Search results for "Cape"

Cuticular hydrocarbons as potential mediators of cryptic species divergence in a mutualistic ant association

2019

International audience; Upon advances in sequencing techniques, more and more morphologically identical organisms are identified as cryptic species. Often, mutualistic interactions are proposed as drivers of diversification. Species of the neotropical parabiotic ant association between Crematogaster levior and Camponotus femoratus are known for highly diverse cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, which in insects serve as desiccation barrier but also as communication cues. In the present study, we investigated the association of the ants' CHC profiles with genotypes and morphological traits, and discovered cryptic species pairs in both genera. To assess putative niche differentiation betwee…

2018

Allometric relationships linking species characteristics to body size or mass (scaling) are important in biology. However, studies on the scaling of life history traits in the reptiles (the nonavian Reptilia) are rather scarce, especially for the clades Crocodilia, Testudines, and Rhynchocephalia (single extant species, the tuatara). Previous studies on the scaling of reptilian life history traits indicated that they differ from those seen in the other amniotes (mammals and birds), but so far most comparative studies used small species samples and also not phylogenetically informed analyses. Here, we analyzed the scaling of nine life history traits with adult body mass for crocodiles (n = 2…

Low contribution of Caribbean-based researchers to academic publications on biodiversity conservation in the insular Caribbean.

2021

11 pages; International audience; The insular Caribbean is among the most threatened global biodiversity hotspots, warranting urgent and effective action in conservation. However, the capacity of Caribbean-based researchers to address challenges in biodiversity conservation appears limited. To assess the latter, we used the contribution of Caribbean-based authors to the production of peer-reviewed journal papers on biodiversity conservation in the insular Caribbean as a proxy for research capacity. Moreover, because the insular Caribbean is a complex geopolitical system including sovereign states and overseas territories, we examined the contributions of these two groups to the number of pa…

2021

Sustainable forest management plays a key role for forest biodiversity and the provisioning of ecosystem services (BES), including the important service of carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation. Forest managers, however, find themselves in the increasingly complex planning situation to balance the often conflicting demands in BES. To cope with this situation, a prototype of a decision support system (DSS) for strategic (long-term) planning at the forest enterprise level was developed in the present project. The DSS was applied at three case study enterprises (CSEs) in Northern Switzerland, two lowland and one higher-elevation enterprise, for a 50-year time horizon (2010 to 2060…

Selecting submerged macrophyte species for replanting in Mediterranean eutrophic wetlands

2020

Abstract The criteria to select submerged plant species for restoration still need further evaluations for a better understanding of their suitability prior to undertaking large plantings which represent a large effort in terms of economical and human resources. In this study, previously to the restoration of a eutrophic area (Tancat de la Pipa) within the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park, the growth of three submerged plants (Ceratophyllum demersum, Myriophyllum spicatum and Stuckenia pectinata), an amphibious species (Ranunculus sceleratus), and three charophytes species (Chara vulgaris, Tolypella glomerata and Nitella hyalina) has been evaluated under controlled laboratory conditions in…

Differences in time and space use between two sympatric Acrocephalus warblers with similar diets

2016

Capsule: We found high diet overlap and different uses of space and time between Moustached Warblers Acrocephalus melanopogon and Reed Warblers Acrocephalus scirpaceus breeding in sympatry at a marshland in Spain. Aims: To study the degree of diet overlap between both species, their space use on a local scale and their breeding phenologies. Methods: We studied the breeding phenologies of the two species by standardized ringing activity. Spatial distribution was investigated by point counts. We determined diet composition from emetic samples and we collected invertebrates by standardized sweep-netting to estimate food availability. Results: Diet and prey selection were similar among species.…

Genetic admixture despite ecological segregation in a North African sparrow hybrid zone (Aves, Passeriformes, Passer domesticus × Passer hispaniolens…

2019

Under different environmental conditions, hybridization between the same species might result in different patterns of genetic admixture. Particularly, species pairs with large distribution ranges and long evolutionary history may have experienced several independent hybridization events over time in different zones of overlap. In birds, the diverse hybrid populations of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the Spanish sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) provide a striking example. Throughout their range of sympatry, these two species do not regularly interbreed; however, a stabilized hybrid form (Passer italiae) exists on the Italian Peninsula and on several Mediterranean islands. The spa…

Combining spatial prioritization and expert knowledge facilitates effectiveness of large-scale mire protection process in Finland

2019

Conservation resource allocation involves a complex set of considerations including species, habitats, connectivity, local to global biodiversity objectives, alternative protection and restoration actions, while requiring cost-efficiency and effective implementation. We present a national scale spatial conservation prioritization analysis for complementing the network of protected mires in Finland. We show how spatial prioritization coupled with regional targets and expert knowledge can facilitate structured decision-making. In our application, discussion between experts was structured around the prioritization model enabling integration of quantitative analysis with expert knowledge. The u…

The structure of ant assemblages in an urban area of Helsinki, southern Finland

2008

We collected ants in ten replicated habitat types of an urban island and described their assemblages using Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling and Multivariate Regression Trees. Lasius niger was the most abundant species, followed by Myrmica rubra, Formica fusca, L. flavus and L. platythorax; these species comprised 87% of all 1133 nests of the 16 species found. Ant assemblages changed gradually from open habitats to sites with closed tree canopy. Species most tolerant to urban pressure were L. niger, L. flavus and M. rugulosa, whereas forest-associated species were scarce or absent. Successful urban species had extensive (Palaearctic) or more limited (Euro-Siberian) distribution. Common an…

A modified niche model for generating food webs with stage‐structured consumers: The stabilizing effects of life‐history stages on complex food webs

2021

Abstract Almost all organisms grow in size during their lifetime and switch diets, trophic positions, and interacting partners as they grow. Such ontogenetic development introduces life‐history stages and flows of biomass between the stages through growth and reproduction. However, current research on complex food webs rarely considers life‐history stages. The few previously proposed methods do not take full advantage of the existing food web structural models that can produce realistic food web topologies.We extended the niche model developed by Williams and Martinez (Nature, 2000, 404, 180–183) to generate food webs that included trophic species with a life‐history stage structure. Our me…