our results contribute to an improved understanding of the snow-rain transition in this region, but also serve to derive a climatology of this key variable along the Andes mountain range, needed for future projections.&lt;/p&gt;

New genus of Muscidae: Coenosiinae (Diptera) from the Mexican Transition Zone and its phylogenetic position based on morphological evidence

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Lucas Roberto Pereira Gomes ◽  
João Manuel Fogaça ◽  
Claudio José Barros de Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Hind Tibia ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Posterior Surface ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Apical Half ◽  
Mexican Transition Zone ◽  
A New Species

A new monotypic genus, Aztecamyia gen. nov., is proposed for a new species of muscid fly, Aztecamyia tlaloc sp. nov., found in highland localities from the Mexican Transition Zone (Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos and Puebla). Additionally, a morphology-based phylogenetic analysis of Coenosiini is presented. The new genus has some unique characters, such as katepisternal setae 0+1+1 in males, while females are the typically Coenosiini 1+1+1; the mid and hind tibia have many long and fine setae on the apical half, from the anterior to posterior surface; and the preapical setae on all femora are absent on all surfaces. The morphology of the male and female terminalia is a typical Coenosiini shape.

scholarly journals The breadth of the Mexican Transition Zone as defined by its flowering plant generic flora

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. e0235267
Author(s):  
Villaseñor José Luis ◽  
Enrique Ortiz ◽  
Claudio Delgadillo-Moya ◽  
Diego Juárez
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Mexican Transition Zone
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