Distribution and diversity of leaf-cutting ants in Northeastern Argentina: species most associated with forest plantations

Abstract

Leaf-cutting ants (LCA) are considered one of the main herbivores and one of the most destructive pest insects of the Neotropics. Northeastern Argentina harbors the greatest species richness of these ants and in turn comprises the highest surface with forest plantations. Our aim was to establish which species of leaf-cutting ants are most commonly associated with forest plantations by analyzing their geographic distribution using published and unpublished species occurrence data. Also, estimate their potential areas of distribution along a latitudinal gradient that entirely encompasses northeastern Argentina using Ecological Niche Modeling. Only seven of the 20 species recorded were strongly associated with productive systems along the gradient, but only 2–3 species in each region could be considered high-risk species for forest plantations. High-risk species composition shows a turnover between regions. Our models show the potential distribution areas where LCA could become more abundant and dominant, and possibly causing a detrimental effect on the forest plantations in the studied region. We find that ecological niche models are useful tools to assess the environmental suitability of important LCA.     

Predicting the potential geographic distribution of Bactrocera bryoniae and Bactrocera neohumeralis(Diptera: Tephritidae) in China using MaxEnt ecological niche modeling

Bactrocera bryoniae and Bactrocera neohumeralis are highly destructive and major biosecurity/quarantine pests of fruit and vegetable in the tropical and subtropical regions in the South Pacific and Australia. Although these pests have not established in China, precautions must be taken due to their highly destructive nature. Thus, we predicted the potential geographic distribution of B. bryoniae and B. neohumeralis across the world and in particular China by ecological niche modeling of the Maximum Entropy(Max Ent) model with the occurrence records of these two species. Bactrocera bryoniae and B. neohumeralis exhibit similar potential geographic distribution ranges across the world and in China, and each species was predicted to be able to distribute to over 20% of the globe. Globally, the potential geographic distribution ranges for these two fruit fly species included southern Asia, the central and the southeast coast of Africa, southern North America, northern and central South America, and Australia. While within China, most of the southern Yangtze River area was found suitable for these species. Notably, southern China was considered to have the highest risk of B. bryoniae and B. neohumeralis invasions. Our study identifies the regions at high risk for potential establishment of B. bryoniae and B. neohumeralis in the world and in particular China, and informs the development of inspection and biosecurity/quarantine measures to prevent and control their invasions.     

凤凰县刺楸天然种群主要物种的生态位特征

以湖南省凤凰县刺楸(Kalopanax septemlobus)天然种群分布相对集中的9个样地作为资源位,按重要值总和排序确定主要植物种,应用Levins、Shannon–Wiener、Pianka和Schoener公式分析群落乔木层和灌木层总计29个主要植物种的生态位。结果表明:在乔木层中,刺楸的重要值总和最高(1.345),杉木、柞木、刺楸的生态位宽度较大;乔木层多数种对间的生态位重叠程度较高,对环境需求存在较高的相似性,高重叠种对的相似度为69.23%,高相似种对的相似度为52.75%;刺楸和其他物种的生态位重叠与其他物种的生态位宽度呈正相关;灌木层种间生态位分化不明显,在资源不足时极易产生竞争;生态位宽度值与生态位重叠值、生态位相似比例值关系复杂;刺楸生态位宽度较宽,当资源不足时,刺楸在竞争中不占优势,其种群更新会受到其他物种的影响。     

Ecological and landscape effects on genetic distance in an assemblage of headwater fishes

Environmental divergence along hierarchically structured longitudinal gradients may constitute barriers to gene flow in river networks for headwater specialised species. While known, this phenomenon has not been well studied, especially with regard to degree of headwater specialisation. We examined six headwater species that differ in habitat specialisation to assess whether patterns of differentiation vary according to geographic or environmental distance. We also identified regional environmental or anthropogenically induced fragmentation effects by comparing within‐drainage patterns of genetic distance across replicate watersheds. We used a comparative modelling framework to determine whether isolation by distance or isolation by resistance of large river habitats was a better predictor of genetic distance across species. The influence of reservoir presence and regional network characteristics that may influence the hydrology and size of large river habitats were also assessed. Resistance effects from large rivers were closely related to headwater specialisation, with increased specialisation leading to increased resistance and loss of drainagewide population connectivity. These results affirm that dendritic networks naturally fragment headwater specialised species. Further isolation from anthropogenic fragmentation was detected in two of the six drainages, indicating interactions with system‐specific conditions. Landscape variables related to the hydrology of large rivers also affected genetic distance in predicted ways, supporting the importance of large rivers in genetically structuring headwater species in drainage networks.     

Thermal ecology of subadult and adult muskellunge in a thermally enriched reservoir

The movement of adult muskellunge, Esox masquinongy Mitchill, has been investigated in a variety of systems, but temperature selection by muskellunge has not been examined where well‐oxygenated waters were available over a range of temperatures for much of the year. Thirty subadult and adult muskellunge tagged internally with temperature‐sensing radio tags were tracked from March 2010 to March 2011 in a Tennessee reservoir. Mean tag temperatures were 18.9 °C in spring (March to May), 22.1 °C in summer (June to August), 16.5 °C in autumn and 9.8 °C in winter (December to February). When the greatest range in water temperatures was available (7.1–33.3 °C; May to early August 2010), their realised thermal niche (mean ± 1 SD) was 22.3 °C ± 1.8; the realised thermal niche was affected by fish size (smaller fish selected slightly warmer temperatures) but not sex. An electric generating steam plant discharging warm water resumed operation in January 2011, and most (86%) tagged fish occupied the plume where temperatures were ≈10 °C warmer than ambient water temperatures. No mortalities were observed 15 days later when plant operations ceased. Their affinity for the heated plume prompted concerns that muskellunge will be too easily exploited when the plant operates during winter.     

Effects of different variable sets on the potential distribution of fish species in the Amazon Basin

Estimating species’ potential distribution is one of the main objectives of macroecology, especially when sampling biases can affect knowledge on how environmental variables affect species distribution. Ecological niche models estimate species’ environmental niches from different variables and their occurrences. Using the presence-only data from eight Amazonian fish species, which inhabit rivers and streams, we aimed to (a) explore the effect of different sets variables on the spatial distributions of target species and (b) evaluate the predictive responses of MaxEnt to sets of variables with different degrees of complexity. MaxEnt has high flexibility in relation to the input data and its performance is influenced by a moderate number of adjustable parameters, allowing for high precision results when balancing underestimation and overestimation errors. We used environmental predictors in MaxEnt the principal components of climatic, topographic and edaphic variables as inputs. The combination of topographic and edaphic variables produced more precise and spatially restricted distribution ranges for all species when compared to those generated with climatic variables. All models reached high AUC values, especially for stream species. Modelled range sizes were broader for the river species, suggesting different tolerance thresholds and habitat preferences when compared to stream species. The complexity of the different variables sets did not affect MaxEnt's prediction capacity. However, for stream species, MaxEnt showed a greater predictive power. This work increases the knowledge with regards to the influence of different environmental predictors on the spatial patterns of the distribution of Amazonian fish.     

长江口盐沼湿地鱼类群落优势种的时空生态位特征

为了解长江口盐沼湿地优势鱼类群落结构及其种间关系，采用插网调查，利用2019年5—10月的调查数据，基于生态位宽度和生态位重叠度指数对长江口崇明东滩（31°27''N，121°56''E）和九段沙盐沼湿地（31°10''N，121°57''E）鱼类群落的优势种生态位进行研究。研究结果表明，春、夏、秋3个季节共采获10个优势种，其中鮻（Liza haematocheila）、花鲈（Lateolabrax maculatus）和拉氏狼牙虾虎鱼（Odontamblyopus rubicundus）在3个季节中均为优势种。在10个优势种中，时间生态位宽度值变化范围为0.11~1.70，其中拉氏狼牙虾虎鱼时间生态位宽度值最大，小黄鱼（Larimichthys polyactis）值最小；空间生态位宽度值变化范围为0.57~1.53，其中棱鮻（Liza carinatus）空间生态位宽度值最大，小黄鱼值最小。长江口盐沼湿地鱼类优势种生态位宽度呈现显著的季节性变化趋势。长江口盐沼湿地鱼类优势种的时空生态位重叠值较高，其中具重叠意义的鱼种对（species pairs）高达73.33%，具有显著重叠意义的鱼种对高达48.89%。结论认为，长江口盐沼湿地鱼类优势种的时空分布具有相似性，存在明显的竞争关系。     

Ontogenetic resource use and trophic dynamics of endangered juvenile Tachypleus tridentatus among diversified nursery habitats in the northern Beibu Gulf,China

Horseshoe crabs, the most well-known example of “living fossils”, are iconic and ecologically important macroinvertebrates in coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Their blood is a crucial resource for manufacturing Limulus or Tachypleus amebocyte lysate to detect bacterial endotoxins or fungal contamination in drug and medical devices. An enhanced understanding of their ecological roles and trophic interactions in the food webs is fundamental to facilitate resource management for the declining populations in Asia. Foraging information of the Asian species, however, is mainly derived from preliminary, scattered reports from a limited number of study locations. In this study, resource utilization, trophic niche dynamics, and trophic interaction of the juvenile tri-spine horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus (instars 1–12, approximately 0.5–8 years old) across ontogeny was assessed in diversified nursery habitats along the northern Beibu Gulf, China, using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Our results suggest that: (i) T. tridentatus are ecological generalists given the vast range of carbon isotopic values and trophic niche width estimates exhibited between multiple instar groups; (ii) juvenile T. tridentatus across most habitat types predominantly assimilated energy from a variety of basal production sources in the food web, but primarily depended on sedimentary organic matter and seagrass resource pools; (iii) ontogenetic shifts in juvenile dietary proportions were evident, with decreased reliance on sedimentary organic matter, coupled with increased reliance on benthic macroinvertebrate grazers, detritivores, and omnivores with age; and (iv) nearly all juvenile instars occupied similar trophic positions in the food web with slight shifts in trophic position present with increasing size. Our findings indicate that resource availability and ontogenetic diet shifts strongly influence horseshoe crab trophic dynamics, and age should be accounted when formulating habitat conservation measures based on resource use for Asian horseshoe crabs.     

Fine‐scale habitat partitioning of Chilean and Peale's dolphins and their overlap with aquaculture

1. Predictive species distribution models (SDMs) have become powerful tools to determine habitat use patterns of mobile marine predators and their spatial overlap with potentially impacting anthropogenic activities.
2. This study used SDMs to investigate fine‐scale habitat use patterns of two poorly known and broadly sympatric coastal delphinids, Chilean dolphins (Cephalorhynchus eutropia) and Peale's dolphins (Lagenorhynchus australis), and their spatial interactions with intense aquaculture farming activities in the Chiloé archipelago, southern Chile.
3. A long‐term dataset (2002–2012) of boat‐based dolphin sightings and concurrently in situ collected environmental and anthropogenic variables was analysed using binomial Generalized Additive Models to investigate ecological drivers of each species' fine‐scale distribution and to predict dolphin occurrence spatially.
4. Chilean dolphins preferred shallow (<30 m deep), turbid waters, close to shore (<500 m) and river mouths which often placed them in sheltered bays and channels used intensively by shellfish farms. Peale's dolphins were also found in shallow waters but occurred over a wider range of conditions along more open or exposed coastlines. Both species had to navigate extensive salmon and shellfish farming sites to transit between areas of important habitat.
5. Sightings and predicted occurrence maps showed a clear pattern of spatial habitat partitioning between species, which remained stable across the 11 year study period. The identification of important habitat for Chilean dolphins warrants the consideration of spatially explicit conservation measures to limit the potential effects of overlapping salmon and shellfish farming.
6. The observed differences in ecological plasticity of the two sympatric species should be considered when evaluating and mitigating the effects of environmental change and ongoing anthropogenic pressures on their nearshore habitat. The estimated species–environment relationships could also be used to predict where dolphin habitat and anthropogenic activities are most likely to overlap in other parts of the species' ranges.

     

小陇山国家自然保护区毛栗群落生态位及空间分布格局研究

在野外调查的基础上,对小陇山国家自然保护区内毛栗(Castanea mollissima Bl.)群落中主要种群的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数及Levins生态位宽度、生态位重叠及空间分布格局各项指标进行了分析。结果表明,毛栗的生态位宽度最大,为0.81,枫杨(Pterocarya stenoptera C.DC.)的生态位宽度值最小,为0.50;毛栗与其他种的生态位重叠值在0.33~0.72。毛栗的生态位重叠值比较大,群落中由于利用相同资源位而产生的竞争相对较大。6个样地中毛栗群落的分布格局均表现为聚集分布,样地3中的毛栗群落聚集强度最低,样地4中的毛栗群落聚集强度最高。