Two Colors, One Species: The Case of Melissodes nigroaenea (Apidae: Eucerini), an Important Pollinator of Cotton Fields in Brazil

Accurate taxonomic delimitation in ecological research is absolutely critical as studies that seek to evaluate levels of biodiversity and qualify human effects on the environment are rapidly undertaken. Coloration is a widely used morphological character for species identification through dichotomous keys. However, taxonomic identification based upon coloration is often unreliable because this character can exhibit high degree of intraspecific variation. In this study, we use a DNA barcoding approach to investigate the interpretation of two color morphs (yellow or dark) in the eucerine bee Melissodes nigroaenea. Our hypothesis is that if significant genetic divergence exists between each morphotype of M. nigroaenea, coloration reflects two distinct evolutionary lineages within this species, which may require taxonomic revision. Our alternative hypothesis is that, if genetic divergence is low between each morphotype of M. nigroaenea, we can attribute this variation to color polymorphism. Our Bayesian phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that both yellow and black individuals clustered together in a highly supported phylogenetic group. Additionally, pairwise genetic distances between M. nigroaenea color morphotypes were lower than 3%. These results indicate that both mesosome color morphs correspond to intraspecific variability within the same evolutionary unit. Together, our results indicate that mesosome coloration is not a reliable character for taxonomic differentiation of these Melissodes species, and that the incorporation of DNA barcoding approaches to taxonomic classification can help resolve some of the problems that originate while relying on purely morphological taxonomy

Two Colors, One Species: The Case of Melissodes nigroaenea (Apidae: Eucerini), an Important Pollinator of Cotton Fields in Brazil

Accurate taxonomic delimitation in ecological research is absolutely critical as studies that seek to evaluate levels of biodiversity and qualify human effects on the environment are rapidly undertaken. Coloration is a widely used morphological character for species identification through dichotomous keys. However, taxonomic identification based upon coloration is often unreliable because this character can exhibit high degree of intraspecific variation. In this study, we use a DNA barcoding approach to investigate the interpretation of two color morphs (yellow or dark) in the eucerine bee Melissodes nigroaenea. Our hypothesis is that if significant genetic divergence exists between each morphotype of M. nigroaenea, coloration reflects two distinct evolutionary lineages within this species, which may require taxonomic revision. Our alternative hypothesis is that, if genetic divergence is low between each morphotype of M. nigroaenea, we can attribute this variation to color polymorphism. Our Bayesian phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that both yellow and black individuals clustered together in a highly supported phylogenetic group. Additionally, pairwise genetic distances between M. nigroaenea color morphotypes were lower than 3%. These results indicate that both mesosome color morphs correspond to intraspecific variability within the same evolutionary unit. Together, our results indicate that mesosome coloration is not a reliable character for taxonomic differentiation of these Melissodes species, and that the incorporation of DNA barcoding approaches to taxonomic classification can help resolve some of the problems that originate while relying on purely morphological taxonomy

Sex Laws and Sexuality Rights in Comparative and Global Perspectives

This article seeks to explain the emergence of a new field of study oriented toward sex laws and sexuality rights in comparative and global perspectives. We argue that this field comes into focus because of three changes in the social context: the introductions of sexuality into sex, of human rights into national laws, and of global into comparative perspectives. Each turn of the social kaleidoscope generates new objects of and rationales for scholarly analysis, along with new ways and reasons to think about existing objects of analysis. Together, these contextual changes inaugurate the global study of sexuality rights and invigorate the comparative study of sex laws. Theoretical shifts accompany the empirical developments. Phenomenological approaches arise alongside their realist counterparts. The consolidation of this new field of study is important not only on academic grounds: It suggests the dynamics of a wider field of policy and practice. © 2013 by Annual Reviews

Mosquito genomics. Highly evolvable malaria vectors: the genomes of 16 Anopheles mosquitoes.

Variation in vectorial capacity for human malaria among Anopheles mosquito species is determined by many factors, including behavior, immunity, and life history. To investigate the genomic basis of vectorial capacity and explore new avenues for vector control, we sequenced the genomes of 16 anopheline mosquito species from diverse locations spanning ~100 million years of evolution. Comparative analyses show faster rates of gene gain and loss, elevated gene shuffling on the X chromosome, and more intron losses, relative to Drosophila. Some determinants of vectorial capacity, such as chemosensory genes, do not show elevated turnover but instead diversify through protein-sequence changes. This dynamism of anopheline genes and genomes may contribute to their flexible capacity to take advantage of new ecological niches, including adapting to humans as primary hosts

Digital Object Characterization: Document Conversion and Qualiity Assurance

Whether we are migrating document formats to achieve interoperability or ensure long term preservation, we are faced with the issue of assessing the quality of the digital object transformation. However, comparing two digital objects is not straightforward. It raises the issue of properties that are inherent to the digital objects and those that are dependent on the environment in which the objects are created, viewed, and compared to one another. That has implications for devising methods to extract document properties, interpret observed characteristics, and apply similarity metrics. Furthermore, in order to take actions based on collected measurements, we need to define or learn the significance of individual document properties from the perspective of human perception and usage scenarios. We illustrate the complexity of these issues by presenting a method for comparing converted office documents and discussing the challenges from the technical and methodology point of view