Habitat modification effects on anuran food webs in the Colombian tropical dry forest

Habitat loss and transformation are major threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but their effects on species interaction are often poorly understood. We evaluated effects of habitat transformation and seasonality on anuran-prey food webs in Colombian dry-forests. We asked whether anthropic transformation (anthropic vs natural) and/or seasonality (dry, minor and major rain seasons) affect predator load on arthropods, the occurrence of energetic bottlenecks, and the diet overlap of anurans. We selected six dry forest sites in the Caribbean of Colombia, sampled anurans, and identified their stomach contents to construct anuran-prey food webs. We show that the global structure of food webs was affected by disturbance and seasonality, but not by their interaction. Prey vulnerability was higher in anthropic habitats. Habitat transformation enhanced diet overlap among predators, but there was not a differential effect of habitat type according to seasonality for network metrics. Our study shows a strong effect of natural vegetation modification in tropical dry forest on anuran-prey food webs, while seasonality did not seem to further mediate these effects

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Abstract:  School-age nutrition is a determining factor in protecting health. The increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) in children is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases from an early age. The objective was to analyze the consumption of nutrients and foods according to their level of processing in schoolchildren aged 9-12 years from Deán Funes, Villa María, and Córdoba during 2016-2018. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out. By locality, based on cluster sampling, state and private schools were selected, and within them, a division by grade (4th to 6th grade) was randomly chosen. Finally, the number of schoolchildren was proportional to the population size: Dean Funes (n=59), Villa María (n=110), Córdoba (n=311). Intake was estimated using a validated dietary questionnaire.  Following the NOVA classification, variables indicating grams and kilocalories from ingredients and minimally processed foods (IMPF), processed foods (PF), and UPF were calculated. In addition, the total energy value (TEV) and the intake of critical nutrients: sodium, added sugars, total and saturated fats were analyzed. T-test was applied to compare IMPF, PF, and UPF consumption by locality and Pearson\u27s correlation test to assess their relationship with the intake of critical nutrients (α=0.05). Stata V14 software was used. The framework project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Municipal Children\u27s Hospital of Córdoba (RePIS Nº052).  The main results showed that UPF contributed an average of 1052.65 kcal (35.39% of TEV). In Córdoba, there was a lower consumption of UPF compared to the other localities (p<0.05) and higher consumption of IMPF (p<0.001). In the PF group, bakery products had the highest contribution to TEV (18.68%), and among the UPF, sugar-sweetened beverages (19.57% of TEV). Positive correlations were observed between UPF intake and TEV, added sugars, sodium, total and saturated fats (p<0.001). The consumption of UPF triples their recommended intake. The need for a comprehensive approach to school meals that contributes to health promotion and the prevention of chronic diseases is evident. Resumen:  La alimentación en edad escolar es determinante para proteger la salud. El creciente consumo de alimentos ultraprocesados (AUP) en niños/as se asocia a mayor riesgo de enfermedades crónicas desde edades tempranas. El objetivo fue analizar el consumo de nutrientes y alimentos según su grado de procesamiento  en escolares de 9-12 años de las localidades Deán Funes, Villa María y Córdoba durante 2016-2018. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, de corte transversal. Por localidad, a partir de un muestreo por conglomerados, se seleccionaron escuelas estatales y privadas, y dentro de ellas aleatoriamente una división por grado (4°a 6°). Finalmente, la cantidad de escolares fue proporcional al tamaño poblacional: Dean Funes (n=59), Villa María (n=110), Córdoba (n=311). La ingesta se evaluó utilizando un cuestionario de alimentación validado. Siguiendo la clasificación NOVA, se construyeron variables que indican gramos y kilocalorías provenientes de alimentos e ingredientes mínimamente procesados (AIMP), alimentos procesados (AP) y AUP. Además se analizó el valor energético total (VET) y el consumo de nutrientes críticos: sodio, azúcares agregados, grasas totales y saturadas. Se aplicó el test T para comparar consumos por localidad de AIMP, AP y AUP y test de correlación de Pearson para valorar su relación con la ingesta de nutrientes críticos (α=0,05). Se utilizó el software Stata V14. El proyecto marco fue aprobado por el Comité de Ética del Hospital Infantil Municipal de Córdoba (RePIS Nº052). Los principales resultados mostraron que los AUP aportaron en promedio 1052,65 kcal (35,39% del VET). En Córdoba hubo menor consumo de AUP respecto a las otras localidades (p<0,05) y mayor consumo de AMP (p<0,001). Entre los AP los panificados presentaron el mayor aporte al VET (18,68%), y entre los AUP las bebidas azucaradas (19,57% del VET). Se observaron correlaciones positivas entre la ingesta de AUP y el VET, azúcares agregados, sodio, grasas totales y saturadas (p<0,001).  La ingesta de AUP triplica sus recomendaciones de consumo. Se evidencia la necesidad del abordaje integral de la alimentación escolar que contribuya a la prevención de enfermedades crónicas y la promoción de la salud

Global Spore Sampling Project: A global, standardized dataset of airborne fungal DNA

Novel methods for sampling and characterizing biodiversity hold great promise for re-evaluating patterns of life across the planet. The sampling of airborne spores with a cyclone sampler, and the sequencing of their DNA, have been suggested as an efficient and well-calibrated tool for surveying fungal diversity across various environments. Here we present data originating from the Global Spore Sampling Project, comprising 2,768 samples collected during two years at 47 outdoor locations across the world. Each sample represents fungal DNA extracted from 24 m3 of air. We applied a conservative bioinformatics pipeline that filtered out sequences that did not show strong evidence of representing a fungal species. The pipeline yielded 27,954 species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Each OTU is accompanied by a probabilistic taxonomic classification, validated through comparison with expert evaluations. To examine the potential of the data for ecological analyses, we partitioned the variation in species distributions into spatial and seasonal components, showing a strong effect of the annual mean temperature on community composition.publishedVersio

The Effects of Aphid Traits on Parasitoid Host Use and Specialist Advantage

Specialization is a central concept in ecology and one of the fundamental properties of parasitoids. Highly specialized parasitoids tend to be more efficient in host-use compared to generalized parasitoids, presumably owing to the trade-off between host range and hostuse efficiency. However, it remains unknown how parasitoid host specificity and host-use depends on host traits related to susceptibility to parasitoid attack. To address this question, we used data from a 13-year survey of interactions among 142 aphid and 75 parasitoid species in nine European countries. We found that only aphid traits related to local resource characteristics seem to influence the trade-off between host-range and efficiency: more specialized parasitoids had an apparent advantage (higher abundance on shared hosts) on aphids with sparse colonies, ant-attendance and without concealment, and this was more evident when host relatedness was included in calculation of parasitoid specificity. More traits influenced average assemblage specialization, which was highest in aphids that are monophagous, monoecious, large, highly mobile (easily drop from a plant), without myrmecophily, habitat specialists, inhabit non-agricultural habitats and have sparse colonies. Differences in aphid wax production did not influence parasitoid host specificity and host-use. Our study is the first step in identifying host traits important for aphid parasitoid host specificity and host-use and improves our understanding of bottom-up effects of aphid traits on aphid-parasitoid food web structure

Species-Area Relationships Are Controlled by Species Traits

The species-area relationship (SAR) is one of the most thoroughly investigated empirical relationships in ecology. Two theories have been proposed to explain SARs: classical island biogeography theory and niche theory. Classical island biogeography theory considers the processes of persistence, extinction, and colonization, whereas niche theory focuses on species requirements, such as habitat and resource use. Recent studies have called for the unification of these two theories to better explain the underlying mechanisms that generates SARs. In this context, species traits that can be related to each theory seem promising. Here we analyzed the SARs of butterfly and moth assemblages on islands differing in size and isolation. We tested whether species traits modify the SAR and the response to isolation. In addition to the expected overall effects on the area, traits related to each of the two theories increased the model fit, from 69% up to 90%. Steeper slopes have been shown to have a particularly higher sensitivity to area, which was indicated by species with restricted range (slope  = 0.82), narrow dietary niche (slope  = 0.59), low abundance (slope  = 0.52), and low reproductive potential (slope  = 0.51). We concluded that considering species traits by analyzing SARs yields considerable potential for unifying island biogeography theory and niche theory, and that the systematic and predictable effects observed when considering traits can help to guide conservation and management actions

Airborne DNA reveals predictable spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi.

Fungi are among the most diverse and ecologically important kingdoms in life. However, the distributional ranges of fungi remain largely unknown as do the ecological mechanisms that shape their distributions1,2. To provide an integrated view of the spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi, we implemented a globally distributed standardized aerial sampling of fungal spores3. The vast majority of operational taxonomic units were detected within only one climatic zone, and the spatiotemporal patterns of species richness and community composition were mostly explained by annual mean air temperature. Tropical regions hosted the highest fungal diversity except for lichenized, ericoid mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi, which reached their peak diversity in temperate regions. The sensitivity in climatic responses was associated with phylogenetic relatedness, suggesting that large-scale distributions of some fungal groups are partially constrained by their ancestral niche. There was a strong phylogenetic signal in seasonal sensitivity, suggesting that some groups of fungi have retained their ancestral trait of sporulating for only a short period. Overall, our results show that the hyperdiverse kingdom of fungi follows globally highly predictable spatial and temporal dynamics, with seasonality in both species richness and community composition increasing with latitude. Our study reports patterns resembling those described for other major groups of organisms, thus making a major contribution to the long-standing debate on whether organisms with a microbial lifestyle follow the global biodiversity paradigms known for macroorganisms4,5

Airborne DNA reveals predictable spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi

Fungi are among the most diverse and ecologically important kingdoms in life. However, the distributional ranges of fungi remain largely unknown as do the ecological mechanisms that shape their distributions. To provide an integrated view of the spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi, we implemented a globally distributed standardized aerial sampling of fungal spores. The vast majority of operational taxonomic units were detected within only one climatic zone, and the spatiotemporal patterns of species richness and community composition were mostly explained by annual mean air temperature. Tropical regions hosted the highest fungal diversity except for lichenized, ericoid mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi, which reached their peak diversity in temperate regions. The sensitivity in climatic responses was associated with phylogenetic relatedness, suggesting that large-scale distributions of some fungal groups are partially constrained by their ancestral niche. There was a strong phylogenetic signal in seasonal sensitivity, suggesting that some groups of fungi have retained their ancestral trait of sporulating for only a short period. Overall, our results show that the hyperdiverse kingdom of fungi follows globally highly predictable spatial and temporal dynamics, with seasonality in both species richness and community composition increasing with latitude. Our study reports patterns resembling those described for other major groups of organisms, thus making a major contribution to the long-standing debate on whether organisms with a microbial lifestyle follow the global biodiversity paradigms known for macroorganisms

Aspectos generales de la biología de Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) y situación actual de la Varroosis en la provincia de Santa Fe

La apicultura se ha convertido en los últimos años en una alternativa de producción a nivel regional. La Varroosis, enfermedad causada por el ácaro Varroa destructor (Anderson & Trueman) constituye la principal causa de pérdida de colmenas en la provincia de Santa Fe. Este ectoparásito afecta a las abejas melíferas (Apis mellifera L.) dañándolas directa e indirectamente, actuando como vector de otros patógenos dentro de la colonia. La gran capacidad de adaptación a su hospedador sumada a prácticas inadecuadas de manejo de las colmenas convirtió a la Varroosis en la principal amenaza para la actividad apícola. Este resumen es una descripción profunda de la parasitosis, destacando su relevancia sanitaria y productiva. Se aborda, particularmente, el ciclo reproductivo de Varroa, la relación parásito-hospedador, los factores que afectan su dinámica poblacional y las estrategias de control que se emplean en la actualidad.Fil: Giacobino, Agostina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; ArgentinaFil: Bulacio Cagnolo, Natalia Verónica. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; ArgentinaFil: Merke, Julieta. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; ArgentinaFil: Orellano, Emanuel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; ArgentinaFil: Signorini Porchietto, Marcelo Lisandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; ArgentinaFil: Salto, Cesar. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Santa Fe. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela; Argentin