The legacy of the extinct Neotropical megafauna on plants and biomes

Large mammal herbivores are important drivers of plant evolution and vegetation patterns, but the extent to which plant trait and ecosystem geography currently reflect the historical distribution of extinct megafauna is unknown. We address this question for South and Central America (Neotropical biogeographic realm) by compiling data on plant defence traits, climate, soil, and fire, as well as on the historical distribution of extinct megafauna and extant mammal herbivores. We show that historical mammal herbivory, especially by extinct megafauna, and soil fertility explain substantial variability in wood density, leaf size, spines and latex. We also identified three distinct regions (‘‘antiherbiomes’’), differing in plant defences, environmental conditions, and megafauna history. These patterns largely matched those observed in African ecosystems, where abundant megafauna still roams, and suggest that some ecoregions experienced savanna-to-forest shifts following megafauna extinctions. Here, we show that extinct megafauna left a significant imprint on current ecosystem biogeography.

An Overview of Historical Distribution Patterns of Chalcides ocellatus (Forsskål, 1775) Using Ecological Niche Modelling: the Taurus Mountains as a Refugium

The Taurus Mountains that have a very rich biodiversity are one of the most important mountain chains in Anatolia. In this study, we examined distribution patterns of Chalcides ocellatus that has a restricted dispersal between the Taurus Mountains from the past to current using ecological niche modeling. The Taurus Mountains have played the role as a refugium area in which C. ocellatus could survive through a period of unfavorable conditions. Especially in the glaciation period, Amanos Mountains in the Middle Taurus as an isolating barrier appeared unsuitable habitats for the lineages of C. ocellatus. This indicated that the lineages of C. ocellatus were formed as a result of habitat fragmentation during the last glacial maximum and last interglacial, and were consequently adapted to different climatic conditions.

THE CALAMUS JAVENSIS (ARECACEAE: CALAMOIDEAE) COMPLEX IN HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

ATRIA, M. & VAN WELZEN, P. C. 2021. The Calamus javensis (Arecaceae: Calamoideae) complex in historical biogeographic context. Reinwardtia 20(1): 1−7. — Calamus javensis is a very polymorphic species with a number of recognisable forms (of which several were once even recognized at species level). A historical biogeographic analysis showed no historical distribution pattern in the diversification of these various forms. The forms are very likely the result of adaptation to local circumstances, whereby more or less identical forms can develop under similar niche circumstances in disjunct areas, exceptions are the ‘acuminatus-polyphyllus’ form and C. tenompokensis that are recognisable and present in a non-disjunct area.

Noteworthy record of the kit fox, Vulpes macrotis, in the southcentral limit of its historical distribution

La zorrita del desierto, Vulpes macrotris, es un carnívoro nocturno poco común a raro que habita las regiones desérticas y semiáridas del oeste de Norteamérica. A diferencia de las poblaciones más norteñas, en el centro-sur de su distribución geográfica existe menos información sobre esta especie. En esta nota, reportamos un registro notable de la zorrita del desierto en el noroeste de San Luis Potosí, México. El 12 de agosto de 2017, se realizó el registro de un ejemplar macho atropellado en una carretera del municipio de Charcas San Luis Potosí, México. Esta zorrita del desierto fue fotografiada y se le tomaron medidas somáticas externas. Adicionalmente, se tomaron las coordenadas geográficas y se determinaron las características del tipo de hábitat. Nuestro registro representa la primera evidencia confiable de la zorrita del desierto en el estado de San Luis Potosí, México y posiblemente también es el segundo registro más sureño de la especie en el centro-sur de su distribución histórica. El ejemplar fue registrado a 107 km al noroeste del registro anterior en 11.26 km al S de Real de Los Pinos, Zacatecas, México. Se confirma la presencia de la zorrita del desierto para el noroeste de San Luis Potosí, México, después de 65 años de su último registro en la localidad más cercana en el estado de Zacatecas. Se discuten las implicaciones biológicas de este registro, así como la necesidad de realizar un seguimiento efectivo a largo plazo para conocer la distribución y determinar los parámetros ecológicos de las poblaciones de la zorrita del desierto en la zona.

Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Shrimps Distribution of Commercial Importance in the Gulf of California

The Gulf of California is the most productive fishing region in Mexico; its ecosystems contain a vast diversity of species with exploitation potential, some of them potentially vulnerable to climate change. This research was conducted to analyze, through habitat suitability models, the possible alterations in the distribution of the three shrimp species of the most importance for commercial fishing in the region: Litopenaeus stylirostris, Litopenaeus vannamei, and Farfantepenaeus californiensis. Habitat suitability models were built using the MaxEnt software, primary productivity data, temperature, salinity, bathymetry, substratum, coastal type, and geo-referenced occurrence records of the three species. Of the data, 70% was used on training, while the remaining 30% was used for validation. To make estimates of climate change impact on this fishery, projections on distribution of the three species from environmental forecasts generated by the intergovernmental panel on climate change until 2100 were made. The used model, that is in full development and expansion, could be considered as an applicable tool to other problems and showed efficiency rates above 90%. The species will maintain most of their historical distribution, but L. stylirostris and L. vannamei will have a new distribution area within the zones of the Magdalena-Almejas Bay and the Gulf of Ulloa, with an increase of 80% and 148% respectively; all species will have loss areas in the proportion of 16%, 2%, and 11%, respectively, along the southern Gulf of California.

Late Pleistocene Expansion of Small Murid Rodents across the Palearctic in Relation to the Past Environmental Changes

We investigated the evolutionary history of the striped field mouse to identify factors that initiated its past demographic changes and to shed light on the causes of its current genetic structure and trans-Eurasian distribution. We sequenced mitochondrial cyt b from 184 individuals, obtained from 35 sites in central Europe and eastern Mongolia. We compared genetic analyses with previously published historical distribution models and data on environmental and climatic changes. The past demographic changes displayed similar population trends in the case of recently expanded clades C1 and C3, with the glacial (MIS 3–4) expansion and postglacial bottleneck preceding the recent expansion initiated in the late Holocene and were related to environmental changes during the upper Pleistocene and Holocene. The past demographic trends of the eastern Asian clade C3 were correlated with changes in sea level and the formation of new land bridges formed by the exposed sea shelf during the glaciations. These data were supported by reconstructed historical distribution models. The results of our genetic analyses, supported by the reconstruction of the historical spatial distributions of the distinct clades, confirm that over time the local populations mixed as a consequence of environmental and climatic changes resulting from cyclical glaciation and the interglacial period during the Pleistocene.

Drivers of Solidago species invasion in Central Europe---Case study in the landscape of the Carpathian Mountains and their foreground

Aim: The invasion process is a complex, context-dependent phenomenon; nevertheless, it can be described using the PAB framework. This framework encompasses the joint effect of propagule pressure (P), abiotic characteristics of the environment (A), and biotic characteristics of both the invader and recipient vegetation (B). We analyzed the effectiveness of proxies of PAB factors to explain the spatial pattern of Solidago canadensis and S. gigantea invasion using invasive species distribution models. Location: Carpathian Mountains and their foreground, Central Europe. Methods: The data on species presence or absence were from an atlas of neophyte distribution based on a 2 × 2 km grid, covering approximately 31,200 km2 (7752 grid cells). Proxies of PAB factors, along with data on historical distribution of invaders were used as explanatory variables in Boosted Regression Trees models to explain the distribution of invasive Solidago. The areas with potentially lower sampling effort were excluded from analysis based on a target species approach. Results: Proxies of the PAB factors helped to explain the distribution of both S. canadensis and S. gigantea. Distributions of both species were limited climatically because a mountain climate is not conducive to their growth; however, the S. canadensis distribution pattern was correlated with proxies of human pressure, whereas S. gigantea distribution was connected with environmental characteristics. The varied responses of species with regard to distance from their historical distribution sites indicated differences in their invasion drivers. Main conclusions: Proxies of PAB are helpful in the choice of explanatory variables as well as the ecological interpretation of species distribution models. The results underline that human activity can cause variation in the invasion of ecologically similar species.

Phomopsis vexans (Phomopsis blight of eggplant).

P. vexans is a pynicidial anamorph with a teleomorph in the genus Diaporthe. Easily seedborne and producing large numbers of conidia, it causes disease in Solanum melongena [aubergine/brinjal/eggplant], its only significant host. This ranges from poor seed germination and damping-off of seedlings, to leaf and stem lesions and to fruit rot, both in the field and after harvest. The fungus has been reported from widely distributed areas of most continents, but only a few of those are in Europe and Africa, even though the climates are favourable. Seed transmission may explain its broad historical distribution, but limitation of its host range to a non-staple vegetable crop can allow for its avoidance and eradication by cultural methods. As a result, perhaps, it does not appear often on lists of restricted pathogens, even though it may cause yield losses of more than 50%.