intraspecific geometric morphometric analysis of wings of the blowfly Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Funding Information: Luis Marques is acknowledged for his help with the images and Ana Catarina Fialho for her assistance in the field collection. The authors are grateful to the technical imaging support of Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon's Microscopy Facility which is a node of the Portuguese Platform of BioImaging, reference PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122 , and to FCT/MCTES for financial support to CESAM ( UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020 ), to CIISA by Project UIDB/00276/2020 , to GHTM ( UID/04413/2020 ) and CE3C ( UIBD/00329/2020 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier B.V.Blowflies have forensic, sanitary and veterinary importance, as well as being pollinators, parasitoids and ecological bioindicators. There is still little work with real data and from experiments assessing the relationship between blowflies’ morphologic features and environmental and demographic factors. The present work tests whether the variation, in the shape and size, of Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819) wings is influenced by the following factors: 1) time; 2) temperature; 3) sex and; 4) different types of carcasses (pig, dog/cat and whale). Male and female wings from four different sites collected in six different years were used to obtain wing size and shape of C. albiceps. Analyses between wing shape and the variables tested had low explanatory power, even though they had statistical support. However, it was possible to identify differences in wing shape between males and females, with good returns in sex identification. The comparison between wing size and the variables tested showed that wing size has a negative relationship with temperature, significant differences between sexes, slight variation over time and no influence by carcass types. Furthermore, wing size influenced wing shape. Understanding population-specific characteristics of C. albiceps provide important insights about how the species reacts under specific conditions.publishersversionpublishe

Size does matter: intraspecific geometric morphometric analysis of wings of the blowfly Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Blowflies have forensic, sanitary and veterinary importance, as well as being pollinators, parasitoids and ecological bioindicators. There is still little work with real data and from experiments assessing the relationship between blowflies’ morphologic features and environmental and demographic factors. The present work tests whether the variation, in the shape and size, of Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819) wings is influenced by the following factors: 1) time; 2) temperature; 3) sex and; 4) different types of carcasses (pig, dog/cat and whale). Male and female wings from four different sites collected in six different years were used to obtain wing size and shape of C. albiceps. Analyses between wing shape and the variables tested had low explanatory power, even though they had statistical support. However, it was possible to identify differences in wing shape between males and females, with good returns in sex identification. The comparison between wing size and the variables tested showed that wing size has a negative relationship with temperature, significant differences between sexes, slight variation over time and no influence by carcass types. Furthermore, wing size influenced wing shape. Understanding population-specific characteristics of C. albiceps provide important insights about how the species reacts under specific conditions.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Flora vascular não-arbórea de uma floresta de grota na Serra da Mantiqueira, Zona da Mata de Minas Gerais, Brasil

A região da Serra Negra constitui um importante remanescente de floresta atlântica situado no sul da Zona da Mata mineira, na Serra da Mantiqueira, composta por um mosaico de campos rupestres (nos afloramentos de quartzito) a arbustais nebulares, florestas estacionais semideciduifólias a perenifólias e florestas nebulares, de ambientes inferomontanos a superomontanos ripícolas a interfluviais. A área de estudo é um fragmento de floresta de grota (floresta perenifólia ripícola), de aproximadamente 0,9 ha, situada no Cânion do Ribeirão do Funil, na Vila do Funil, município de Rio Preto, localizada no sul da Serra Negra. O presente trabalho foi realizado entre os anos de 2004 e 2009 e teve como objetivos o conhecimento da flora vascular não-arbórea, a discussão dos hábitos e habitats das plantas e a descrição da fisionomia do fragmento. Foram registrados 157 táxons de plantas vasculares (sendo 41 pteridófitas e 116 angiospermas), pertencentes a 48 famílias (10 de pteridófitas e 38 de angiospermas). As famílias de maior riqueza específica foram Orchidaceae, dentre as angiospermas, com 27 espécies e Pteridaceae, dentre as pteridófitas, apresentando 11 espécies. O hábito mais representativo foi o herbáceo (124 spp.), destacando-se as espécies epífitas (42 spp.), que perfazem cerca de 25% de todas as espécies registradas na área. Doze espécies estão incluídas na lista de espécies ameaçadas de extinção no estado de Minas Gerais (duas pteridófitas e 10 angiospermas). O elevado número de espécies encontradas em uma área consideravelmente pequena ressalta a importância deste fragmento para a diversidade da Serra Negra e aponta para a necessidade de implantação de um plano de ação para sua conservação