scholarly journals The carabids in the trees: rapid biodiversity assessment of an Ecuadorian rainforest

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beulah Garner ◽  
Alfried Vogler ◽  
Terry Erwin ◽  
Laura Zamorano
Keyword(s):  
Species Recognition ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Reference Sequence ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Species Discovery ◽  
Yasuni National Park ◽  
Patterns And Processes

Accessing extreme environments historically unexplored by entomologists poses logistical financial and scientific challenges. Today, much of the world’s natural habitats are under threat, particularly in the Neotropics. Threats from human development, exploration and indeed climate change pose the necessity for rapid arthropod biodiversity discovery and documentation. This study forms part of a long-term ecological assessment of the effects of an oil company road on primary forest within the Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. In the past 40 years this study has generated thousands of carabid specimens from the rainforest canopy by employing insecticide fogging techniques. The latest study in October 2018 yielded >260,000 Coleoptera specimens of which Carabidae contributed a diverse component. This complex diversity of the rainforest canopy limits our understanding of ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes on a global scale. Morphological taxonomy has laid the foundations for our interpretation of carabid species richness and diversity through time; however rapid species discovery is achievable by employing high through-put molecular sequencing methods. A high resolution macro imaging procedure is used to direct the sequencing protocol by isolating identifiable morphospecies from bulk samples. A dual approach of reference sequence and metabarcoding is employed. The reference sequences, being mitogenomes, allow for phylogenetics and the link to global carabid diversity, while the metabarcoding and species recognition against the reference set allows us to look at change through space (along the road) and time (since the first fogging event in 1994). With this technique we are able to better study the carabid community of the rainforest canopy, not only improving our knowledge of the hyper-diversity living in this habitat but also their place in evolutionary time. Currently 50 bulk samples have been imaged revealing, for example, an even greater diversity within the species rich genus Agra (Lebiinae), than previously recognized. This study forms a component of the SITE-100 project which is an ambitious effort towards documenting the species diversity and evolutionary history of insects on Earth for a global comparative analysis.

Evolutionary Patterns and Processes in Ferns

1979 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
David B. Lellinger ◽  
J. D. Lovis
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Patterns And Processes

Redescription of Mastigias papua (Scyphozoa, Rhizostomeae) with designation of a neotype and recognition of two additional species

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4457 (4) ◽  
pp. 520 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIANA ROCHA DE SOUZA ◽  
MICHAEL N DAWSON
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Parallel Evolution ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Molecular Analyses ◽  
Taxonomic Approach ◽  
Patterns And Processes

Mastigias, the ‘golden’ or ‘spotted’ jellyfish, is distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific. Specimens are identified routinely as Mastigias papua, although eight species were described historically, and molecular analyses evince at least three phylogenetic species. Understanding species diversity in Mastigias has become a priority because of its growing relevance in studies of boom-bust dynamics related to environmental change, cryptic species, local adaptation, parallel evolution, and peripatric speciation. However, species delimitation and identification are inhibited by a dearth of type specimens for most species, including M. papua. We address these issues by resampling Mastigias from the type locality in Waigeo, West Papua, as well as in the Philippines, and by comparing cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and up to 34 morphological characters of 268 Mastigias specimens from surrounding regions in the Indo-Pacific. We also gathered data from the historical descriptions of the eight species of Mastigias to estimate the identity of the two other currently revealed clades. Using this integrative taxonomic approach, we re-describe Mastigias papua as endemic to the tropical western Pacific islands (including Papua, Palau, Enewetak) and designate a neotype for the species. Additionally, based on morphological similarity and geographic overlap, we identified a second clade most probably as M. albipunctatus (from Japan, Komodo, Berau and Philippines) and a third clade tentatively as either M. andersoni or M. ocellatus. This study highlights the benefits of combining molecular analyses, samples from type locations, traditional descriptions and statistical analyses of morphological variation in systematic studies, and the concomitant potential of such studies to increase understanding of evolutionary patterns and processes in Scyphozoa.

scholarly journals PRDM9 Diversity at Fine Geographical Scale Reveals Contrasting Evolutionary Patterns and Functional Constraints in Natural Populations of House Mice

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1686-1700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Covadonga Vara ◽  
Laia Capilla ◽  
Luca Ferretti ◽  
Alice Ledda ◽  
Rosa A Sánchez-Guillén ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Functional Constraints ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Data Set

Abstract One of the major challenges in evolutionary biology is the identification of the genetic basis of postzygotic reproductive isolation. Given its pivotal role in this process, here we explore the drivers that may account for the evolutionary dynamics of the PRDM9 gene between continental and island systems of chromosomal variation in house mice. Using a data set of nearly 400 wild-caught mice of Robertsonian systems, we identify the extent of PRDM9 diversity in natural house mouse populations, determine the phylogeography of PRDM9 at a local and global scale based on a new measure of pairwise genetic divergence, and analyze selective constraints. We find 57 newly described PRDM9 variants, this diversity being especially high on Madeira Island, a result that is contrary to the expectations of reduced variation for island populations. Our analysis suggest that the PRDM9 allelic variability observed in Madeira mice might be influenced by the presence of distinct chromosomal fusions resulting from a complex pattern of introgression or multiple colonization events onto the island. Importantly, we detect a significant reduction in the proportion of PRDM9 heterozygotes in Robertsonian mice, which showed a high degree of similarity in the amino acids responsible for protein–DNA binding. Our results suggest that despite the rapid evolution of PRDM9 and the variability detected in natural populations, functional constraints could facilitate the accumulation of allelic combinations that maintain recombination hotspot symmetry. We anticipate that our study will provide the basis for examining the role of different PRDM9 genetic backgrounds in reproductive isolation in natural populations.

Morphological evolution of the bivalvePtychomyathrough the Lower Cretaceous of Argentina

Paleobiology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-117
Author(s):  
Pablo S. Milla Carmona ◽  
Darío G. Lazo ◽  
Ignacio M. Soto
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Morphological Variation ◽  
Morphological Evolution ◽  
The Other ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Upper Hauterivian ◽  
Patterns And Processes ◽  
Early Late

AbstractThe complex morphological evolution of the bivalvePtychomyathroughout the well-studied Agrio Formation in the Neuquén Basin (west-central Argentina, lower/upper Valanginian–lowest Barremian) constitutes an ideal opportunity to study evolutionary patterns and processes occurring at geological timescales. Ptychomyais represented in this unit by four species, the morphological variation of which needs to be temporally assessed to obtain a thorough picture of the evolution of the group. Here we use geometric morphometrics to measure variation in shell outline, ribbing pattern, and shell size in these species. We bracket the ages of our samples using a combination of ammonoid biostratigraphy and absolute ages and study the anagenetic pattern of evolution of each trait by means of paleontological time-series analysis and change tracking. We find that evolution inPtychomyais mostly speciational, as the majority of traits show stasis, with the exceptions of shell size inP. coihuicoensisand shell outline inP. windhauseni, which seem to evolve directionally toward larger and higher shells, respectively.Ptychomyadisplays changes in its average morphology and disparity, which are the result of a mixture of taxonomic turnover and mosaic evolution of traits. Pulses of speciation would have been triggered by ecological opportunity, as they occur during the recovery of shallow-burrowing bivalve faunas after dysoxic events affecting the basin. On the other hand, the presence of directional patterns of evolution inP. coihuicoensisandP. windhauseniseems to be the result of a general shallowing-upward trend observed in the basin during the upper Hauterivian–lowest Barremian, as opposed to the cyclical paleoenvironmental stability inferred for the early/late Valanginian–early Hauterivian, which would have prompted stasis inP. koeneniandP. esbelta.

scholarly journals Universal rules of life: metabolic rates, biological times and the equal fitness paradigm

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Burger ◽  
Chen Hou ◽  
Charles Hall ◽  
James Brown
Keyword(s):  
Structure And Function ◽  
The Other ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Synthetic Theory ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Single Origin ◽  
The One ◽  
Patterns And Processes ◽  
And Function ◽  
Dynamics Of Populations

Here we review and extend the equal fitness paradigm (EFP) as an important step in developing and testing a synthetic theory of ecology and evolution based on energy and metabolism. The EFP states that all organisms are equally fit at steady state, because they allocate the same quantity of energy, ~22.4 kJ/g/generation to production of offspring. On the one hand, the EFP may seem tautological, because equal fitness is necessary for the origin and persistence of biodiversity. On the other hand, the EFP reflects universal laws of life: how biological metabolism – the uptake, transformation and allocation of energy – links ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes across levels of organization from: i) structure and function of individual organisms, ii) life history and dynamics of populations, iii) interactions and coevolution of species in ecosystems. The physics and biology of metabolism have facilitated the evolution of millions of species with idiosyncratic anatomy, physiology, behavior and ecology but also with many shared traits and tradeoffs that reflect the single origin and universal rules of life.

scholarly journals The systematic relationships and biogeographic history of ornithischian dinosaurs

PeerJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e1523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clint A. Boyd
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Sister Taxon ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Biogeographic History ◽  
Early Diversification ◽  
Systematic Relationships ◽  
Patterns And Processes ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

The systematic relationships of taxa traditionally referred to as ‘basal ornithopods’ or ‘hypsilophodontids’ remain poorly resolved since it was discovered that these taxa are not a monophyletic group, but rather a paraphyletic set of neornithischian taxa. Thus, even as the known diversity of these taxa has dramatically increased over the past two decades, our knowledge of their placement relative to each other and the major ornithischian subclades remained incomplete. This study employs the largest phylogenetic dataset yet compiled to assess basal ornithischian relationships (255 characters for 65 species level terminal taxa). The resulting strict consensus tree is the most well-resolved, stratigraphically consistent hypothesis of basal ornithischian relationships yet hypothesized. The only non-iguanodontian ornithopod (=basal ornithopod) recovered in this analysis isHypsilophodon foxii. The majority of former ‘hypsilophodontid’ taxa are recovered within a single clade (Parksosauridae) that is situated as the sister-taxon to Cerapoda. The Parksosauridae is divided between two subclades, the Orodrominae and the Thescelosaurinae. This study does not recover a clade consisting of the Asian taxaChangchunsaurus,Haya, andJeholosaurus(=Jeholosauridae). Rather, the former two taxa are recovered as basal members of Thescelosaurinae, while the latter taxon is recovered in a clade withYueosaurusnear the base of Neornithischia.The endemic South American clade Elasmaria is recovered within the Thescelosaurinae as the sister taxon toThescelosaurus. This study supports the origination of Dinosauria and the early diversification of Ornithischia within Gondwana. Neornithischia first arose in Africa by the Early Jurassic before dispersing to Asia before the late Middle Jurassic, where much of the diversification among non-cerapodan neornithischians occurred. Under the simplest scenario the Parksosauridae originated in North America, with at least two later dispersals to Asia and one to South America. However, when ghost lineages are considered, an alternate dispersal hypothesis has thescelosaurines dispersing from Asia into South America (via North America) during the Early Cretaceous, then back into North America in the latest Cretaceous. The latter hypothesis may explain the dominance of orodromine taxa prior to the Maastrichtian in North America and the sudden appearance and wide distribution of thescelosaurines in North America beginning in the early Maastrichtian. While the diversity of parksosaurids has greatly increased over the last fifteen years, a ghost lineage of over 40 myr is present between the base of Parksosauridae and Cerapoda, indicating that much of the early history and diversity of this clade is yet to be discovered. This new phylogenetic hypothesis provides a comprehensive framework for testing further hypotheses regarding evolutionary patterns and processes within Ornithischia.

Field Edge and Field-to-Field Ecotone-Type Influences on Two Cotton Herbivores: Cotton Fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Hemiptera: Miridae), and Verde Plant Bug, Creontiades signatus

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 2213-2222
Author(s):  
Isaac L Esquivel ◽  
Michael J Brewer ◽  
Robert N Coulson
Keyword(s):  
Natural Habitat ◽  
The United States ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Cotton Field ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Economic Threshold ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Field Edge ◽  
Patterns And Processes ◽  
Cotton Fleahopper

Abstract In the United States, the average field size has roughly doubled from the 1980s to the mid-2000s, while average cropland has stayed the same. This will likely influence how semi-natural habitats and edges affect local patterns and processes such as natural pest control or pest densities. We hypothesized that densities of two cotton pests, cotton fleahopper (Pseudatomoscelis seriatus) and verde plant bug (Creontiades signatus) (Hemiptera: Miridae), and corresponding cotton injury in a cotton agroecosystem were affected by field edge, ecotone type (described by the neighboring habitat), and the influence of ecotone type on edge effects. Studies over 2 yr using transect and random point sampling indicated that densities of both insects declined significantly and in a linear fashion from the cotton field boundary (0 m) to field interior (200–300 m from field edge). The decline was influenced by ecotone type for cotton fleahopper. Pest densities in cotton at the interface with semi-natural habitat were higher but declined at a greater rate into the cotton field interior compared to densities seen at the interfaces with sorghum or another cotton field. These effects were also observed for verde plant bug and the cotton boll injury it causes. Regardless of the pest densities near the field edge and the rate of decline into the field interior, densities beyond 100 m into the field were up to 70% less than field edges for both insect species and for boll injury. Potential for land managers to improve sampling efficiency when scouting is apparent. For example, pest species may be at economic threshold in certain parts of the field but not others, leading to different management decisions in larger fields. Therefore, for cotton fleahopper and verde plant bug, edges should be the focus of initial pest detection and sampling, and interior field sampling may only be required when edges are above the economic threshold.

Prioritization of sites for plant species restoration in the Chilean Biodiversity Hotspot: A spatial multi-criteria decision analysis approach

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio C Fernandez ◽  
Narkis S Morales
Keyword(s):  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Modeling Tools ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽  
Global Priority ◽  
Species Restoration

Various initiatives to identify global priority areas for conservation have been developed over the last 20 years (e.g. Biodiversity Hotspots). However, translating this information to actionable local scales has proven to be a major task, highlighting the necessity of efforts to bridge the global-scale priority areas with local-based conservation actions. Furthermore, as these global priority areas are increasingly threatened by climate change and by the loss and alteration of their natural habitats, developing additional efforts to identify priority areas for restoration activities is becoming an urgent task. In this study we used a Spatial Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (SMCDA) approach to help optimize the selection of sites for restoration initiatives of two endemic threatened flora species of the ″Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forest″ Hotspot. Our approach takes advantage of freely GIS software, niche modeling tools, and available geospatial databases, in an effort to provide an affordable methodology to bridge global-scale priority areas with local actionable restoration scales. We used a set of weighting scenarios to evaluate the potential effects of short-term vs long-term planning perspective in prioritization results. The generated SMCDA was helpful for evaluating, identifying and prioritizing best suitable areas for restoration of the assessed species. The method proved to be simple, transparent, cost effective and flexible enough to be easily replicable on different ecosystems. This approach could be useful for prioritizing regional-scale areas for species restoration in Chile, as well as in other countries with restricted budgets for conservation efforts.

scholarly journals Vertebrate palaeontology of Australasia into the twenty-first century

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 804-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. T. Nguyen ◽  
Martyna Molak ◽  
Karen H. Black ◽  
Erich M. G. Fitzgerald ◽  
Kenny J. Travouillon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
First Century ◽  
Vertebrate Evolution ◽  
Dental Microwear ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Vertebrate Palaeontology ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Patterns And Processes ◽  
The University

The 13th Conference on Australasian Vertebrate Evolution Palaeontology and Systematics (CAVEPS) took place in Perth, Western Australia, from 27 to 30 April 2011. This biennial meeting was jointly hosted by Curtin University, the Western Australian Museum, Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia. Researchers from diverse disciplines addressed many aspects of vertebrate evolution, including functional morphology, phylogeny, ecology and extinctions. New additions to the fossil record were reported, especially from hitherto under-represented ages and clades. Yet, application of new techniques in palaeobiological analyses dominated, such as dental microwear and geochronology, and technological advances, including computed tomography and ancient biomolecules. This signals a shift towards increased emphasis in interpreting broader evolutionary patterns and processes. Nonetheless, further field exploration for new fossils and systematic descriptions will continue to shape our understanding of vertebrate evolution in this little-studied, but most unusual, part of the globe.

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