Search results for "Behavior and Systematics"

Taxonomic status and epidemiology of the mesoparasitic copepod Pennella balaenoptera in cetaceans from the western Mediterranean.

2018

Pennella balaenoptera is a mesoparasitic copepod that has been reported in at least 17 cetacean species. Subtle morphological differences in the first antennae of adult females have been used to discriminate this species from P. filosa, a species infecting fishes. Other morphological traits are unreliable because of their high plasticity, and no molecular data are available to confirm the taxonomic status of P. balaenoptera as an independent species. We found no consistent morphological differences of the first antennae between P. balaenoptera and P. filosa collected from cetaceans and fish in the western Mediterranean. Molecular data on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I failed…

Phylogeny, biogeography, and chromosome evolution of the amphitropical genus Grindelia (Asteraceae) inferred from nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast s…

2012

Pesticide-induced changes in personality depend on the urbanization level

2017

Globally increasing urbanization causes major anthropogenic changes in ecosystems, drastically altering phenotypes of organisms. Increased contamination is a well-known result of urbanization, and its effect on behaviour has been extensively studied. Yet, animal personality, consistent behavioural variation between individuals, has rarely been investigated in the context of anthropogenic contaminants. Changes in personalities may affect the viability of populations, and even alter community dynamics. We investigated the effects of exposure to a sublethal dose of the commonly used pesticide esfenvalerate on two personality traits, activity and boldness, and compared these effects between rep…

Batesian Mimicry and Signal Accuracy

1997

RICE, W. R. 1989. Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution 43:223-225. RICE, W. R., AND E. E. HOSTERT. 1993. Laboratory experiments on speciation: what have we learned in 40 years? Evolution 47: 1637-1653. SAWADA, S. 1963. Studies on the local races of the Japanese newt, Triturus pyrrhogaster Boie. II. Sexual isolation mechanisms. J. Sci. Hiroshima Univ. Ser. B 21:167-180. SPIETH, H. T, AND J. M. RINGO. 1983. Mating behavior and sexual isolation in Drosophila. Pp 223-284 in M. Ashburner, L. M. Carson, and J. N. Thompson Jr, eds. The genetics and biology of Drosophila. Academic Press, New York. TEMPLETON, A. R. 1996. Experimental evidence for the genetictransilience model of speciati…

Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with diseased loquat trees in Italy and description of Diplodia rosacearum sp. nov

2016

[EN] Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a fruit tree cultivated in several countries in the Mediterranean region. A survey of a loquat orchard in Sicily ( Italy) revealed the presence of plants showing dieback symptoms and cankers with wedge-shaped necrotic sectors. Fungi from the genera Diplodia and Neofusicoccum were isolated from symptomatic plants. On the basis of morphological characters and DNA sequence data four species were identified, Neofusicoccum parvum, N. vitifusiforme, Diplodia seriata and a novel Diplodia species, which is here described as D. rosacearum sp. nov. Inoculation trials of loquat plants cv Sanfilipparo showed that N. parvum, D. seriata and D. rosacearum were pathogen…

Buchwaldoboletus lignicola (Boletaceae), a rare basidiomycete from Europe

2017

AbstractBuchwaldoboletus lignicola is a rare basidiomycete with fragmented distribution in Europe. The taxonomy, ecology and distribution of this species is reported. The new locality from central Sicily widens the area of distribution of B. lignicola in Europe.

2018

We present a taxonomic revision ofCremastosperma, a genus of Neotropical Annonaceae occurring in lowland to premontane wet forest, mostly in areas surrounding the Andean mountain chain. We recognise 34 species, describing five as new here: from east of the Andes,C.brachypodumPirie & Chatrou,sp. nov.andC.dolichopodumPirie & Maas,sp. nov., endemic to Peru;C.confusumPirie,sp. nov., from southern Peru and adjacent Bolivia and Brazil; andC.alticolaPirie & Chatrou,sp. nov., at higher elevations in northern Peru and Ecuador; and from west of the Andes,C.osicolaPirie & Chatrou,sp. nov.endemic to Costa Rica, the most northerly distributed species of the genus. We prov…

First record of Capnobotrys dingleyae (Metacapnodiaceae) on Taxus baccata for southern Europe

2017

Field investigations carried out in a mixed forest of Fagus sylvatica and Taxus baccata in the Nebrodi Natural Park (Sicily, southern Italy) allowed us to identify a very rare lignicolous ascomycete Capnobotrys dingleyae, a new species for southern Europe.

Different historical backgrounds determine contrasting phylogeographical patterns in two co-distributed Erica species (Ericaceae) across the Strait o…

2017

Erica australis and Erica arborea are morphologically and ecologically similar heather species. Erica australis is restricted to the western Mediterranean Basin where it overlaps with the westernmo ...

The phylogenetic relationships of Przevalski's FinchUrocynchramus pylzowi, the most ancient Tibetan endemic passerine known to date

2016

Competing systematic hypotheses have placed the Tibetan endemic Przevalski's Finch Urocynchramus pylzowi either with the Old World buntings (Emberizidae) or with the cardueline finches (Fringillidae, Carduelinae). Recent studies based on limited genetic evidence instead suggest an isolated position within Passeroidea and advocate a separate family, Urocynchramidae, as had been suggested much earlier on the grounds of morphology. We provide a time-calibrated multi-locus phylogeny for Passeroidea including Przevalski's Finch based on three mitochondrial markers and three nuclear introns that placed U. pylzowi in a clade together with Estrildidae, Viduidae and Ploceidae. A sister group relatio…