The mature larva of Gonioctena variabilis (Olivier, 1790) Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Chrysomelinae) and key to the larvae of the subgenus Spartoxena

Mature larva of Gonioctena (Spartoxena) variabilis (Olivier, 1790) is described and illustrated for the fi rst time, based on specimens collected on Genista scorpius (L.) DC. [Fabaceae] in central Spain. A key to known larvae of the subgenus Spartoxena is provided, and the diagnostic characters are illustrated. Diagnostic characters for the identifi cation of species within the subgenus Spartoxena Motschulsky, 1860 are number of dorsal tubercles of abdominal segments, shape of tarsal claw, shape of labrum and disposition of microtrichia of epipharynx. Notes on the distribution and host plant of G. variabilis are included.S

Spatial and environmental correlates of species richness and turnover patterns in European cryptocephaline and chrysomeline beetles

Despite some general concordant patterns (i.e. the latitudinal richness gradient), species richness and composition of different European beetle taxa varies in different ways according to their dispersal and ecological traits. Here, the patterns of variation in species richness, composition and spatial turnover are analysed in European cryptocephaline and chrysomeline leaf beetles, assessing their environmental and spatial correlates. The underlying rationale to use environmental and spatial variables of diversity patterns is to assess the relative support for niche- and dispersal-driven hypotheses. Our results show that despite a broad congruence in the factors correlated with cryptocephaline and chrysomeline richness, environmental variables (particularly temperature) were more relevant in cryptocephalines, whereas spatial variables were more relevant in chrysomelines (that showed a significant longitudinal gradient besides the latitudinal one), in line with the higher proportion of flightless species within chrysomelines. The variation in species composition was also related to environmental and spatial factors, but this pattern was better predicted by spatial variables in both groups, suggesting that species composition is more linked to dispersal and historical contingencies than species richness, which would be more controlled by environmental limitations. Among historical factors, Pleistocene glaciations appear as the most plausible explanation for the steeper decay in assemblage similarity with spatial distance, both in cryptocephalines and chrysomelinesThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and the European Regional Development Fund (2007–2013) through grant CGL2013-43350-PS

Assessing the equilibrium between assemblage composition and climate: A directional distance-decay approach

1. The variation of assemblage composition in space is characterised by the decrease in assemblage similarity with spatial distance. Climatic constraint and dispersal limitation are major drivers of distance-decay of similarity. Distance-decay of similarity is usually conceptualised and modelled as an isotropic pattern, that is, assuming that similarity decays with the same rate in all directions. 2. Because climatic gradients are markedly anisotropic, that is, they have different strength in different directions, if species distributions were in equilibrium with climate, the decay of assemblage similarity should be anisotropic in the same direction as the climatic gradient, that is, faster turnover in the direction that maximises the climatic gradient. Thus, deviations from equilibrium between assemblage composition and climatic conditions would result in differences in anisotropy between distance-decay of similarity and climatic gradients. 3. We assessed anisotropy in distance-decay patterns in marine plankton assemblages, terrestrial vertebrates and European beetles, using two procedures: (a) measuring the correlation between the residuals of a distance-decay model and the angle in which pairs of sites are separated and (b) computing two separate distance-decay models for each dataset, one using only pairwise cases that are separated on North-South direction and another one using pairwise cases separated on East-West direction. We also analysed whether the degree of anisotropy in distance-decay is related to dispersal ability (proportion of wingless species and body size) and ecological niche characteristics (main habitat and trophic position) by assessing these relationships among beetle taxonomic groups (n = 21). 4. Anisotropy varied markedly across realms and biological groups. Despite climatic gradients being steeper in North-South direction than in East-West direction in all datasets, North-South distance-decays tended to be steeper than East-West distance-decays in plankton and most vertebrate assemblages, but flatter in European amphibians and most beetle groups. 5. Anisotropy also markedly varied across beetle groups depending on their dispersal ability, as the proportion of wingless species explained 60% of the variance in the difference between North-South and East-West distance-decay slopesThis research was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through grant CGL2016-76637-PS

Rare failures of DNA bar codes to separate morphologically distinct species in a biodiversity survey of Iberian leaf beetles

During a survey of genetic and species diversity patterns of leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) assemblages across the Iberian Peninsula we found a broad congruence between morphologically delimited species and variation in the cytochrome oxidase (cox1) gene. However, one species pair each in the genera Longitarsus Berthold and Pachybrachis Chevrolat was inseparable using molecular methods, whereas diagnostic morphological characters (including male or female genitalia) unequivocally separated the named species. Parsimony haplotype networks and maximum likelihood trees built from cox1 showed high genetic structure within each species pair, but no correlation with the morphological types and neither with geographic distributions. This contrasted with all analysed congeneric species, which were recovered as monophyletic. A limited number of specimens were sequenced for the nuclear 18S rRNA gene, which showed no or very limited variation within the species pair and no separation of morphological types. These results suggest that processes of lineage sorting for either group are lagging behind the clear morphological and presumably reproductive separation. In the Iberian chrysomelids, incongruence between DNA-based and morphological delimitations is a rare exception, but the discovery of these species pairs may be useful as an evolutionary model for studying the process of speciation in this ecological and geographical setting. In addition, the study of biodiversity patterns based on DNA requires an evolutionary understanding of these incongruences and their potential causes.AB was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant CGL2009-10111). CGR is funded by the Xunta de Galicia(postdoctoral fellowship POS-A/2012/052)S

Assessing the nonlinear decay of community similarity: permutation and site-block resampling significance tests

Modelling how community similarity decays with spatial distance is a key tool for the study of the processes behind community variation (beta diversity). Distance-decay models are computed from pairwise metrics (i.e. community similarity and spatial distance between localities) and hence suffer from pairwise dependence in the data, precluding the use of standard significance tests. Besides, distance-decay patterns are inherently nonlinear because similarity is bounded between 1 and 0. However, the only standard method to assess model significance under pairwise dependency is the Mantel test, which considers a linear model. To allow the use of nonlinear models in the assessment of distance-decay patterns, we introduce here a nonlinear significance test combining a pseudo-R2 statistic with either permutations or block-site resampling with replacementWe thank Xavier Picó, Christine Meynard, Simone Fattorini and two anonymous reviewers for insightful comments and suggestions to earlier versions of the manuscript. This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through grants CGL2016-76637-P and PID2020-112935GB-I00, PID2020-116587GB-I00 and a FPI scholarship to S.M.-S (BES-2017-081643). R.M.D. was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education through a FPU scholarship (Ref.: FPU17/03016; Ministry of Education)S

Joint analysis of species and genetic variation to quantify the role of dispersal and environmental constraints in community turnover

Spatial turnover of biological communities is determined by both dispersal and environmental constraints. However, we lack quantitative predictions about how these factors interact and influence turnover across genealogical scales. In this study, we have implemented a predictive framework based on approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) to quantify the signature of dispersal and environmental constraints in community turnover. First, we simulated the distribution of haplotypes, intra‐specific lineages and species in biological communities under different strengths of dispersal and environmental constraints. Our simulations show that spatial turnover rate is invariant across genealogical scales when dispersal limitation determines the species ranges. However, when environmental constraint limits species ranges, spatial turnover rates vary across genealogical scales. These simulations were used in an ABC framework to quantify the role of dispersal and environmental constraints in 16 empirical biological communities sampled from local to continental scales, including several groups of insects (both aquatic and terrestrial), molluscs and bats. In seven datasets, the observed genealogical invariance of spatial turnover, assessed with distance–decay curves, suggests a dispersal‐limited scenario. In the remaining datasets, the variance in distance–decay curves across genealogical scales was best explained by various combinations of dispersal and environmental constraints. Our study illustrates how modelling spatial turnover at multiple genealogical scales (species and intraspecific lineages) provides relevant insights into the relative role of dispersal and environmental constraints in community turnover.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. CGL2016-76637-PAgencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2020-112935GB-I00Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PGC2018- 099363-B-I00Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. RYC-2015-18241Xunta de Galici

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe

Measurement of prompt open-charm production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The production cross sections for prompt open-charm mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV are reported. The measurement is performed using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 29 nb(-1). The differential production cross sections of the D*(+/-), D-+/-, and D-0 ((D) over bar (0)) mesons are presented in ranges of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity 4 < p(T) < 100 GeV and vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1, respectively. The results are compared to several theoretical calculations and to previous measurements.Peer reviewe

Measurement of B-c(2S)(+) and B-c*(2S)(+) cross section ratios in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Development and validation of HERWIG 7 tunes from CMS underlying-event measurements

This paper presents new sets of parameters (“tunes”) for the underlying-event model of the HERWIG7 event generator. These parameters control the description of multiple-parton interactions (MPI) and colour reconnection in HERWIG7, and are obtained from a fit to minimum-bias data collected by the CMS experiment at s=0.9, 7, and 13Te. The tunes are based on the NNPDF 3.1 next-to-next-to-leading-order parton distribution function (PDF) set for the parton shower, and either a leading-order or next-to-next-to-leading-order PDF set for the simulation of MPI and the beam remnants. Predictions utilizing the tunes are produced for event shape observables in electron-positron collisions, and for minimum-bias, inclusive jet, top quark pair, and Z and W boson events in proton-proton collisions, and are compared with data. Each of the new tunes describes the data at a reasonable level, and the tunes using a leading-order PDF for the simulation of MPI provide the best description of the dat