A new species of Podanotum Torres & Johnson, 1996 (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) from northern Peru

We describe a new species of the genus Podanotum Torres & Johnson, 1996, Podanotum pajaten Farfán, Cerdeña & Bálint sp. nov. from northern Peru, associated with the Andean treeline ecotone adjacent to cloud forest and wet grassland at 3200 m above sea level. Description of this new species is based on one female adult and is distinguishable from its congeners by the combination of the following morphological characters: dorsal wing pale blue, forewing discoidal line present on ventral side, hindwing tailed, and ostium bursae distally toothed. Podanotum pajaten sp. nov. is separated geographically from the closest spatial species, P. glorissimum Bálint & Wojtusiak, 2002, by approximately 100 km to the south, and represents the second species described for Peru. An identification key to all known species of Podanotum is provided, stating their distributions by country. Publicación registrada en Zoobank/ZooBank article registered:LSIDurn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FE6C35CF-2609-410C-9CB5-57737D02DFC3Acto nomenclatural/nomenclatural act:Podanotum pajaten Farfán, Cerdeña & Bálint, 2021LSIDurn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B8CE9125-0182-4DAB-BD92-D15DC4E16C47

Guidelines for the Conservation of Subnival Wet Grassland Plant Formation of the Moor, ‘Rio Blanco’ in the Chimborazo Fauna Production Reserve

The Chimborazo Wildlife Production Reserve is one of the most important protected areas in Ecuador, located in the provinces of Chimborazo, Tungurahua, Bolívar in the Andes, has an area of 52683 ha, consisting of eight plant formations, 41 indigenous communities that inhabit in this conservation site. Rio Blanco, is a representative community of the subnival wet grassland ecosystem of the moorland where the research was carried out, in which the floristic composition, the threats were analyzed, from which the guidelines for its conservation were formulated. The Gloria methodology was applied to determine coverage, biodiversity indexes and the IVI. 10 families and 23 genera were found, the most abundant are asteraceae and geraniaceae. The site reports a diversity that goes from medium to high. The identified ecosystem services are supply, regulation and cultural. From the analysis of contribution and irreversibility; of severity and scope, the formation presents an average of (2.05) and (2.8) respectively, it means that the pressure is wide in scope, with these elements in a participatory way the guidelines were defined to avoid the deterioration of the ecosystem to Through four programs. Keywords: conservation, training, grassland threats, guidelines. Resumen La Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo es una de las áreas protegidas más importantes de Ecuador, ubicada en las provincias de Chimborazo, Tungurahua, Bolívar en los Andes, tiene una extensión de 52683 ha, formada por ocho formaciones vegetales, 41 comunidades indígenas que habitan en este sitio de conservación. Rio Blanco, es una comunidad representativa del ecosistema herbazal húmedo subnival del páramo donde se desarrolló la investigación, en esta se analizó la composición florística, las amenazas, a partir de lo cual se formularon los lineamientos para su conservación. Se aplicó la metodología Gloria para determinar coberturas, índices de biodiversidad y el IVI. Se encontraron 10 familias y 23 géneros, las de mayor abundancia son asteraceae y geraniaceae. El sitio reporta una diversidad que va de media a alta. Los servicios ecosistemicos identificados son de suministro, regulación y cultural. A partir de los análisis de contribución e irreversibilidad; de severidad y alcance, la formación presenta un promedio de (2,05) y (2,8) respectivamente, significa que la presión es de amplio alcance, con estos elementos en forma participativa se definieron los lineamientos para evitar el deterioro del ecosistema a través de cuatro programas. Palabras clave: conservación, formación, herbazal, amenazas, lineamientos.

First report of Golovinomyces sp. causing powdery mildew infection on Dyschoriste nagchana in Western Ghats of India

Dyschoriste nagchana Nees (Acanthaceae) is a perennial plant grows naturally in wet grassland, but is now often also found in secondary bushland and grassland, including lawns. In January2019, severe powdery mildew symptoms were observed on the leaves and stem of D. nagchana (Fig.1, a). The infection was found to be very severe at that time on plant and because of severe infestation premature leaf fall was also observed. The occurrence of powdery mildew in its anamorphic form on D. nagchana. was first observed in the ranges of hills in Western Ghats pertaining to district Satara viz Yavateshwar (17°41’02.91”N 73°56’58.15”E and Elevation 3419ft) and Varoshi (17°52’04.42” N 73°45’03.12” E and Elevation 2834ft). later on, disease incidence was noticed from different areas of said district.

The Water Balance of Wet Grassland Sites with Shallow Water Table Conditions in the North-Eastern German Lowlands in Extreme Dry and Wet Years

In recent years, Germany has experienced an increasing number of extreme wet and dry years. In the North German lowlands, wet grassland sites with shallow water table conditions are widespread landscape elements. They are characterized by a special water and nutrient balance that reacts very sensitively to changes in the hydrological system. Studies on evapotranspiration (ETa) and the development of groundwater levels were carried out at two typical wet grassland sites with shallow water table conditions. A weighable groundwater lysimeter system in the Spreewald wetland (SPW) and an eddy covariance station in Havelländisches Luch (HL) were used to measure ETa. The results show that even these shallow water table sites cannot sufficiently meet the vegetation’s water demands in extreme dry conditions. The groundwater levels drop to values deeper than 1 m below the surface. As a result, water supply to the vegetation is temporarily limited. The mean crop coefficients (Kc) of these wet grassland sites reach values of 1.1 in the vegetation period with a sufficient water supply, but drop to around 0.8 in dry years when the water supply is limited. Areas with small catchment areas, such as HL, are more seriously affected by the dry meteorological conditions than areas with sufficient inflows from larger catchment areas, such as SPW.

Macroecology of North European Wet Grassland Landscapes: Habitat Quality, Waders, Avian Predators and Nest Predation

Wet grassland degradation is a global issue that involves both altered land cover patterns and ecological processes, which affect the distribution and abundance of species. The sharp decline in European wader bird (Charadrii) populations is a good example. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that the anthropogenic developmental stage of wet grassland habitats and landscapes drives avian nest predator abundance, and thus the predation pressure on nests, which is a major cause of wader bird declines. Using a macroecological approach we selected six wet grassland landscapes representing a gradient in both grassland habitat development and breeding wader population status in four European countries (Belarus, Iceland, Lithuania and Sweden). We (1) mapped wader and avian predator assemblages in multiple wet grassland patches in each landscape, (2) used artificial nests to estimate the relative rate of egg predation, and (3) analyzed relationships between nest predation pressure, corvid nest predators versus raptors, nest loss and the stage of wet grassland habitat and landscape development. We found (1) inverse relationships between the abundance of corvids and waders, as well as between wet grassland developmental stage and waders, and (2) a positive correlation between the probability of nest loss and the density of corvid birds. In conclusion, we found a clear macroecological pattern linking habitat quality, wader populations, nest predators and nest predation. These linkages stress the importance of including nest predation as a factor limiting wader bird populations, and that corvid control or management may be useful management tools.

Convergent acoustic community structure in South Asian dry and wet grassland birds

Although the study of bird acoustic communities has great potential in long-term monitoring and conservation, their assembly and dynamics remain poorly understood. Grassland habitats in South Asia comprise distinct biomes with unique avifauna, presenting an opportunity to address how community-level patterns in acoustic signal space arise. Similarity in signal space of different grassland bird assemblages may result from phylogenetic similarity, or because different bird groups partition the acoustic resource, resulting in convergent distributions in signal space. Here, we quantify the composition, signal space and phylogenetic diversity of bird acoustic communities from dry semiarid grasslands of Northwest India and wet floodplain grasslands of Northeast India, two major South Asian grassland biomes. We find that acoustic communities occupying these distinct biomes exhibit convergent, overdispersed distributions in signal space. However, dry grasslands exhibit higher phylogenetic diversity, and the two communities are not phylogenetically similar. The Sylvioidea encompasses half the species in the wet grassland acoustic community, with an expanded signal space compared to the dry grasslands. We therefore hypothesize that different clades colonizing grasslands partition the acoustic resource, resulting in convergent community structure across biomes. Many of these birds are threatened, and acoustic monitoring will support conservation measures in these imperiled, poorly-studied habitats.