ARTHROPOD PREY AVAILABILITY AND BREEDING OF THE THREATENED STRANGE‐TAILED TYRANT (ALECTRURUS RISORA)

ABSTRACT ∙ The Strange‐tailed Tyrant (Alectrurus risora) is an insectivorous flycatcher (Tyrannidae) endemic to the natural tall grasslands of northern Argentina and southern Paraguay. Alectrurus risora has a polygynous mating system and the abundance of arthropods could be a major factor determining the establishment of male breeding territories and the extent of the breeding season, which is shorter than in most other reported tyrant flycatchers. To investigate this hypothesis, we examined the abundance of arthropods in upland and lowland breeding habitats. Upland habitats seem to be preferred for breeding, and usually harbour more nests. Data from one year showed that, for both grasslands, the beginning of the breeding season coincides with a greater availability of arthropods, and that the short reproductive season of A. risora coincides with a general lower availability of prey during February and March in the year we conducted the study. In upland territories, males attracted more females and had more active nests than males holding territories in lowland grasslands. However, the abundance and biomass of total arthropods and of potential prey were higher in lowland than in upland grasslands, with the exception of the abundance of Orthoptera, which was higher in upland habitat and could represent one of the major prey items. Therefore, we conclude that 1) female preference for males in upland grasslands cannot be explained by higher arthropod prey availability, and 2) the availability of arthropod prey may be important in determining the extent of the breeding season, although further, multiannual studies are required to corroborate this hypothesis. RESUMEN ∙ Disponibilidad de artrópodos presa asociados a territorios de reproducción de un ave en peligro de extinción, el Yetapá de Collar (Alectrurus risora) El Yetapá de Collar (Alectrurus risora) es un tiránido insectívoro endémico de los pastizales altos naturales del norte de Argentina y sur de Paraguay, que posee una temporada reproductiva más corta que aquella reportada para la mayoría de los tiránidos. Alectrurus risora posee un sistema de apareamiento poligínico, y la abundancia de artrópodos podría representar un factor determinante en el establecimiento de los territorios de los machos y en la duración de la temporada reproductiva. Con el fin de investigar esta hipótesis examinamos la abundancia de artrópodos en hábitats reproductivos de pastizales altos y bajos. Los pastizales altos parecen ser más utilizados durante la época reproductiva y usualmente albergan un mayor número de nidos activos. Los datos de un año de muestreo mostraron que el inicio de la temporada reproductiva coincide con el pico de abundancia de artrópodos en ambos pastizales, y que su corta duración coincide, para el área en estudio durante el año analizado, con una menor disponibilidad de presas durante los meses de febrero y marzo. En los territorios ubicados en el pastizal alto los machos atrajeron más hembras y tuvieron más nidos activos que en los territorios de pastizal bajo. Sin embargo, la abundancia y biomasa de artrópodos totales y de presas potenciales fueron mayores en el pastizal bajo, con la excepción de la abundancia de Orthoptera, que podría representar uno de los tipos principales de presa. A partir de estos resultados, concluimos que 1) la preferencia de las hembras por machos en el pastizal alto no puede ser explicada por una mayor disponibilidad de artrópodos presa, y 2) la disponibilidad de artrópodos presa podría representar un factor importante en la determinación de la extensión de la temporada reproductiva, pero se requieren estudios adicionales, plurianuales, para corroborar esta hipótesis.

Data standardization of plant-pollinator interactions

Background: Animal pollination is an important ecosystem function and service, ensuring both the integrity of natural systems and human well-being. Although many knowledge shortfalls remain, some high-quality data sets on biological interactions are now available. The development and adoption of standards for biodiversity data and metadata has promoted great advances in biological data sharing and aggregation, supporting large-scale studies and science-based public policies. However, these standards are currently not suitable to fully support interaction data sharing. Results: Here we present a vocabulary of terms and a data model for sharing plant–pollinator interactions data based on the Darwin Core standard. The vocabulary introduces 48 new terms targeting several aspects of plant–pollinator interactions and can be used to capture information from different approaches and scales. Additionally, we provide solutions for data serialization using RDF, XML, and DwC-Archives and recommendations of existing controlled vocabularies for some of the terms. Our contribution supports open access to standardized data on plant–pollinator interactions. Conclusions: The adoption of the vocabulary would facilitate data sharing to support studies ranging from the spatial and temporal distribution of interactions to the taxonomic, phenological, functional, and phylogenetic aspects of plant–pollinator interactions. We expect to fill data and knowledge gaps, thus further enabling scientific research on the ecology and evolution of plant–pollinator communities, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and the development of public policies. The proposed data model is flexible and can be adapted for sharing other types of interactions data by developing discipline-specific vocabularies of terms.Fil: Salim, José A. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Saraiva, Antonio M.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural. - Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural.; ArgentinaFil: Agostini, Kayna. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Wolowski, Marina. Universidade Federal de Alfenas; BrasilFil: Drucker, Debora P.. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (embrapa);Fil: Soares, Filipi M.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Bergamo, Pedro J.. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Varassin, Isabela G.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Freitas, Leandro. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Maués, Márcia M.. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (embrapa);Fil: Rech, Andre R.. Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri; BrasilFil: Veiga, Allan K.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Acosta, Andre L.. Instituto Tecnológico Vale; BrasilFil: Araujo, Andréa C. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Nogueira, Anselmo. Universidad Federal do Abc; BrasilFil: Blochtein, Betina. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Freitas, Breno M.. Universidade Estadual do Ceará; BrasilFil: Albertini, Bruno C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Maia Silva, Camila. Universidade Federal Rural Do Semi Arido; BrasilFil: Nunes, Carlos E. P.. University of Stirling; BrasilFil: Pires, Carmen S. S.. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (embrapa);Fil: Dos Santos, Charles F.. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Queiroz, Elisa P.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Cartolano, Etienne A.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: de Oliveira, Favízia F. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Amorim, Felipe W.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Fontúrbel, Francisco E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso; ChileFil: da Silva, Gleycon V.. Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; BrasilFil: Consolaro, Hélder. Universidade Federal de Catalão; Brasi

Endothermy in the temperate scarab Cyclocephala signaticollis

The increase in body temperature over that of the environment has been frequently reported in insects, in particular in relation with flight activity. Scarab beetles of the genus Cyclocephala living in tropical areas are known to exploit the heat produced by thermogenic plants, also producing heat by endothermy. Here, we report the first case of endothermy in a species of this genus living in a temperate region, Cyclocephala signaticollis. We characterised the phenomenon in this beetle using infrared thermography and exposing them to different thermal conditions. We evaluated the frequency of endothermic bouts, the nature of their periodic occurrence and their association with the activity cycles of the beetles. We found that endothermy occurs in both males and females in a cyclic fashion, at the beginning of the night, around 21:00 local time. The mean temperature increase was of 9 °C, and the mean duration of the bouts was 7 min. During endothermic bouts, the temperature of the thorax was on average 3.6 °C higher than that of the head and 4.8 °C above that of the abdomen. We found no differences between females and males in the maximum temperature attained and in the duration of the endothermy bouts. The activity period of the beetles extends throughout the whole night, with maximum activity between 22:00 and 23:00. By subjecting the beetles to different light regimes we were able to determine that the rhythm of endothermy is not controlled by the circadian system. Finally, we experimentally tested if by performing endothermy the scarabs try to reach a particular body temperature or if they invest a given amount of energy in heating up, instead. Our results indicate that at lower ambient temperature beetles show higher increase in body temperature, and that endothermy bouts last longer than at relatively higher ambient temperatures. We discuss our findings in relation to the ecology and behaviour of this beetle pest.Fil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Castelo, Marcela Karina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Lazzari, Claudio Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universite de Tours; Franci

A standardized reference data set for vertebrate taxon name resolution

Taxonomic names associated with digitized biocollections labels have flooded into repositories such as GBIF, iDigBio and VertNet. The names on these labels are often misspelled, out of date, or present other problems, as they were often captured only once during accessioning of specimens, or have a history of label changes without clear provenance. Before records are reliably usable in research, it is critical that these issues be addressed. However, still missing is an assessment of the scope of the problem, the effort needed to solve it, and a way to improve effectiveness of tools developed to aid the process. We present a carefully human-vetted analysis of 1000 verbatim scientific names taken at random from those published via the data aggregator VertNet, providing the first rigorously reviewed, reference validation data set. In addition to characterizing formatting problems, human vetting focused on detecting misspelling, synonymy, and the incorrect use of Darwin Core. Our results reveal a sobering view of the challenge ahead, as less than 47% of name strings were found to be currently valid. More optimistically, nearly 97% of name combinations could be resolved to a currently valid name, suggesting that computer-aided approaches may provide feasible means to improve digitized content. Finally, we associated names back to biocollections records and fit logistic models to test potential drivers of issues. A set of candidate variables (geographic region, year collected, higher-level clade, and the institutional digitally accessible data volume) and their 2-way interactions all predict the probability of records having taxon name issues, based on model selection approaches. We strongly encourage further experiments to use this reference data set as a means to compare automated or computer-aided taxon name tools for their ability to resolve and improve the existing wealth of legacy data.Fil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Université François Rabelais; FranciaFil: Guralnick, Robert P.. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Wieczorek, John R.. University of California at Berkeley; Estados Unido

The importance of digitized biocollections as a source of trait data and a new VertNet resource

For vast areas of the globe and large parts of the tree of life, data needed to inform trait diversity is incomplete. Such trait data, when fully assembled, however, form the link between the evolutionary history of organisms, their assembly into communities, and the nature and functioning of ecosystems. Recent efforts to close data gaps have focused on collating trait-by-species databases, which only provide species-level, aggregated value ranges for traits of interest and often lack the direct observations on which those ranges are based. Perhaps under-appreciated is that digitized biocollection records collectively contain a vast trove of trait data measured directly from individuals, but this content remains hidden and highly heterogeneous, impeding discoverability and use. We developed and deployed a suite of openly accessible software tools in order to collate a full set of trait descriptions and extract two key traits, body length and mass, from >18 million specimen records in VertNet, a global biodiversity data publisher and aggregator. We tested success rate of these tools against hand-checked validation data sets and characterized quality and quantity. A post-processing toolkit was developed to standardize and harmonize data sets, and to integrate this improved content into VertNet for broadest reuse. The result of this work was to add more than 1.5 million harmonized measurements on vertebrate body mass and length directly to specimen records. Rates of false positives and negatives for extracted data were extremely low. We also created new tools for filtering, querying, and assembling this research-ready vertebrate trait content for view and download. Our work has yielded a novel database and platform for harmonized trait content that will grow as tools introduced here become part of publication workflows. We close by noting how this effort extends to new communities already developing similar digitized content.Fil: Guralnick, Robert P.. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universite Francois Rabelais; FranciaFil: Wieczorek, John. University of California at Berkeley; Estados UnidosFil: LaFrance, Raphael. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Bloom, David. University of Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Russell, Laura. University of Florida; Estados Unidos. University of Kansas; Estados Unido

Disponibilidad de artrópodos presa asociados a territorios de reproducción de un ave en peligro de extinción, el Yetapá de Collar (Alectrurus risora)

The Strange‐tailed Tyrant (Alectrurus risora) is an insectivorous flycatcher (Tyrannidae) endemic to the natural tall grasslands of northern Argentina and southern Paraguay. Alectrurus risora has a polygynous mating system and the abundance of arthropods could be a major factor determining the establishment of male breeding territories and the extent of the breeding season, which is shorter than in most other reported tyrant flycatchers. To investigate this hypothesis, we examined the abundance of arthropods in upland and lowland breeding habitats. Upland habitats seem to be preferred for breeding, and usually harbour more nests. Data from one year showed that, for both grasslands, the beginning of the breeding season coincides with a greater availability of arthropods, and that the short reproductive season of A. risora coincides with a general lower availability of prey during February and March in the year we conducted the study. In upland territories, males attracted more females and had more active nests than males holding territories in lowland grasslands. However, the abundance and biomass of total arthropods and of potential prey were higher in lowland than in upland grasslands, with the exception of the abundance of Orthoptera, which was higher in upland habitat and could represent one of the major prey items. Therefore, we conclude that 1) female preference for males in upland grasslands cannot be explained by higher arthropod prey availability, and 2) the availability of arthropod prey may be important in determining the extent of the breeding season, although further, multiannual studies are required to corroborate this hypothesis.El Yetapá de Collar (Alectrurus risora) es un tiránido insectívoro endémico de los pastizales altos naturales del norte de Argentina y sur de Paraguay, que posee una temporada reproductiva más corta que aquella reportada para la mayoría de los tiránidos. Alectrurus risora posee un sistema de apareamiento poligínico, y la abundancia de artrópodos podría representar un factor determinante en el establecimiento de los territorios de los machos y en la duración de la temporada reproductiva. Con el fin de investigar esta hipótesis examinamos la abundancia de artrópodos en hábitats reproductivos de pastizales altos y bajos. Los pastizales altos parecen ser más utilizados durante la época reproductiva y usualmente albergan un mayor número de nidos activos. Los datos de un año de muestreo mostraron que el inicio de la temporada reproductiva coincide con el pico de abundancia de artrópodos en ambos pastizales, y que su corta duración coincide, para el área en estudio durante el año analizado, con una menor disponibilidad de presas durante los meses de febrero y marzo. En los territorios ubicados en el pastizal alto los machos atrajeron más hembras y tuvieron más nidos activos que en los territorios de pastizal bajo. Sin embargo, la abundancia y biomasa de artrópodos totales y de presas potenciales fueron mayores en el pastizal bajo, con la excepción de la abundancia de Orthoptera, que podría representar uno de los tipos principales de presa. A partir de estos resultados, concluimos que 1) la preferencia de las hembras por machos en el pastizal alto no puede ser explicada por una mayor disponibilidad de artrópodos presa, y 2) la disponibilidad de artrópodos presa podría representar un factor importante en la determinación de la extensión de la temporada reproductiva, pero se requieren estudios adicionales, plurianuales, para corroborar esta hipótesis.Fil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Di Giacomo, Adrian Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; Argentina. Asociación Ornitológica del Plata, Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Di Giacomo, Alejandro G.. Asociación Ornitológica del Plata, Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Castelo, Marcela Karina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Thermosensation and the TRPV channel in Rhodnius prolixus

The thermal sense of triatomine bugs, vectors of Chagas disease, is unique among insects. Not only do these bugs exhibit the highest sensitivity to heat known in any animal up to date, but they can also perceive the infrared radiation emitted by the body of their warm-blooded hosts. The sensory basis of this capacity has just started to be unravelled. To shed additional light on our understanding of thermosensation, we initiated an analysis of the genetic basis of the thermal sense in Rhodnius prolixus. We tested the hypothesis that a TRPV (transient receptor potential vanilloid) channel receptor is involved in the evaluation of heat in this species. Two different approaches were adopted. Initially, we analysed the expression of a TRPV candidate for this function, i.e., RproIav, in different tissues. Subsequently, we tested the effects of capsaicin and capsazepine, two molecules known to interact with mammal TRPV1, using three different behavioural protocols for evaluating thermal responses: (1) proboscis extension response (PER), (2) thermopreference in a temperature gradient and (3) spatial learning in an operant conditioning context. Bioinformatic analyses confirmed that the characteristic features typical of the TRPV channel subfamily are found in the RproIav protein sequence. Molecular analysis showed that RproIav is expressed in R. prolixus, not only in the antennae, but also in other body structures bearing sensory organs. Behavioural experiments consistently revealed that capsaicin treated insects are less responsive to heat stimuli and prefer lower temperatures than non-treated insects, and that they fail to orient in space. Conversely, capsazepine induces the opposite behaviours. The latter data suggest that triatomine thermoreception is based on the activation of a TRP channel, with a similar mechanism to that described for mammal TRPV1. The expression of RproIav in diverse sensory structures suggests that this receptor channel is potentially involved in bug thermoreception. This constitutes solid evidence that thermosensation could be based on the activation of TRP receptors that are expressed in different tissues in R. prolixus. Whether RproIav channel is a potential target for the compounds tested and whether it mediates the observed effects on behaviour still deserves to be confirmed by further research.Fil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Université François Rabelais de Tours; Francia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Latorre Estivalis, Jose Manuel. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Crespo, José Emilio. Université François Rabelais de Tours; Francia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Lorenzo, Marcelo Gustavo. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Lazzari, Claudio Ricardo. Université François Rabelais de Tours; Francia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

How to design multifunctional landscapes?

The expansion of homogeneous landscapes has been a major driver of biodiversity loss, climate change and land degradation. There is an urgent need for a transition to multifunctional landscapes that provide abundant and nutritious food while also delivering several other contributions essential for a good quality of life. However, implementing this process, especially in large-scale agriculture without economic subsidies, remains unclear. We discuss guidelines for a transition to multifunctional landscapes based on science and our experience as practitioners. In this transition, practitioners manage crop fields, natural habitats and field edges. We propose an iterative process for designing multifunctional landscapes. Initially, at a fine-scale resolution, we identify and classify areas with low opportunity costs (e.g. low crop productivity) or a high appreciation for nature (e.g. near housing areas). These areas are categorized into either ‘wide’ patches or ‘narrow’ corridors (i.e. edges <100 m wide). Subsequently, wide patches (including those with remnants of native species regardless of size) are allocated for natural habitat restoration (covering at least 20% of the farmland), while narrow zones are designated as biological corridors (making up at least 10% of the farmland and designed to be 50–100 m wide). Also, field size and configuration are redesigned to enhance the efficiency of agricultural practices and edge density. This entails creating smaller fields with strip cropping that follows environmental heterogeneity, instead of relying on large, squared monocultures. Ultimately, this design is continually refined through engagement with stakeholders, incorporating cost–benefit analyses, as well as a process of ongoing monitoring, evaluation and mutual learning. Synthesis and applications. We describe an iterative process by which large-scale agriculture can support biodiversity and leverage nature's contributions to people while providing more nutritious food and stabilizing crop yields and profits. Multifunctional landscapes will be critical in achieving the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030 and moving the world towards net-zero emissions by 2050.Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural. - Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural.; ArgentinaFil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural. - Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones En Recursos Naturales, Agroecologia y Desarrollo Rural.; ArgentinaFil: Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi". Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico, Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi"; ArgentinaFil: Andreoni, Lucas. Provincia de Córdoba. Ministerio de Economía. Subsecretaria Agricultura, Ganaderia y Rec.natural; ArgentinaFil: Ortiz de Urbina, Alejo. Terregal Farm; ArgentinaFil: Grass, Ingo. Universidad de Hohenheim; AlemaniaFil: Oddi, Facundo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural. - Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentin

Latin American Plea for Incorporation of Other, Non-English Languages in TDWG Standards Documentation

Historically, some of the most successful biodiversity data sharing initiatives have been developed particularly in North America, Europe, and Australia. In parallel, and driven by necessity, tools, practices and standards were shared across othes communities. In the last decade, great efforts have been made by countries in other regions to join the biodiversity data network and share their data worldwide. Although knowledge, tools, and documentation are broadly distributed, language is the main constraint for their use, as most of it is only available in English. English may be the first most spoken language worldwide (Eberhard et al. 2020), but it is not native to most of the population, including a sizable proportion of the United States (Ryan 2013). For instance, Spanish is listed as the second most spoken native language worldwide, after Mandarin Chinese (Eberhard et al. 2020). While recognizing that English is currently considered the “universal language” for scientifically-related activities, it has been pointed out that a large proportion of biodiversity scientific knowledge is not produced in English, and that language constitutes a barrier to sharing knowledge (Amano et al. 2016). Actions to overcome this have been called for, for example by the 2nd Global Biodiversity Informatics Conference (GBIC2) in its list of ambitions for supporting international collaboration (Hobern et al. 2019), but are still largely missing in the broad community.Language affects the understanding and use of biodiversity data standards and related documentation for all the community, both English and non-English speakers. Our findings in the Latin American region suggest that the availability of materials in other languages, namely Spanish and Portuguese, would greatly benefit the region and improve our involvement in biodiversity data sharing. Also, on the other hand, the English speaking community would benefit from better understanding knowledge in other non-English languages, allowing broader use of data from all regions. This work also constitutes a plea from the Latin American and the Spanish-speaking community at large to the Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) to explore and incorporate other languages, hence fostering understanding, and therefore widening the use of TDWG standards in our region. We provide a list of people supporting the petition as Supplementary Material (Suppl. material 1). In the petition we also identify people (more than 60% of the signatories) who are willing to contribute to translating TDWG resources into Spanish. There is no single, best mechanism to move this initiative forward, but the approaches of some other initiatives (e.g., the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) translators network) are being explored, weighing resources needed both from the volunteers and the management perspectives. We will present the different options for the community to evaluate and decide upon a suitable action plan

Enhanced fertility and chill tolerance after cold-induced reproductive arrest in females of temperate species of the Drosophila buzzatii complex

Long-term exposure to low temperatures during adult maturation might decrease fertility after cold recovery as a consequence of carryover effects on reproductive tissues. This pattern should be more pronounced in tropical than in temperate species as protective mechanisms against chilling injuries are expected to be more effective in the latter. We initially determined the lower thermal thresholds to induce ovarian maturation in four closely related Drosophila species, two inhabiting temperate regions and the other two tropical areas of South America. As expected, only temperate species regularly experience cold-inducing conditions for reproductive arrest during winter in their natural environment. Subsequently, we exposed reproductively arrested and mature females to cold-inducing conditions for reproductive arrest over a long period. Following cold exposure, tropical species exhibited a dramatic fertility decline, irrespective of reproductive status. In contrast, not only were temperate females fecund and fertile but also fertility was superior in females that underwent cold-induced reproductive arrest, suggesting that it might act as a protecting mechanism ensuring fertility after cold recovery. Based on these findings, we decided to evaluate the extent to which reproductive status affects cold tolerance and energy metabolism at low temperature. We found a lower metabolic rate and a higher cold tolerance in reproductively arrested females, although only temperate species attained high levels of chill tolerance. These findings highlight the role of cold-induced reproductive arrest as part of an integrated mechanism of cold adaptation that could potentially contribute to the spread of temperate species into higher latitudes or altitudes.Fil: Mensch, Julian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Hurtado, Juan Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Zermoglio, Paula Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: de la Vega, Gerardo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Rolandi, Carmen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Schilman, Pablo Ernesto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada; ArgentinaFil: Markow, Therese A.. University of California at San Diego; Estados Unidos. Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad; MéxicoFil: Hasson, Esteban Ruben. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentin