¿Son los endemismos ibéricos realmente ibéricos? El caso de los Coleópteros acuáticos de la familia Dytiscidae (Coleoptera)

The phylogenetic relationships and the geographical origin of 27 of the 34 species and of 3 of the 9 subspecies of Iberian endemic Dytiscidae are studied, based on species level phylogenies constructed with two mitochondrial gene fragments (16S rRNA and Cytochrome Oxidase I). All Iberian endemic species for which more than one specimen was included were monophyletic with the exception of the complex Deronectes aubei sanfilippoi Fery & Brancucci, 1997-D. delarouzei (Jac. Du Val, 1857). The genus Stictotarsus as presently defined is polyphyletic, containing three different lineages: the S. duodecimpustulatus group —including the Iberian endemic S. bertrandi (Legros, 1956)—, Trichonectes otini (Guignot, 1941) (new combination) and the S. griseostriatus and S. roffii groups, which are in need of a new generic name. The genus Oreodytes is found to be paraphyletic, although with low bootstrap support. The species Nebrioporus (Nebrioporus) martinii (Fairmaire, 1858) (new combination) is transferred from the subgenus Zimmermannius to Nebrioporus. The Iberian populations of Stictotarsus griseostriatus (De Geer, 1774) and the endemic subspecies Oreodytes davisii rhianae Carr, 2001, O. sanmarkii alienus (Sharp, 1872) and Hydroporus normandi normandi Régimbart, 1903 do not form well characterised lineages, as measured with the mitochondrial markers used in this study. The Iberian endemic species of Dytiscidae are divided in three groups according to the type of vicariant origin: 1) within-Iberian species, when the sister species (or clade) of the Iberian endemic is also and Iberian endemic; 2) Iberian/European, when the sister occurs in Europe north of the Pyrenees; and 3) Iberian/North African, when the sister occurs in North Africa. Within-Iberian endemics are found to be on average older than Iberian/European and Iberian/North African species, they have more restricted distributions within the Iberian peninsula (they occur typically in only one of the main biogeographical regions), and tend to occur exclusively in running waters. The within-Iberian species are best represented by the “Iberian” clade of the genus Deronectes, formed by six endemic species plus two species with wider distributions. Most species in this group originated in rapid succession in the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene boundary by repeated vicariant events in the three main mountain massifs in the Iberian peninsula: the Pyrenees, the Baetic ranges, and the Sistema Central plus mountain massifs of the NW. On the contrary, most of the Iberian/European species seem to be the recent (Pleistocene) vicariants of a species with a widespread distribution encompassing the Iberian peninsula, at present restricted to south and west of the Ebro valley. The results of these analyses suggest that the Iberian peninsula was an isolated refuge during the Quaternary glaciations, in where allopatric speciation was frequent among some lineages of Dytiscidae diving beetles.Se estudian las relaciones filogenéticas y el origen geográfico de 27 de las 34 especies, y de 3 de las 9 subespecies, de endemismos ibéricos de la la familia Dytiscidae, en base a filogenias de las especies construidas con dos fragmentos de genes mitocondriales (16S rRNA y Citocromo Oxidasa I). Todas las especies ibéricas de las que se pudo estudiar más de un ejemplar son monofiléticas, con la excepción del complejo Deronectes aubei sanfilippoi Fery & Brancucci, 1997-D. delarouzei (Jac. Du Val, 1857). El género Stictotarsus tal y como está definido en la actualidad es polifilético, al estar compuesto de tres linajes distintos: el grupo de S. duodecimpustulatus —que incluye el endemismo ibérico S. bertrandi (Legros, 1956)—, Trichonectes otini (Guignot, 1941) (nueva combinación) y los grupos de S. griseostriatus y S. roffii, que precisan un nuevo nombre genérico. El género Oreodytes es parafilético, aunque con poco soporte de bootstrap. La especie Nebrioporus (Nebrioporus) martinii (Fairmaire, 1858) (nueva combinación) se transfiere del subgénero Zimmermannius a Nebrioporus. Las poblaciones ibéricas de Stictotarsus griseostriatus (De Geer, 1774) y las subespecies endémicas Oreodytes davisii rhianae Carr, 2001, O. sanmarkii alienus (Sharp, 1872) e Hydroporus normandi normandi Régimbart, 1903 no forman linajes bien caracterizados en base a los marcadores mitocondriales utilizados en este estudio. Los endemismos ibéricos de Dytiscidae se dividen en tres grupos en función del tipo de origen vicariante: 1) especies intra-ibéricas, cuando la especie o el clado hermano de un endemismo ibérico es otro endemismo ibérico; 2) íbero-europeas, cuando el grupo hermano se distribuye por Europa al norte de los Pirineos; y 3) íbero-norteafricanas, cuando el grupo hermano se distribuye en el norte de África. Los endemismos intra-ibéricos son en general más antiguos que los íbero-europeos o los íbero-norteafricanos, tienen distribuciones más restringidas (típicamente sólo en una de las principales regiones biogeográficas ibéricas), y tienden a ocupar exclusivamente aguas corrientes. El mejor ejemplo de especies intra-ibéricas lo constituye el clado ibérico del género Deronectes, formado por seis endemismos y dos especies con distribuciones algo más amplias. La mayoría de las especies del grupo se originaron en rápida sucesión en la transición del Mioceno tardío al Plioceno, en una serie de fragmentaciones vicariantes en los tres principales macizos montañosos de la península Ibérica: los Pirineos, las cordilleras Béticas, y el macizo Central más los sistemas del noroeste de la Península. Por el contrario, la mayoría de las especies íbero-europeas parecen ser las vicariantes recientes (del Pleistoceno) de especies con una distribución amplia, y están normalmente restringidas al sur y el oeste del valle del Ebro. Los resultados de este estudio sugieren que la península Ibérica fue un refugio aislado durante las glaciaciones del Cuaternario, en el que la especiación alopátrica en alguno de los linages de coleópteros acuáticos Dytiscidae fue relativamente frecuente

Taxonomic revolutions

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A new microphthalmic stygobitic Graptodytes Seidlitz from Morocco, with a molecular phylogeny of the genus (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae)

14 páginas, 13 figuras, 2 tablas.-- Articulo Open Access.We describe Graptodytes eremitus n.sp. (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae), a depigmented, microphthalmic stygobitic species found in a pool in the deep area of a cave in the High Atlas of Morocco. To establish its phylogenetic position we inferred a molecular phylogeny of the genus Graptodytes Seidlitz, using ca. 1.7 Kb of four mitochondrial genes for 18 of the 23 previously known species and subspecies of the genus. Graptodytes can be separated in three well supported main lineages, 1) the G. flavipes lineage (apex of median lobe narrow in ventral view), 2) the G. granularis lineage (apex of median lobe expanded and strongly asymmetrical in ventral view), and 3) the G. varius lineage (apex of median lobe expanded but symmetrical in ventral view). The G. varius lineage includes the G. aequalis and G. varius groups, the latter including G. eremitus n.sp. as sister to G. delectus Wollaston (Canary Islands) plus the G. varius complex. A molecular clock approach, using a calibration rate of 2.3% divergence/MY for the combined mitochondrial sequence, estimated the origin of the diversification within the genus at ca. 7MY (late Miocene), and the origin of G. eremitus n.sp. at ca. 2 MY (Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary).This work was partly funded with projects CGL2004-00028 and CGL2007-61665 to IR.Peer reviewe

Geographic location and phylogeny are the main determinants of the size of the geographical range in aquatic beetles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Why some species are widespread while others are very restricted geographically is one of the most basic questions in biology, although it remains largely unanswered. This is particularly the case for groups of closely related species, which often display large differences in the size of the geographical range despite sharing many other factors due to their common phylogenetic inheritance. We used ten lineages of aquatic Coleoptera from the western Palearctic to test in a comparative framework a broad set of possible determinants of range size: species' age, differences in ecological tolerance, dispersal ability and geographic location.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When all factors were combined in multiple regression models between 60-98% of the variance was explained by geographic location and phylogenetic signal. Maximum latitudinal and longitudinal limits were positively correlated with range size, with species at the most northern latitudes and eastern longitudes displaying the largest ranges. In lineages with lotic and lentic species, the lentic (better dispersers) display larger distributional ranges than the lotic species (worse dispersers). The size of the geographical range was also positively correlated with the extent of the biomes in which the species is found, but we did not find evidence of a clear relationship between range size and age of the species.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings show that range size of a species is shaped by an interplay of geographic and ecological factors, with a phylogenetic component affecting both of them. The understanding of the factors that determine the size and geographical location of the distributional range of species is fundamental to the study of the origin and assemblage of the current biota. Our results show that for this purpose the most relevant data may be the phylogenetic history of the species and its geographical location.</p

Ochthebius (Enicocerus) aguilerai sp.n. from central Spain, with a molecular phylogeny of the Western Palaearctic species of Enicocerus (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae)

13 páginas, 21 figuras, 2 tablas.-- Articulo Open Access.We describe Ochthebius (Enicocerus) aguilerai sp.n. from central Iberia. The species belongs to the O. exsculptus group, including O. legionensis Hebauer & Valladares, O. halbherri Reitter, O. colveranus Ferro and O. exsculptus Germar. There are few consistent differences in external morphology among species of the group, but characters of the aedeagus allow the unequivocal recognition of the new species. A molecular phylogeny of the European species of subgenus Enicocerus based on fragments of four mitochondrial and two nuclear genes recognised O. aguilerai sp.n. as sister to the remaining species of the O. exsculptus group, which according to molecular clock estimations seems to have an Iberian origin in the Late Miocene (Tortonian). There are two genetically distinct lineages within O. exsculptus, one in South Spain and a second from the Pyrenees to Ireland, but the lack of consistent morphological differences between them, and the incomplete sampling of other Iberian populations of the species, prevents the recognition of distinct taxa.This work was funded with projects CGL2004-00028 and CGL2007-61665 to IR. We finally thank Pedro for the good times spent together.Peer reviewe

A global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space.

The use of functional information in the form of species traits plays an important role in explaining biodiversity patterns and responses to environmental changes. Although relationships between species composition, their traits, and the environment have been extensively studied on a case-by-case basis, results are variable, and it remains unclear how generalizable these relationships are across ecosystems, taxa and spatial scales. To address this gap, we collated 80 datasets from trait-based studies into a global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space; 'CESTES'. Each dataset includes four matrices: species community abundances or presences/absences across multiple sites, species trait information, environmental variables and spatial coordinates of the sampling sites. The CESTES database is a live database: it will be maintained and expanded in the future as new datasets become available. By its harmonized structure, and the diversity of ecosystem types, taxonomic groups, and spatial scales it covers, the CESTES database provides an important opportunity for synthetic trait-based research in community ecology

Use of ultrasonication to increase germination rates of Arabidopsis seeds

Background: Arabidopsis thaliana is widely used as model organism in plant biology. Although not of agronomic significance, it offers important advantages for basic research in genetics and molecular biology including the availability of a large number of mutants and genetically modified lines. However, Arabidopsis seed longevity is limited and seeds stored for more than 10 years usually show a very low capacity for germination. - Results: the influence of ultrasonic stimulation was investigated on the germination of A. thaliana L. seeds. All experiments have been performed using a frequency of 45 kHz at constant temperature (24 °C). No germination rate differences were observed when using freshly collected seeds. However, using artificially deteriorated seeds, our results show that short ultrasonic stimulation (<1 min) significantly increased germination. Ultrasonic stimulation application of 30 s is the optimal treatment. A significant increase in the germination rate was also verified in naturally aged seeds after ultrasonic stimulation. Scanning electron microscopy observations showed an increase in the presence of pores in the seed coat after sonication that may be the cause, at least in part, of the increase in germination. The ultrasound treated seeds developed normally to mature fertile plants. - Conclusions: ultrasound technology can be used to enhance the germination process of old Arabidopsis seeds without negatively affecting seedling development. This effect seems to be, at least in part, due to the opening of pores in the seed coat. The use of ultrasonic stimulation in Arabidopsis seeds may contribute to the recovering of long time stored lines

A Molecular phylogeny of Alpine subterranean <i>Trechini</i> (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Background: The Alpine region harbours one of the most diverse subterranean faunas in the world, with many species showing extreme morphological modifications. The ground beetles of tribe Trechini (Coleoptera, Carabidae) are among the best studied and widespread groups with abundance of troglobionts, but their origin and evolution is largely unknown. Results: We sequenced 3.4 Kb of mitochondrial (cox1, rrnL, trnL, nad1) and nuclear (SSU, LSU) genes of 207 specimens of 173 mostly Alpine species, including examples of all subterranean genera but two plus a representation of epigean taxa. We applied Bayesian methods and maximum likelihood to reconstruct the topology and to estimate divergence times using a priori rates obtained for a related ground beetle genus. We found three main clades of late Eocene-early Oligocene origin: (1) the genus Doderotrechus and relatives; (2) the genus Trechus sensu lato, with most anisotopic subterranean genera, including the Pyrenean lineage and taxa from the Dinaric Alps; and (3) the genus Duvalius sensu lato, diversifying during the late Miocene and including all subterranean isotopic taxa. Most of the subterranean genera had an independent origin and were related to epigean taxa of the same geographical area, but there were three large monophyletic clades of exclusively subterranean species: the Pyrenean lineage, a lineage including subterranean taxa from the eastern Alps and the Dinarides, and the genus Anophthalmus from the northeastern Alps. Many lineages have developed similar phenotypes independently, showing extensive morphological convergence or parallelism. Conclusions: The Alpine Trechini do not form a homogeneous fauna, in contrast with the Pyrenees, and show a complex scenario of multiple colonisations of the subterranean environment at different geological periods and through different processes. Examples go from populations of an epigean widespread species going underground with little morphological modifications to ancient, geographically widespread lineages of exclusively subterranean species likely to have diversified once fully adapted to the subterranean environment

Molecular data supports the inclusion of Ildobates neboti Español in Zuphiini (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Harpalinae)

The phylogenetic relationships of Ildobates neboti Español (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Harpalinae) were investigated based on three nuclear genes (full 18S rRNA, and a fragment of each 28S rRNAand wingless).We compiled a data set using published sequences of 32 members of Harpalinae including one example each of Dryptini (genus Desera), Galeritini (Galerita) and Zuphiini (Thalpius), plus three Brachininae as outgroups. These three tribes form the “Dryptitae”, within which various relationships of Ildobates had been proposed. The analyses of the datamatrix using parsimony (with equally weighted and reweighted characters) and Bayesian posterior probabilities all support the monophyly of the three tribes in “Dryptitae”, as well as a closest relationship of Ildobates with Thalpius to the exclusion of Desera plus Galerita. This confirms the previous inclusion of Ildobates among the Zuphiini, and corroborates current taxonomic classifications based on morphological criteria

chokaijugyo ni okeru autoputto no arikata-gakushushadoshi ga jintekirisosu to natte-

12 páginas, 12 figuras, 1 tabla.The disjunct distribution of supposedly related carabid taxa in different continents highly stimulated the curiosity of carabidologists interested in Biogeography, which resulted in the proposition of a long series of hypotheses and theories. The tribe Pterostichini, one of the most diverse groups in the family Carabidae and with a world wide distribution, has been the object of some recent phylogenetic analyses and classifications, based on both external and genital characters and on molecular data. The main goal of the present contribution is the study, using a molecular approach, of the supposed close relationships between the Euro-Mediterranean taxa attributed to “Pterostichidae Molopini”, and some genera of South Africa, Madagascar, Australia and New Zealand. We studied three representatives of the southern hemisphere “Molopina” sensu Jeannel, 1948, two of “abacomorphic” and “zabromorphic” facies (Eucamptognathus (Heterabax) androyanus and Eucamptognathus (Mimozabrus) cf. oopterus), and one of “carabomorphic” facies (Eudromus striaticollis). For their phylogenetic placement, we used published and newly obtained sequences of Euro-Mediterranean “true” Molopina (genera Abax, Percus, Molops, Tanythrix and Styracoderus), plus other genera of Palaearctic Pterostichini (Pterostichus, Sterocorax, Corax, Poecilus, Astigis). We sequenced eight gene fragments from tissue samples of the ethanol-preserved specimens, six mitochondrial (cox1, nad1, nad5, rrnL, rrnS, tRNA-leu) and two nuclear (SSU, LSU), with a total of 5303 aligned nucleotides. Our preliminary data, exposed in the present contribution, show that the clade “Molopina”, including the genera Molops, Tanythrix (valid genus), Percus and Abax, but excluding Styracoderus, seems to be strongly supported. On the contrary, there is not any evidence to hypothesize that the Madagascan pterostichid beetles are related to the Euro-Mediterranean Molopina, which could be more likely derived from “Angarian” (Asiatic-European) lineages.Zoological researches supported by the Italian Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (MIUR-PRIN 2004057217 “Zoogeography of Mediterranean - Southern African disjunct distributions by a multimethod approach”), and the UE program Interreg Sardinia-Corsica-Tuscany on Biodiversity. Molecular work supported by the project CGL2007-61665/BOS of the Spanish MEC.Peer reviewe