Self-organization, scaling and collapse in a coupled automaton model of foragers and vegetation resources with seed dispersal

We introduce a model of traveling agents ({\it e.g.} frugivorous animals) who feed on randomly located vegetation patches and disperse their seeds, thus modifying the spatial distribution of resources in the long term. It is assumed that the survival probability of a seed increases with the distance to the parent patch and decreases with the size of the colonized patch. In turn, the foraging agents use a deterministic strategy with memory, that makes them visit the largest possible patches accessible within minimal travelling distances. The combination of these interactions produce complex spatio-temporal patterns. If the patches have a small initial size, the vegetation total mass (biomass) increases with time and reaches a maximum corresponding to a self-organized critical state with power-law distributed patch sizes and L\'evy-like movement patterns for the foragers. However, this state collapses as the biomass sharply decreases to reach a noisy stationary regime characterized by corrections to scaling. In systems with low plant competition, the efficiency of the foraging rules leads to the formation of heterogeneous vegetation patterns with $1/f^{\alpha}$ frequency spectra, and contributes, rather counter-intuitively, to lower the biomass levels.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Isolation of 91 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the western mediterranean endemic carex helodes (Cyperaceae)

Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for Carex helodes (Cyperaceae), a western Mediterranean endemic that is locally distributed in southern Portugal and southwestern Spain and rare in northern Morocco. Methods and Results: One hundred nine nuclear microsatellite markers were developed using a shotgun pyrosequencing method, resulting in 91 polymorphic and 18 monomorphic loci when tested using 19 individuals sampled from five populations from Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. Loci averaged 3.23 alleles per locus (SD = 1.15). In a single population (Cortelha population, Portugal), the 34 most polymorphic loci showed a mean observed heterozygosity of 0.357 (SD = 0.292) and mean expected heterozygosity of 0.384 (SD = 0.255). Conclusions: Next-generation sequencing allowed us to develop a high number of genetic markers with levels of polymorphism adequate to study gene flow among populations. However, when genotyping the individuals within a population, we found low levels of variation

Parasitoid and ant interactions of some Iberian butterflies (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

As a result of recent field studies in the Iberian Peninsula, interactions between 17 parasitoid taxa and 17 butterfly species, and 9 species of Lycaenidae and 15 species of Formicidae are detailed and discussed. Several of these, which are presented quantitatively, are otherwise unrecorded in the literature, while others confirm previous records. Attention is drawn to the need for the deposition of voucher material and both carefully and prolonged quantitative recording in order to understand and conserve these vulnerable aspects of biodiversit

Gomphocarpus R. Br. (Apocynaceae sufma. Asclepiadoideae) en Andalucía Occidental

Se da a conocer la presencia en Andalucía Occidental de Gomphocarpus physocarpus E. Mey., un neófi to originario del E y S de África. Se comenta la fenología de la fl oración y fructifi cación, así como la capacidad de dispersión de las plantas en las poblaciones naturalizadas, y se comparan con las de G. fruticosus (L.) T.W. Aiton, también presente en el territorio. Se discute el carácter invasor de las tres especies de Asclepiadaceae citadas en el texto.In this article the neophyte Gomphocarpus physocarpus E.Mey., widely distributed in SE Africa, is fi rst cited in western Andalucía (southern Spain). The flowering and fruit ripening phenology and dispersal potential of plants in different naturalized populations are described and compared with that of G. fruticosus (L.) T.W. Aiton also present in this territory. The invasive potential of the three Asclepiadaceae species here considered is also discussed.Fundación MIGRE

Dispersal of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) over southern Spain from its breeding grounds

Dispersión de la mariposa monarca (Danaus plexippus) en el sur de España desde las zonas de apareamiento Durante el período comprendido entre los años 2000 y 2016, se detectaron mariposas monarca en 127 lugares fuera de las zonas costeras donde se reproducen habitualmente en el sur de la península ibérica. Estos datos se obtuvieron en verano e invierno, coincidiendo con la máxima abundancia de individuos y la mayor proporción de sitios ocupados en sus zonas de reproducción cercanas al estrecho de Gibraltar. Los individuos que se dispersan no tienen ninguna posibilidad de establecer nuevas colonias en estos sitios porque las plantas en las que ponen los huevos no crecen en las localidades en las que fueron detectados. Sin embargo, estos movimientos de dispersión podrían ser la causa de la colonización de plantas alimentarias que crecen en otras zonas de la península ibérica y en otros países del Mediterráneo.From 2000–2016, monarch butterflies were detected at 127 locations away from their usual coastal breeding areas in the south of the Iberian peninsula. These findings were recorded in the summer–autumn period, coinciding with the highest abundance of individuals and the highest proportion of patches occupied in their reproduction areas near the Strait of Gibraltar. These dispersing individuals have no chance of successfully establishing new colonies at these sites because the food plants for egg laying do not grow in the localities where they were detected. However, these dispersive movements could be the source of their successful colonisation on food plants growing in other areas of the Iberian peninsula and in other Mediterranean countries.Dispersión de la mariposa monarca (Danaus plexippus) en el sur de España desde las zonas de apareamiento Durante el período comprendido entre los años 2000 y 2016, se detectaron mariposas monarca en 127 lugares fuera de las zonas costeras donde se reproducen habitualmente en el sur de la península ibérica. Estos datos se obtuvieron en verano e invierno, coincidiendo con la máxima abundancia de individuos y la mayor proporción de sitios ocupados en sus zonas de reproducción cercanas al estrecho de Gibraltar. Los individuos que se dispersan no tienen ninguna posibilidad de establecer nuevas colonias en estos sitios porque las plantas en las que ponen los huevos no crecen en las localidades en las que fueron detectados. Sin embargo, estos movimientos de dispersión podrían ser la causa de la colonización de plantas alimentarias que crecen en otras zonas de la península ibérica y en otros países del Mediterráneo

Hahb-4, a homeobox-leucine zipper gene potentially involved in abscisic acid-dependent responses to water stress in sunflower

The nucleotide sequence data reported will appear in the EMBL, GenBank and DDBJ Nucleotide Sequence Databases under the accession numbers AF339748 and AF339749.Homeodomain-leucine zipper proteins constitute a family of transcription factors found only in plants. We have characterized a full-length cDNA encoding the sunflower homeobox-leucine zipper protein Hahb-4 (Helianthus annuus homeo box-4). The complete cDNA is 674 base pairs long and contains an open reading frame of 177 amino acids that belongs to the Hd-Zip I subfamily. Northern blot and RNAse A protection analysis show that the expression of Hahb-4 is rapidly, strongly and reversibly induced by water deficit in whole seedlings, roots, stems and leaves. A similar fast induction of Hahb-4 expression is observed when seedlings are subjected to a treatment with the hormone abscisic acid (ABA). Nuclei prepared from seedlings treated with ABA or subjected to water stress show a significant increase of protein(s) that specifically bind the sequence 5′-CAAT(A/T)ATTG-3′, recognized in vitro by Hahb-4, suggesting that an active protein is synthesized in response to these treatments. The promoter region of the Hahb-4 gene contains sequences that fit the consensus for a G-box present in some ABA responsive elements (ABREs). We propose that Hahb-4 may function in signalling cascade(s) that control(s) a subset of the ABAmediated responses of sunflower to water stress.This work was supported by grants from CONICET, ANPCyT, Fundación Antorchas (Argentina) and Universidad Nacional del Litoral. R.L.C. and D.H.G. are members of CONICET; G.M.G. is a fellow of the same Institution. The laboratory work of J.J. and C.A. was also supported by grants BIO99-794 (from the Spanish Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología) and CVI 148 (from Plan Andaluz de Investigación).Peer reviewe

Procesos de limitación demográfica

Este capítulo ofrece una revisión de los factores que afectan a la regeneración natural de la vegetación, considerando la serie de etapas demográficas que determinan la dinámica de una población. Son muy escasos los estudios disponibles que analizan toda la serie de eventos concatenados entre la producción de flores y frutos y el establecimiento exitoso de una planta adulta reproductiva. También son escasos los trabajos que permiten establecer los efectos aplazados que tienen las interacciones con animales a lo largo del ciclo de regeneración. La aproximación que proponemos cuantifica las pérdidas de propágulos en cada etapa demográfica e identifica “cuellos de botella” del reclutamiento que pueden colapsar la regeneración natural de una especie. Revisamos una serie de casos de estudio que ilustran diversos procesos de limitación demográfica. El uso de técnicas explícitamente demográficas es fundamental para comprender la evolución de las especies forestales Mediterráneas y para diseñar actuaciones de preservación de sus poblaciones y de su extraordinaria diversidad.We review the main factors influencing recruitment limitation in Mediterranean woody species by considering the sequential stages that determine the demographic cycle. Very few studies examine the whole set of demographic stages, from flower production to the successful establishment of adult reproductive plants, and their influence on recruitment. There are also few studies exploring the delayed effects of animal interactions throughout the regeneration cycle, but the information on stage-specific effects is more detailed. We propose an approach that quantifies the propagule losses at each sequential demographic stage and identifies demographic bottlenecks that might collapse population growth. We review a series of case studies illustrating different limitation processes. The use of explicit demographic techniques is central to understand the evolution of Mediterranean woody species and to design sound, ecologically-based, conservation plans to preserve their extraordinary diversity

Cascading Dynamics in Modular Networks

In this paper we study a simple cascading process in a structured heterogeneous population, namely, a network composed of two loosely coupled communities. We demonstrate that under certain conditions the cascading dynamics in such a network has a two--tiered structure that characterizes activity spreading at different rates in the communities. We study the dynamics of the model using both simulations and an analytical approach based on annealed approximation, and obtain good agreement between the two. Our results suggest that network modularity might have implications in various applications, such as epidemiology and viral marketing.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Atlantic frugivory: a plant–frugivore interaction data set for the Atlantic Forest

Non peer reviewe