Asianidia Zachvatkin (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) associated with the laurisilva forest of Madeira island: species phenology and hostplant preferences

Im Rahmen einer Untersuchung zur Zikadenfauna von Lorbeerwäldern auf Madeira wurden fünf Arten der Gattung Asianidia Zachvatkin nachgewiesen: A. albula, A. decolor, A. insulana, A. chrysanthemi und A. melliferae. In Summe wurden 513 Individuen gesammelt. Die Häufigste Art war Asianidia decolor (47%), gefolgt von A. albula (36%) und A. insulana (16%). A. chrysanthemi und A. melliferae wurden nur in geringer Zahl gefangen. Die Hauptaktivität der Arten ist im Frühjahr und Sommer, A. albula und A. decolor zeigten ein weiteres Abundanzmaximum im November. Asianidia chrysanthemi und A. melliferae sind monophag, die anderen drei Arten oligo- bis polyphag. Im Rahmen dieser Studie konnten neue Nährpflanzenassoziationen zwischen Asianidia-Arten und Pflanzenarten der Lorbeerwälder Madeiras gefunden werden. Die Nährpflanzenspektren der nahe verwandten Arten A. albula und A. decolor zeigten große Ähnlichkeiten, während die systematisch weiter entferne Art A. insulana andere Nährpflanzen nützt. Möglicherweise spielte die unterschiedliche Nahrungspräferenz eine entscheidende Rolle inArtbildungsprozesen der Gattung Asianidia auf Madeira.Five Asianidia Zachvatkin species (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) - A. albula, A. decolor, A. insulana, A. chrysanthemi and A. melliferae - were found in a survey of the leafhoppers associated with a patch of the laurel forest in Madeira island. A total of 513 specimens were collected as a result of a twoyear study. Asianidia decolor was the most abundant species (47%), followed by A. albula (36%) and A. insulana (16%). A. chrysanthemi and A. melliferae were scarcely found. These leafhoppers proved to be active mostly during spring and summer, but A. albula and A. decolor also showed a peak of abundance during November. The Asianidia species showed considerable variation in host-plant preferences, being some of them monophagous (A. chrysanthemi and A. melliferae), while others are oligophagous or even have a wide range of hostplants (A. albula, A. decolor and A. insulana). During this study new associations were found between these leafhoppers and plants of the Madeiran laurisilva. The host-plant spectra of the closely related Asianidia albula and A. decolor showed considerable overlap. On the contrary, A. insulana, a species of a different lineage, had different host-plants. It is possible that differences in the preference for host-plants might have played a key role in the diversification of Asianidia in the Madeiran laurisilva

Widespread population of invasive ferrets Mustela furo (Carnivora: Mustelidae) on the island of Madeira, Macaronesia

Invasive mammalian predators are arguably the most damaging group of alien animals for global biodiversity and their impacts are particularly damaging in endemic-rich insular ecosystems. Ferrets (Mustela furo) are well-known for their potential to establish self-sustaining feral populations. Yet, knowledge about their distribution and trophic interactions is scarce. Here, we provide ample evidence of a well-established and widespread population of ferrets on the subtropical island of Madeira (Portugal). Ferrets are using natural and human-dominated habitats, where they are preying on both native (e.g., Cory’s shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) and the endemic and IUCN Endangered Zino’s petrel (Pterodroma madeira)) and non-native vertebrates

Stone-stacking as a looming threat to rock-dwelling biodiversity

Non peer reviewe

Global spatial ecology of three closely-related gadfly petrels

The conservation status and taxonomy of the three gadfly petrels that breed in Macaronesia is still discussed partly due to the scarce information on their spatial ecology. Using geolocator and capture-mark-recapture data, we examined phenology, natal philopatry and breeding-site fidelity, year-round distribution, habitat usage and at-sea activity of the three closely-related gadfly petrels that breed in Macaronesia: Zino's petrel Pterodroma madeira, Desertas petrel P. deserta and Cape Verde petrel P. feae. All P. feae remained around the breeding area during their non-breeding season, whereas P. madeira and P. deserta dispersed far from their colony, migrating either to the Cape Verde region, further south to equatorial waters in the central Atlantic, or to the Brazil Current. The three taxa displayed a clear allochrony in timing of breeding. Habitat modelling and at-sea activity patterns highlighted similar environmental preferences and foraging behaviours of the three taxa. Finally, no chick or adult was recaptured away from its natal site and survival estimates were relatively high at all study sites, indicating strong philopatry and breeding-site fidelity for the three taxa. The combination of high philopatry, marked breeding asynchrony and substantial spatio-temporal segregation of their year-round distribution suggest very limited gene flow among the three taxa

White-faced storm-petrels Pelagodroma marina predated by gulls as biological monitors of plastic pollution in the pelagic subtropical northeast atlantic

Marine plastic pollution is rapidly growing and is a source of major concern. Seabirds often ingest plastic debris and are increasingly used as biological monitors of plastic pollution. However, virtually no studies have assessed plastics in seabirds in the deep subtropical North Atlantic. We investigated whether remains of white-faced storm-petrels (WFSP) present in gull pellets could be used for biomonitoring. We analysed 263 pellets and 79.0% of these contained plastic debris originating in the digestive tract of WFSP. Pellets with no bird prey did not contain plastics. Most debris were fragments (83.6%) with fewer plastic pellets (8.2%). Light-coloured plastics predominated (71.0%) and the most frequent polymer was HDPE (73.0%). Stable isotopes in toe-nails of WFSP containing many versus no plastics did not differ, indicating no individual specialisation leading to differential plastic ingestion. We suggest WFSP in pellets are highly suitable to monitor the little known pelagic subtropical Northeast Atlantic.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

A provisional checklist of the Rove Beetles of Madeira Island (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae)

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Phylogenetic relationships of gadfly petrels Pterodroma spp. from the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean: molecular evidence for specific status of Bugio and Cape Verde petrels and implications for conservation

It is widely accepted that the gadfly petrels of the Macaronesian islands comprise three closely related and morphologically similar taxa, Petrodroma madeira from Madeira island, P. deserta (also treated as P. feae deserta) from Bugio and P. feae (also treated as P. feae feae) from Cape Verde Islands. However, the taxonomic rank of each taxon is not well defined, and has been subject to a long debate. Partial sequences of cytochrome b (893 bp) from 39 individuals (five from Madeira, 18 from nearby Bugio, and 16 from Fogo) and morphometric data from five characters from 102 individuals (74 from Bugio and 28 from Fogo in Cape Verde), were used to compare and estimate phylogenetic relationships and the taxonomic status of these petrels. In the phylogenetic analysis and sequence divergence estimation, we also include 23 sequences of 19 Pterodroma species available from GenBank. Our results show that Macaronesian gadfly petrels form a monophyletic clade. Birds from Bugio and Cape Verde are the most closely related taxa followed by those from Madeira. The group formed by the three taxa studied is closely related to Bermuda Petrel P. cahow and Black-capped Petrel P. hasitata. A hypothesis for the colonization of the islands is presented. The level of sequence divergence is sufficient to consider the populations of Bugio and Cape Verde as separate species. Reproductive isolation is supported by exclusive haplotypes and fixed changes. Despite the presence of some significant differences in bill and tarsus measurements, the two species seem to be morphologically similar because the great overlap of variation intervals in the measurements hinders identification. It therefore appears suitable for consideration as a cryptic species. An important conservation implication is that the world population of both species is very small; if treated as a full species, deserta on Bugio may qualify for uplisting to ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Invasive Argentine ants prey on Bulwer’s petrels nestlings on the desertas islands (Madeira) but do not depress seabird breeding success

Invasive ants have the potential to cause severe impacts on the structure and composition of native invertebrate communities and interfere with the natural processes of pollination and seed dispersal. Less frequently reported, direct and indirect impacts on vertebrates, namely birds, are also known to occur. The Argentine ant Linepithema humile is one of the worst invasive species worldwide, and is responsible for economic and ecological impacts in Madeira since its introduction. Previous reports indicated that Argentine ants may be a frequent predator of nestlings on the Desertas Islands which harbour internationally important seabird colonies. Here, we provide a survey of the records of bird predation by Argentine ants in the Desertas. Furthermore, we also assessed if these invasive ants affected the most abundant crevice-nesting seabird on Deserta Grande, the Bulwer’s petrel Bulweria bulwerii, by nest monitoring in the years of 2014–2016. We found that breeding success varied annually between 0.56 and 0.63 chicks produced per nesting attempt. Ant predation of chicks was observed in only two out of 294 study nests. Furthermore, no relationship was found between local abundance of Argentine ants and breeding success of Bulwer’s petrels. We conclude that Argentine ants do not seem to pose a major threat to nesting petrels on the Desertas, although we acknowledge the possibility that environmental changes and episodic population explosions of this invasive species may lead to a greater impact on seabirds’ reproductive success.European Regional Development Fund through Program LIFE Recover Natura; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Global spatial ecology of three closely-related gadfly petrels

The conservation status and taxonomy of the three gadfly petrels that breed in Macaronesia is still discussed partly due to the scarce information on their spatial ecology. Using geolocator and capture-mark-recapture data, we examined phenology, natal philopatry and breeding-site fidelity, year-round distribution, habitat usage and at-sea activity of the three closely-related gadfly petrels that breed in Macaronesia: Zino's petrel Pterodroma madeira, Desertas petrel P. deserta and Cape Verde petrel P. feae. All P. feae remained around the breeding area during their non-breeding season, whereas P. madeira and P. deserta dispersed far from their colony, migrating either to the Cape Verde region, further south to equatorial waters in the central Atlantic, or to the Brazil Current. The three taxa displayed a clear allochrony in timing of breeding. Habitat modelling and at-sea activity patterns highlighted similar environmental preferences and foraging behaviours of the three taxa. Finally, no chick or adult was recaptured away from its natal site and survival estimates were relatively high at all study sites, indicating strong philopatry and breeding-site fidelity for the three taxa. The combination of high philopatry, marked breeding asynchrony and substantial spatio-temporal segregation of their year-round distribution suggest very limited gene flow among the three taxa