Taxonomic and Bio-geographical Studies of Three Bombus Species (Hymenoptera: Bombus) from North-West Himalaya with New Record from Trans Himalaya

Background: Bumble bees play a crucial role in pollination of North West Himalayas. Bumble bees successfully thrive in the harsh environmental conditions of Himalayas. The present study aimed at taxonomic and zoogeographic studies of Bumble bees belonging to genus Bombus along with altitudinal variation of one species leading to its new record. Methods: The collections surveys were conducted from the year 2017 to 2019 from altitude of 1000 to 3500 meters above sea level in North-West Himalaya. A total of 43 specimens belonging to three species were collected. These specimens were preserved as per standard techniques in Hymenoptera and identified following keys of eminent workers. Result: The detailed taxonomy of three species of Bumble bees from North West Himalaya i.e., Bombus trifasciatus Smith, Bombus tunicatus Smith and Bombus simillimus Smith has been studied. The important taxonomic characters of different castes of these bee species have been elaborated and illustrations of morphological characters (including genitalia and sterna of male) of different castes i.e. queen, worker and male for each species are provided. The general foraging behaviour and altitudinal distribution along with floral preferences has been discussed in all the three species. The list of nectar food plants is provided under each species. B. trifasciatus has been recorded for the first time from Phey in cold desert in UT of Ladakh, which is being reported as new record in the Trans Himalayan region.

Macrozoobenthos in an altitudinal gradient in North Patagonian Cautín River (Araucanía Region, Chile)

The Cautín River is closely related with the economic development of Temuco city, (38°S; Chile). Existing knowledge of the Cautín River is limited to information about its biological characteristics as a reference for the evaluation and assessment of water quality. The object of this study was to develop taxonomic characterisation of the benthic macroinvertebrates along the main course of the Cautín River, and to study the community structure using correlation analysis between community parameters. To carry out this research, the macroinvertebrate community was studied in 10 sampling sites distributed along the main course of the river. The samples were taken in summer (1997 and 2000), when optimal hydrological conditions existed. Analysis of the samples showed that the benthic fauna was composed of 56 taxa, the dominant group being insects with 48 taxa. Three main sectors were recognised in the course of the Cautín River: high, middle and low. Each sector has restricted-distribution species, while other species are widely distributed along the river. These distribution patterns seem to be influenced by dissolved oxygen concentration, temperature, altitudinal distribution and anthropo-cultural activity, present at every sampling site. Finally, this research provides a first approach to the biology of the Cautín River. Further studies could be planned on the basis of this knowledge to investigate water quality indicators based on macroinvertebrate communities.

Rapoport’s Rule and the effect of the last glaciation upon elevational range size: An analysis using a dung beetle model (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Onthophagus) in Mexican tropical mountains

Several studies have tested the Elevational Rapoport Rule (ERR) in arthropods, especially in the Neotropical mountains. Nonetheless, different approaches should be used for a more nuanced comprehension of ERR patterns and assemblage altitudinal distribution patterns, such as the biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary contexts. This study aims to test the ERR for elevational gradients in Mexican mountains. For this study, dung beetle assemblages of the genus Onthophagus were used as a model organism, and their distribution was studied in several different mountain ranges of the Mexican tropics. Altitudinal distribution of Onthophagus species was analyzed, including ecological traits and biogeographical/phylogenetical contexts as covariables. The increase of altitude was positively correlated to the assemblage altitudinal range. Furthermore, altitudinal range, relative abundance, body size, and mountain’s topographic prominence were positively correlated to the mean altitudinal range of Onthophagus species. Nonetheless, different altitudinal relationships were observed, depending on the mountain. The results support the idea that species that inhabit higher altitudes appear to be more environmentally plastic and occur in wider altitudinal ranges than species from lower altitudes, thus supporting the ERR. The present findings stress that biogeographical, ecological, phylogenetical, and historical aspects, besides body size, are essential drivers of the altitudinal distribution of Onthophagus dung beetles.

Social Parasite Ants in the Alps: a New Site of the Vulnerable Myrmica myrmicoxena and New Uppermost Altitudinal Limit for M. microrubra

We conducted a survey on the Alpine fauna of one of the largest Natural Park of the Italian Alps (Stelvio National Park) in the framework of a broad ecological monitoring of Alpine biodiversity. A two-years standardized sampling employing pitfall traps along a 1200 m altitudinal gradient led to the discovery of two interesting inquiline social parasite ants of the genus Myrmica: M. myrmicoxena Forel, 1895 and M. microrubra Seifert, 1993. Myrmica myrmicoxena, which is classified as Vulnerable according to the IUCN Red List, was so far known from only three sites across a narrow geographic range between Italy and Switzerland. Our data support the previous hypothesis over its ecology and host association. Myrmica microrubra is considered an incipient species of high evolutionary interest, sometimes regarded as an intraspecific form of M. rubra. While having a wide distribution in Europe, its presence in Italy was hitherto known only from a single site, and our record extends its altitudinal distribution limit in Europe upwards by about 600 m.

Seasonal cellular stress phenomena and phenotypic plasticity in land snail Helix lucorum (L.) populations from different altitudes

Temperature, a major abiotic environmental factor, regulates various physiological functions in land snails and therefore determines their biogeographical distribution. Thus, species with different distributions may present different thermal tolerance limits. Additionally, the intense reactivation of snail metabolic rate upon arousal from hibernation or aestivation may provoke stress. Land snails, Helix lucorum, display a wide altitudinal distribution resulting in populations being exposed to different seasonal temperature variations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of heat shock proteins (Hsps), mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and proteins that are related to apoptosis (Bcl-2, ubiquitin), that have "cytoprotective" roles and are also considered to be reliable indicators of stress because of their crucial role at maintaining cellular homeostasis. These proteins were assessed in H. lucorum individuals from two different populations, one at Axios (sea level, 0m) and the other one at Kokkinopilos (Olympus, 1250 m), as well as after mutual population exchanges. Therefore, this study aimed to answer whether the different responses of these stress-related proteins depend solely on the environmental temperatures. The results of the present study showed seasonally altered levels in all studied proteins in the hepatopancreas and foot of snails, as much among different populations as between the same populations being exposed to varying altitudes. However, the changes between individuals of the same population acclimatized to a different habitat, showed a relatively similar pattern of expression supporting the induction of the specific proteins under the prism of the life history of each species.

Bats can reach 3626 m a.s.l. in Papua New Guinea: altitudinal range extensions for six rainforest bat species

Bats represent an important, but poorly known component of mammal diversity in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Our surveys in two altitudinal rainforest gradients recorded 43 bat species of which six (Dobsonia minor, D. praedatrix, Hipposideros calcaratus, H. maggietaylorae, Miniopterus australis, Miniopterus sp.) fell outside of their known altitudinal ranges. This enlargement could reflect the lack of past sampling, or a genuine range extension, potentially in response to climate change. Our study highlights the importance of baseline data on the altitudinal distribution of vertebrates, including bats, in PNG for the monitoring of their response to climate change and anthropogenic disturbance.

Lean Pattern in an Altitude Range Shift of a Tree Species: Abies pinsapo Boiss.

Organisms modify their geographical distributions in response to changes in environmental conditions, or modify their affinity to such conditions, to avoid extinction. This study explored the altitudinal shift of Abies pinsapo Boiss. in the Baetic System. We analysed the potential distribution of the realised and reproductive niches of A. pinsapo populations in the Ronda Mountains (Southern Spain) by using species distribution models (SDMs) for two life stages within the current populations. Then, we calculated the species’ potential altitudinal shifts and identified the areas in which the processes of persistence and migration predominated. The realised and reproductive niches of A. pinsapo are different to one another, which may indicate a displacement in its altitudinal distribution owing to changes in the climatic conditions of the Ronda Mountains. The most unfavourable conditions for the species indicate a trailing edge (~110 m) at the lower limit of its distribution and a leading edge (~55 m) at the upper limit. Even though the differences in the altitudinal shifts between the trailing and leading edges will not cause the populations to become extinct in the short term, they may threaten their viability if the conditions that are producing the contraction at the lower limit persist in the long term.

Phytocoenotical behaviour of boreal plant species in broadleaved-forest zone communities

Phytocoenotic behaviour of 11 species of boreal vascular plants and mosses is analyzed within the broadleaved-forest zone in comparison with that in different subzones of the boreal-forest zone, based upon the set of 1417 relevés made in European Russia in 1996–2017. The significance of differences in species cover is estimated by means of the one-way ANOVA. The cover of species like Vaccinium myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea, andHylocomium splendens in broadleaved / spruce forests of zonal types is constantly decreasing southwards. On the contrary, the cover of Luzula pilosain Scots pine forests and Pleurozium schreberi and Dicranum polysetum in paludified Norway spruce forests is subject to southward increase. Finally, Oxalis acetosella and Equisetum sylvaticum demonstrate maximae of their cover in forests of zonal types in the southern-boreal and hemiboreal subzones. The dark-coniferous boreal forest “cortege” of species is breaking down into several different floristic elements in the broadleaved-forest zone. These are: “vaccinietal” species p. p. sensu Yu. D. Kleopov (like Vaccinium myrtillus), “quasi-boreal” species sensu V. B. Sochava (Oxalis acetosella, Maianthemum bifolium, Trientalis europaea), hygromesophytes with aged areas (Equisetum sylvaticum), associated species with European-Ancient-Mediterranean nemoral (Luzula pilosa) or East-Asian boreal-montane (Rubus saxatilis) origins. Phytocoenotical behaviour of species is not always different in the intrazonal and the zonal community types but is rather similar in many cases like those of Vaccinium vitis-idaea and Equisetum sylvaticum. The more distinct differences in species positions are found in the extrazonal communities. The statistically proved differences are lacking in phytocoenotical behaviour of Maianthemum bifolium and Trientalis europaea in different zones and subzones due to either florogenetical, or purely methodical reasons, the latter connected with low abundance but high constancy of these species. Disintegration of vegetation “corteges” and individualization of coenotic patterns of species previously growing together are usually observed at the climatically determined (zonal / subzonal or altitudinal) distribution limits.