Morphospecies and Taxonomic Species Comparison for Hymenoptera

The use of morphospecies as surrogates for taxonomic species has been proposed as an alternative to overcome the identification difficulties associated with many invertebrate studies, such as biodiversity surveys. Hymenoptera specimens were collected by beating and pitfall traps, and were separated into morphospecies by a non-specialist with no prior training, and later identified by an expert taxonomist. The number of Hymenoptera morphospecies and taxonomic species was 37 and 42, respectively, representing an underestimation error of 12%. Different families presented varying levels of difficulty, and although the species estimation provided by the use of morphospecies initially appeared to have a relatively minor error rate, this was actually an artefact. Splitting and lumping errors balanced each other out, wrongly suggesting that morphospecies were reasonable surrogates for taxonomic species in the Hymenoptera. The use of morphospecies should be adopted only for selected target groups, which have been assessed as reliable surrogates for taxonomic species beforehand, and some prior training to the non-specialist is likely to be of primary importance

Decay of interspecific avian flock networks along a disturbance gradient in Amazonia

Our understanding of how anthropogenic habitat change shapes species interactions is in its infancy. This is in large part because analytical approaches such as network theory have only recently been applied to characterize complex community dynamics. Network models are a powerful tool for quantifying how ecological interactions are affected by habitat modification because they provide metrics that quantify community structure and function. Here, we examine how large-scale habitat alteration has affected ecological interactions among mixed-species flocking birds in Amazonian rainforest. These flocks provide a model system for investigating how habitat heterogeneity influences non-trophic interactions and the subsequent social structure of forest-dependent mixed-species bird flocks. We analyse 21 flock interaction networks throughout a mosaic of primary forest, fragments of varying sizes and secondary forest (SF) at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in central Amazonian Brazil. Habitat type had a strong effect on network structure at the levels of both species and flock. Frequency of associations among species, as summarized by weighted degree, declined with increasing levels of forest fragmentation and SF. At the flock level, clustering coefficients and overall attendance positively correlated with mean vegetation height, indicating a strong effect of habitat structure on flock cohesion and stability. Prior research has shown that trophic interactions are often resilient to large-scale changes in habitat structure because species are ecologically redundant. By contrast, our results suggest that behavioural interactions and the structure of non-trophic networks are highly sensitive to environmental change. Thus, a more nuanced, system-by-system approach may be needed when thinking about the resiliency of ecological networks. © 2013 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved

Molecular, morphological and acoustic identification of Eumops maurus and Eumops hansae (Chiroptera: Molossidae) with new reports from Central Amazonia

Eumops maurus and Eumops hansae are rarely captured Neotropical molossid bats for which information on taxonomy, natural history, and spatial distribution are scarce. This translates into a poor understanding of their ecology and limits the delimitation of useful characters for their identification. Here, we describe records of these two molossids from the Central Brazilian Amazon, providing data on their external and craniodental morphology, DNA barcode (COI) sequences complemented by acoustic data for the species. Morphological characters, DNA sequence data and phylogenetic relationships within the genus Eumops were consistent with those previously described for both species. Echolocation call characteristics did not differ significantly so as to be useful for separating E. maurus and E. hansae from other congeners. Our records are, respectively the first and the second for Central Amazonia as one individual previously attributed to Eumops amazonicus from Manaus may be considered a junior synonym for E. hansae. These new records increase the extent of the species’ known ranges, partially filling in previous existing gaps in their distribution in central South America. Our data further suggest that these molossid bats forage in a wider range of habitats than previously thought

Does Waist Indicate Dyslipidemia better than BMI in Korean Adult Population?

Obesity is an independent and modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and known as a core of the metabolic syndrome. Obesity has been largely diagnosed based upon anthrompometric measurements like waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI). We sought to determine associations between anthropometric measurements and dyslipidemia in a community adult sample composed of 1,032 community residents (356 men, 676 women) aged 50 yr and over in Namwon, Korea. Blood tests for lipid profiles, including total cholesterol (TC) and HDL cholesterol (HDL) were performed, and dyslipidemia was defined as TC/HDL greater than 4. Anthropometric measurements included WC, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio, and BMI. All anthropometric measures were categorized into quartiles and evaluated for associations with dyslipidemia. TC/HDL showed the significant associations with the anthropometric measures, independently of potential confounders. In women, increases of obesity indexes by quartile analyses showed linear increases of odds ratios for dyslipidemia (p values <0.01 by trend test). In men, except BMI, same patterns of association were noted. WC and WHtR were significantly associated with dyslipidemia in Korean adult population. As a simple and non-invasive method for a detection of obesity and dyslipidemia, anthropometric measurements could be efficiently used in clinical and epidemiologic fields

Observations of mixed-species bird flocks at Kichwa Tembo Camp, Kenya

Mixed-species foraging flocks were studied at Kichwa Tembo Camp on the edge of the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya between July and September 2004. Observations were made on 29 mixed-species flocks, in which 24 species participated. African Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis, Black-backed Puffback Dryoscopus cubla, Grey-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brachyura, Collared Sunbird Hedydipna collars and Cabanis's Greenbul Phyllastrephus cabanisi were the most common participants in mixed-species flocks, as well as among the most frequently encountered bird species overall. The Black-backed Puffback was identified as the nuclear species in flocks due to their abundance and frequency with which they were followed by other species. Mixed-species flocks represent another niche dimension in this diverse bird community, but few of these species could be described as flock specialists; most of the birds observed in mixed-species flocks in this study were opportunistic attendant species, including the African Pygmy-Kingfisher Ispidina picta, not previously described as joining mixed-species flocks

An Approach to Enhance the Conservation-Compatibility of Solar Energy Development

The rapid pace of climate change poses a major threat to biodiversity. Utility-scale renewable energy development (>1 MW capacity) is a key strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but development of those facilities also can have adverse effects on biodiversity. Here, we examine the synergy between renewable energy generation goals and those for biodiversity conservation in the 13 M ha Mojave Desert of the southwestern USA. We integrated spatial data on biodiversity conservation value, solar energy potential, and land surface slope angle (a key determinant of development feasibility) and found there to be sufficient area to meet renewable energy goals without developing on lands of relatively high conservation value. Indeed, we found nearly 200,000 ha of lower conservation value land below the most restrictive slope angle (<1%); that area could meet the state of California’s current 33% renewable energy goal 1.8 times over. We found over 740,000 ha below the highest slope angle (<5%) – an area that can meet California’s renewable energy goal seven times over. Our analysis also suggests that the supply of high quality habitat on private land may be insufficient to mitigate impacts from future solar projects, so enhancing public land management may need to be considered among the options to offset such impacts. Using the approach presented here, planners could reduce development impacts on areas of higher conservation value, and so reduce trade-offs between converting to a green energy economy and conserving biodiversity

Understory Bird Communities in Amazonian Rainforest Fragments: Species Turnover through 25 Years Post-Isolation in Recovering Landscapes

Inferences about species loss following habitat conversion are typically drawn from short-term surveys, which cannot reconstruct long-term temporal dynamics of extinction and colonization. A long-term view can be critical, however, to determine the stability of communities within fragments. Likewise, landscape dynamics must be considered, as second growth structure and overall forest cover contribute to processes in fragments. Here we examine bird communities in 11 Amazonian rainforest fragments of 1–100 ha, beginning before the fragments were isolated in the 1980s, and continuing through 2007. Using a method that accounts for imperfect detection, we estimated extinction and colonization based on standardized mist-net surveys within discreet time intervals (1–2 preisolation samples and 4–5 post-isolation samples). Between preisolation and 2007, all fragments lost species in an area-dependent fashion, with loss of as few as <10% of preisolation species from 100-ha fragments, but up to 70% in 1-ha fragments. Analysis of individual time intervals revealed that the 2007 result was not due to gradual species loss beginning at isolation; both extinction and colonization occurred in every time interval. In the last two samples, 2000 and 2007, extinction and colonization were approximately balanced. Further, 97 of 101 species netted before isolation were detected in at least one fragment in 2007. Although a small subset of species is extremely vulnerable to fragmentation, and predictably goes extinct in fragments, developing second growth in the matrix around fragments encourages recolonization in our landscapes. Species richness in these fragments now reflects local turnover, not long-term attrition of species. We expect that similar processes could be operating in other fragmented systems that show unexpectedly low extinction

The specific role of relationship life events in the onset of depression during pregnancy and the postpartum

Background The precipitating role of life events in the onset of depression is well-established. The present study sought to examine whether life events hypothesised to be personally salient would be more strongly associated with depression than other life events. In a sample of women making the first transition to parenthood, we hypothesised that negative events related to the partner relationship would be particularly salient and thus more strongly predictive of depression than other events. Methods A community-based sample of 316 first-time mothers stratified by psychosocial risk completed interviews at 32 weeks gestation and 29 weeks postpartum to assess dated occurrence of life events and depression onsets from conception to 29 weeks postpartum. Complete data was available from 273 (86.4%). Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine risk for onset of depression in the 6 months following a relationship event versus other events, after accounting for past history of depression and other potential confounders. Results 52 women (19.0%) experienced an onset of depression between conception and 6 months postpartum. Both relationship events (Hazard Ratio = 2.1, p = .001) and other life events (Hazard Ratio = 1.3, p = .020) were associated with increased risk for depression onset; however, relationship events showed a significantly greater risk for depression than did other life events (p = .044). Conclusions The results are consistent with the hypothesis that personally salient events are more predictive of depression onset than other events. Further, they indicate the clinical significance of events related to the partner relationship during pregnancy and the postpartum

Microclimatic changes and the indirect loss of ant diversity in a tropical agroecosystem

Recent changes in the coffee agroecosystem of Costa Rica were used to study the mechanism of biodiversity loss in transforming agroecosystems, focusing on the ground-foraging ant community. Coffee farms are being transformed from vegetationally diverse shaded agroforestry systems to unshaded coffee monocultures. We tested the hypothesis that the high-light environment and lack of leaf litter cover in the unshaded system are the determinants of the differences in ground-foraging ant diversity. Four treatments were established within the light gaps of a shaded plantation: shade, leaf litter, shade plus leaf litter, and a control (no shade or leaf litter added). Ants were sampled using tuna fish baits and light and temperature were measured. Shade and leaf litter had a significant effect on the ant fauna but probably for indirect reasons having to do with species interactions. In both shade treatments, Solenopsis geminata , the tropical fire ant, decreased significantly while the other species increased. The possibility that the physical factor changes the nature of competitive interactions between the most abundant species is discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47696/1/442_2004_Article_BF00333736.pd