Search results for "SPECIATION"
showing 10 items of 370 documents
On the identity of Ischyropsalis dentipalpis Canestrini, 1872 and description of Ischyropsalis lithoclasica sp. n. (Opiliones: Ischyropsalididae)
2010
Ischyropsalis dentipalpis Canestrini, 1872 is re-defined, and a neotype from the type locality in the Aosta Valley, Italy, is assigned. I. helvetica Roewer, 1916 (sensu Martens 1978) is shown to be conspecific and therefore is synonymised with I. dentipalpis. A population from Bergamo Province, Italy, formerly assigned to I. dentipalpis (sensu Martens 1978), is here regarded as a different species and described under the name Ischyropsalis lithoclasica sp. n. Discrimination of males is possible by genital characters and by the shape of the cheliceral and pedipalpal apophyses. Females are distinguished by peculiarities of cheliceral spination. The distribution of I. lithoclasica n. sp. is al…
Leaf shape variation and taxonomic boundaries in two sympatric rupicolous species of Helichrysum (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae), assessed by linear measur…
2012
Quantifying and understanding the causes of population differentiation in plants are critical for assessing the taxonomic structure of species, as the level of differentiation among populations may correspond to incipient speciation. Using linear and geometric morphometric approaches, phenotypic variation and associations between leaf traits and geographic and environmental characteristics were investigated in Helichrysum crassifolium and the widespread and sympatric Helichrysum pendulum: two species exhibiting conspicuous leaf variation in size and shape. The morphometric results show that both species have distinct patterns of leaf shape variation. However, overlapping values link the ran…
Differences in parasite susceptibility and costs of resistance between naturally exposed and unexposed host populations
2009
It is generally assumed that resistance to parasitism entails costs. Consequently, hosts evolving in the absence of parasites are predicted to invest less in costly resistance mechanisms than hosts consistently exposed to parasites. This prediction has, however, rarely been tested in natural populations. We studied the susceptibility of three naïve, three parasitized and one recently isolated Asellus aquaticus isopod populations to an acanthocephalan parasite. We found that parasitized populations, with the exception of the isopod population sympatric with the parasite strain used, were less susceptible to the parasite than the naïve populations. Exposed but uninfected (resistant) isopods f…
Insular endemism in the Mediterranean vascular flora: the case of the Aeolian Islands (Sicily, Italy)
2012
The present paper briefly provides the state of the art of the knowledge on vascular plant endemism in the oceanic (“thalassogenous”) Aeolian Archipelago (Sicily). Preliminary analysis of distribution areas and review of recent literature on biosystematics of endemic species revealed that: (a) Aeolian strictly endemic taxa are just 6, i.e. about the 0.7 % of the local vascular flora; among them, just 4 can be considered (with doubt) derived from in situ evolution. (b) The other 18 endemics are taxa occurring in wider areas, so they cannot be generally considered “locally evolved” but relicts. This preliminary analysis confirms that not only continental (“chersogenous”) but all Mediterranean…
Performance of Host-Races of the Fruit Fly,Tephritis conuraon a Derived Host Plant, the Cabbage ThistleCirsium oleraceum: Implications for the Origin…
2008
The thistle-infesting fruit fly Tephritis conura Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) forms host races on the melancholy thistle, Cirsium hetewphyllum (L.) Hill (Asterales: Asteraceae) and the cabbage thistle, Cirsium olemceum (L.). Scop. Previous research indicates that the host shift occurred from C. hetewphyllum to C. oleraceum. In this paper we address whether the host shift involved physiological adaptations by studying oviposition acceptance and survival of the two host races on the derived host C. oleraceum. Performance differed significantly between host races. T. conura originating from C. oleraceum produced adults in 75% of all egg-laying trials in contrast to only 6.6% in T. conura origin…
Whole-genome analysis reveals contrasting relationships among nuclear and mitochondrial genomes between three sympatric bat species
2023
Understanding mechanisms involved in speciation can be challenging, especially when hybridization or introgression blurs species boundaries. In bats resolving relationships of some closely related groups has proven difficult due subtle interspecific variation both in morphometrics and molecular datasets. The endemic South American Histiotus bats, currently considered a sub-genus of Eptesicus, harbor unresolved phylogenetic relationships and of those is a trio consisting of two closely related species: Eptesicus (Histiotus) macrotus and E. (H.) montanus, and their relationship with a third, E. (H.) magellanicus. The three sympatric species bear marked resemblance to each other, but can be di…
The behavior of Rare-Earth Elements, Zr and Hf during biologically-mediated deposition of silica-stromatolites and carbonate-rich microbial mats
2015
Abstract Venere Lake, in the Pantelleria Island thermal system (Central Mediterranean Sea) consists of a mix of seawater and hydrothermal volcanic fluids containing high levels of dissolved SiO 2 . Close to the lake's thermal springs, siliceous stromatolites are deposed under high bacterial activity conditions whereas roughly interlaminated Ca-carbonates and microbial mats are widely scattered in the lake. The dissolved REE speciation in lake waters is dominated by [REE(CO 3 ) 2 ] − , [REE(CO 3 )] + and [REE(H 3 SiO 4 )] 2 + complexes. On the contrary the most abundant Zr and Hf species are hydroxyl- and fluoride-complexes. The behavior of REE Zr and Hf in the Venere lake waters is controll…
2015
The Indonesian island of Sulawesi harbors a highly endemic and diverse fauna sparking fascination since long before Wallace’s contemplation of biogeographical patterns in the region. Allopatric diversification driven by geological or climatic processes has been identified as the main mechanism shaping present faunal distribution on the island. There is both consensus and conflict among range patterns of terrestrial species pointing to the different effects of vicariant events on once co-distributed taxa. Tarsiers, small nocturnal primates with possible evidence of an Eocene fossil record on the Asian mainland, are at present exclusively found in insular Southeast Asia. Sulawesi is hotspot o…
Equilibrium Studies in Natural Fluids. A Chemical Speciation Model for the Major Constituents of Seawater.
1994
AbstractThe speciation of CI−, OH− and SO42- in synthetic sea water has been studied by Potentiometric measurements (pH-metric and ISE-Na methods) and by literature data analysis, using a well tested complex formation model. Stability constants, together with distribution of hypothesised species in synthetic sea water, as a function of temperature and salinity, are reported. The speciation model proposed in this work is discussed on the basis of chemical and statistical considerations. Comparison with some literature sea water models is given.
Speciation and interactions of plutonium with humic substances and kaolinite in aquifer systems
2007
Abstract The speciation of plutonium (Pu) in contact with humic substances (HS) and kaolinite has been performed in aquifer systems. Mainly the redox behavior, complexation, and sorption of plutonium are discussed here. The redox behavior of Pu(VI) in contact with HS was studied and it was found that Pu(VI) is reduced to Pu(III) and Pu(IV) within a couple of weeks. The complexation constants (log β LC ) of Pu(III) and Pu(IV) with HS have been determined by means of the ultrafiltration method. Furthermore, the sorption of Pu(III) and Pu(IV) onto kaolinite has been investigated as a function of pH by batch experiments under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.