an island endemic forest specialist and a widespread habitat generalist

Background. The bay cat Catopuma badia is endemic to Borneo, whereas its sister species the Asian golden cat Catopuma temminckii is distributed from the Himalayas and southern China through Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Based on morphological data, up to five subspecies of the Asian golden cat have been recognized, but a taxonomic assessment, including molecular data and morphological characters, is still lacking. Results. We combined molecular data (whole mitochondrial genomes), morphological data (pelage) and species distribution projections (up to the Late Pleistocene) to infer how environmental changes may have influenced the distribution of these sister species over the past 120 000 years. The molecular analysis was based on sequenced mitogenomes of 3 bay cats and 40 Asian golden cats derived mainly from archival samples. Our molecular data suggested a time of split between the two species approximately 3.16 Ma and revealed very low nucleotide diversity within the Asian golden cat population, which supports recent expansion of the population. Discussion. The low nucleotide diversity suggested a population bottleneck in the Asian golden cat, possibly caused by the eruption of the Toba volcano in Northern Sumatra (approx. 74 kya), followed by a continuous population expansion in the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene. Species distribution projections, the reconstruction of the demographic history, a genetic isolation-by-distance pattern and a gradual variation of pelage pattern support the hypothesis of a post-Toba population expansion of the Asian golden cat from south China/Indochina to Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Our findings reject the current classification of five subspecies for the Asian golden cat, but instead support either a monotypic species or one comprising two subspecies: (i) the Sunda golden cat, distributed south of the Isthmus of Kra: C. t. temminckii and (ii) Indochinese, Indian, Himalayan and Chinese golden cats, occurring north of the Isthmus: C. t. moormensis

Funktionale 3D-Oberflächenkenngrößen in der Umformtechnik

Zur Beschreibung der tribologischen Eigenschaften von Oberflächen in der Umformtechnik sind zweidimensionale Oberflächenkenngrößen nur bedingt geeignet, so daß neue, funktionale Oberflächenkenngrößen entwickelt werden müssen. Die dreidimensionalen Kenngrößen, die sich aus einer phänomenologischen Betrachtung der Reibvorgänge bei Mischreibung ableiten lassen, sind im wesentlichen der Materialflächenanteil, der geschlossene und der offene Leerflächenanteil. Die für eine Beschreibung einer Oberfläche wesentlichen Kenngrößen sind das Maximum der geschlossenen Leerflächenanteile a clm und das geschlossene Leervolumen Vcl. Mit dem Ziel, an jeder beliebigen Feinblechoberfläche charakteristische und vergleichbare Kennwerte ermitteln zu können, wurde eine Meßvorschrift entwickelt, die gleichzeitig eine Bewertung der Zuverlässigkeit einer einzelnen Messung erlaubt. Ein besonderes Augenmerk wurde auf die Größe der Auswertefläche und die Formabweichung gerichtet. Versuche an unterschiedlichen Modellversuchen der Umformtechnik zeigen den Zusammenhang der Kenngrößen zu den tribologischen Eigenschaften von unterschiedlichen Oberflächen. Das Potential der neuen Kenngrößen in der industriellen Fertigung wird in zwei Versuchsreihen gezeigt. So konnte im Kaltwalzwerk an 61 km Kaltband der Verschleiß der Walzenoberfläche ebenso nachgewiesen werden, wie die Ungleichmäßigkeit der Blechoberfläche über die Breite eines Coils. In einem Preßwerk wurden Versuche mit dem Ziel durchgeführt, Grenzen der Oberflächenkenngrößen zur Spezifikation von Blechoberflächen zu definieren.For the tribological characterization of the topography the common two dimensional surface parameters like Ra or Rz are not very suitable. Thus, the development of new three dimenional surface parameters is essential. The basic parameters, which can be derived from a mechanical-rheological model, are the material area ratio as well as the open and closed void area ratio. The most important parameters are the maximum of the closed void area ratio a clm as well as the closed void volume. Aiming a reliable determination of the surface paramters, a measurement guideline was developed. It is also shown that the influence of the size of the evaluation area as well as the form divergence can be observed. The results from several tribological tests show that there is a correlation between the surface parameters and the tribological properties of the topography. The capability of the surface parameters in industrial application is shown in two different examples. The first one is the use in temper mill rolling. The wear of the rolls in 61 km was shown by the three dimensional surface parameters of cold rolled steel strip. In a press shop, studies were made how to use the surface parameters for the quality control of the steel sheet

Data from: Community- weighted mean plant traits predict small scale distribution of insect root herbivore abundance

Small scale distribution of insect root herbivores may promote plant species diversity by creating patches of different herbivore pressure. However, determinants of small scale distribution of insect root herbivores, and impact of land use intensity on their small scale distribution are largely unknown. We sampled insect root herbivores and measured vegetation parameters and soil water content along transects in grasslands of different management intensity in three regions in Germany. We calculated community-weighted mean plant traits to test whether the functional plant community composition determines the small scale distribution of insect root herbivores. To analyze spatial patterns in plant species and trait composition and insect root herbivore abundance we computed Mantel correlograms. Insect root herbivores mainly comprised click beetle (Coleoptera, Elateridae) larvae (43%) in the investigated grasslands. Total insect root herbivore numbers were positively related to community-weighted mean traits indicating high plant growth rates and biomass (specific leaf area, reproductive- and vegetative plant height), and negatively related to plant traits indicating poor tissue quality (leaf C/N ratio). Generalist Elaterid larvae, when analyzed independently, were also positively related to high plant growth rates and furthermore to root dry mass, but were not related to tissue quality. Insect root herbivore numbers were not related to plant cover, plant species richness and soil water content. Plant species composition and to a lesser extent plant trait composition displayed spatial autocorrelation, which was not influenced by land use intensity. Insect root herbivore abundance was not spatially autocorrelated. We conclude that in semi-natural grasslands with a high share of generalist insect root herbivores, insect root herbivores affiliate with large, fast growing plants, presumably because of availability of high quantities of food. Affiliation of insect root herbivores with large, fast growing plants may counteract dominance of those species, thus promoting plant diversity