Notes

Emergent digital components in Co-deposited superatomic groupings.
Woodland and grassland are shared habitats between bumblebees and badgers, and we suggest that higher predation may relate to activity and foraging behavior of badgers in woodland compared with grassland. We discuss how badger predation in different habitats could impact different bumblebee species according to their nesting behaviors. Understanding the relative impact of badger predation on bumblebee colonies provides key information on how such top-down regulation affects bumblebee populations. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.The development of efficient sampling protocols for the capture of environmental DNA (eDNA) could greatly help improve accuracy of occupancy monitoring for species that are difficult to detect. However, the process of developing a protocol in situ is complicated for rare species by the fact that animal locations are often unknown. We tested sampling designs in lake and stream systems to determine the most effective eDNA sampling protocols for two rare species the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog (Rana sierrae) and the foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii). We varied water volume, spatial sampling, and seasonal timing in lakes and streams; in lakes we also tested multiple filter types. We found that filtering 2 L versus 1 L increased the odds of detection in streams 5.42X (95% CI 3.2-9.19X) in our protocol, from a probability of 0.51-0.85 per technical replicate. Lake sample volumes were limited by filter clogging, and we found no effect of volume or filter type. Sampling later in the season increased the odds of detection in streams by 1.96X for every 30 days (95% CI 1.3-2.97X) but there was no effect for lakes. Spatial autocorrelation of the quantity of yellow-legged frog eDNA captured in streams ceased between 100 and 200 m, indicating that sampling at close intervals is important. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Mediterranean islands have complex reptile assemblages, but little is known about the factors that determine their organization. In this study, the structure of assemblages of Squamata was evaluated based on their species richness and two measures of phylogenetic diversity (variability and clustering). I evaluated the composition of the assemblages comparing distinct biogeographic subregions within the Mediterranean Adriatic, Aegean, Balearic, Corsica-Sardinia, Crete, Gulf of Gabés, Ionian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Malta, Sicily, and Tyrrhenian Sea. The effect of island environments and geographical isolation on the diversity metrics was assessed using generalized linear models. The analyses indicated that species richness was mostly influenced by island area and geographical isolation. Assemblages on smaller islands were poorer in species and phylogenetically dispersed, possibly as an effect of interspecific competition. The species composition of the assemblages was determined by similar environmental drivers within the biogeographic subregions, including island area, island elevation, geographical isolation, and aridity. In several subregions, significant patterns of phylogenetic attraction were found in species co-occurrences, caused by the limits imposed by the island size on large predatory species. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Wolbachia are maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria found within many insect species. Aedes mosquitoes experimentally infected with Wolbachia are being released into the field for Aedes-borne disease control. read more These Wolbachia infections induce cytoplasmic incompatibility which is used to suppress populations through incompatible matings or replace populations through the reproductive advantage provided by this mechanism. However, the presence of naturally occurring Wolbachia in target populations could interfere with both population replacement and suppression programs depending on the compatibility patterns between strains. Aedes aegypti were thought to not harbor Wolbachia naturally but several recent studies have detected Wolbachia in natural populations of this mosquito. We therefore review the evidence for natural Wolbachia infections in A. aegypti to date and discuss limitations of these studies. We draw on research from other mosquito species to outline the potential implications of natural Wolbachia infections in A. aegypti for disease control. To validate previous reports, we obtained a laboratory population of A. aegypti from New Mexico, USA, that harbors a natural Wolbachia infection, and we conducted field surveys in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where a natural Wolbachia infection has also been reported. However, we were unable to detect Wolbachia in both the laboratory and field populations. Because the presence of naturally occurring Wolbachia in A. aegypti could have profound implications for Wolbachia-based disease control programs, it is important to continue to accurately assess the Wolbachia status of target Aedes populations. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Aim With the late Cenozoic uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), drainage of the southeastern edge of the QTP changed significantly. However, the impact of this dramatic change on the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of endemic organisms is still poorly understood. Here, we examined the geographical patterns of genetic variation in the Yunnan small narrow-mouthed frog, Glyphoglossus yunnanensis (Microhylidae), and two alternative hypotheses were tested That is, the geographical distribution of genetic variation was determined by either the contemporary drainage basin or historical drainage basins. Location The Mountains of southwest China. Materials and methods Analyses were based on 417 specimens collected from across the distribution of the species. We reconstructed the genealogy (Bayesian and maximum parsimony methods) and assessed demographic history based on DNA sequencing data from mitochondrial and nuclear markers. We also mapped the genetic diversity and estimated the divergence two disparate codistributed taxa G. yunnanensis and N. yunnanensis. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Dietary micronutrients have the ability to strongly influence animal physiology and ecology. For songbirds, dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and antioxidants are hypothesized to be particularly important micronutrients because of their influence on an individual's capacity for aerobic metabolism and recovery from extended bouts of exercise. However, the influence of specific fatty acids and hydrophilic antioxidants on whole-animal performance remains largely untested. We used diet manipulations to directly test the effects of dietary PUFA, specifically linoleic acid (182n6), and anthocyanins, a hydrophilic antioxidant, on basal metabolic rate (BMR), peak metabolic rate (PMR), and rates of fat catabolism, lean catabolism, and energy expenditure during sustained flight in a wind tunnel in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). BMR, PMR, energy expenditure, and fat metabolism decreased and lean catabolism increased over the course of the experiment in birds fed a high (32%) 182n6 diet, while birds fed a low (13%) 182n6 diet exhibited the reverse pattern. Additionally, energy expenditure, fat catabolism, and flight duration were all subject to diet-specific effects of whole-body fat content. Dietary antioxidants and diet-related differences in tissue fatty acid composition were not directly related to any measure of whole-animal performance. Together, these results suggest that the effect of dietary 182n6 on performance was most likely the result of the signaling properties of 182n6. This implies that dietary PUFA influence the energetic capabilities of songbirds and could strongly influence songbird ecology, given their availability in terrestrial systems. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Pikas (Ochotona Link, 1795) are high-altitude specialist species making them a useful bioindicator species to warming in high-altitude ecosystem. The Himalayan Mountains are an important part of their range, supporting approximately 23%-25% of total pika species worldwide, yet we lack basic information on the distribution patterns. We combine field-based surveys with genetics-based identification and phylogeny to identify differences in species-environment relationships. Further, we suggest putative evolutionary causes for the observed niche patterns. Location Himalayan high-altitude region. Methods We sampled 11 altitudinal transects (ranging from ~2,000 to 5,000 m) in the Himalaya to establish occurrence records. We collected 223 species records using genetic analyses to confirm species' identity (based on some invasive and mostly noninvasive biological samples). Niche and geographic overlap were estimated using kernel density estimates. Results Most pikas in the Himalaya span wide elevation ranges and exhiiche overlap with other pika species from the study area. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Heritable color polymorphisms have a long history of study in evolutionary biology, though they are less frequently examined today than in the past. These systems, where multiple discrete, visually identifiable color phenotypes co-occur in the same population, are valuable for tracking evolutionary change and ascertaining the relative importance of different evolutionary mechanisms. Here, we use a combination of citizen science data and field surveys in the Great Lakes region of North America to identify patterns of color morph frequencies in the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Using over 68,000 individual squirrel records from both large and small spatial scales, we identify the following patterns (a) the melanistic (black) phenotype is often localized but nonetheless widespread throughout the Great Lakes region, occurring in all states and provinces sampled. (b) In Ohio, where intensive surveys were performed, there is a weak but significantly positive association between color morph frequency Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.The leaf economic traits such as leaf area, maximum carbon assimilation rate, and venation are all correlated and related to water availability. Furthermore, leaves are often broad and large in humid areas and narrower in arid/semiarid and hot and cold areas. We use optimization theory to explain these patterns. We have created a constrained optimization leaf model linking leaf shape to vein structure that is integrated into coupled transpiration and carbon assimilation processes. The model maximizes net leaf carbon gain (NPPleaf) over the loss of xylem water potential. Modeled relations between leaf traits are consistent with empirically observed patterns. As the results of the leaf shape-venation relation, our model further predicts that a broadleaf has overall higher NPPleaf compared to a narrowleaf. In addition, a broadleaf has a lower stomatal resistance compared to a narrowleaf under the same level of constraint. With the same leaf area, a broadleaf will have, on average, larger conduits and lower total leaf xylem resistance and thus be more efficient in water transportation but less resistant to cavitation.
Homepage: https://www.selleckchem.com/products/pkr-in-c16.html