Ecosystem engineering by leaf-rolling mites enhances arthropod diversity

Bombardier beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Brachininae) possess a remarkable defense mechanism where a hot chemical spray is released from the tip of their abdomen, with an audible explosive sound. To date, the repellent properties of these chemicals have been tested against a limited number of taxa, such as amphibians and insects. To investigate the impact of bombardier beetle defenses on avian predators, feeding trials were conducted using the bombardier beetle (Pheropsophus jessoensis) and the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), a sympatric and generalist predator. All naïve, hand-reared quail attacked live beetles, indicating the absence of an innate aversion to them. However, most of the quail rejected consuming the beetles whether or not the beetles sprayed them with chemicals. Naïve quail also rejected dead P. jessoensis individuals. These results support the recent hypothesis that it is not essential for P. jessoensis to spray noxious chemicals to deter predators. We also found that some of the quail exposed to live P. jessoensis remembered to avoid them for up to 5 weeks. Our results provide the first evidence of the repelling effects of bombardier beetle defense mechanisms on avian predators.

     

Editorial team and Arnold Berliner Award 2019

Behavioral studies of gynandromorphism, also called as sex mosaic, contribute to the understanding of the relationship between morphological gender and sexual identity of an animal. Few studies have focused on the behaviors of gynandromorphic spiders because of a scarcity of gynandromorphic individuals in the field. In this study, we collected a gynandromorphic spider, Myrmarachne formicaria (De Geer 1778) (Araneae: Salticidae), from the field and examined its morphology and sex-specific behavior in the laboratory. The right half of the gynandromorphic spider presented male characteristics and the left half female characteristics. It showed courtship behavior to M. formicaria females and agonistic behavior to the males. These results indicate that the gynandromorphic spider’s sexual identity is male. Our findings suggest that a spider can exhibit behaviors of male sexuality, although the external morphology has the characteristics of both sexes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a gynandromorphic individual and its behavior in the genus Myrmarachne.

     

Looking beyond the flowers: associations of stingless bees with sap-sucking insects

The study addresses in vitro degradation potential of airborne Aspergillus and Penicillium/Talarmyces species originating from cultural heritage conservation premises. A series of rapid, cost effective biodegradation assays were performed to assess production of extracellular pigments, acids, and enzymes. Most of the isolates have demonstrated positive growth in at least one of the preformed tests. Strongest overall degradation potential was demonstrated for Penicillium brevicompactum, P. glabrum, and Talaromyces sayulitensis while Aspergillus domesticus, A. penicillioides, A. pseudoglaucus, and A. ruber did not exhibit positive reaction in any of the employed assays. Majority of isolates exhibited proteolytic and cellulolytic activity while carbonate dissolution was observed for only five tested fungi. Highest alteration of pH value in liquid media was documented for T. sayulitensis while A. niger and P. expansum exhibited strongest acid production on CREA. Certain isolates, mostly Penicillium species, displayed production of extracellular pigments. The results imply that many of the tested fungi have significant biodegradation capacity, indicating their potential to inflict structural and esthetic alterations on cultural heritage objects.

     

Does leaf flushing in the dry season affect leaf traits and herbivory in a tropical dry forest?

We report a small hawk-like diurnal bird from the early Oligocene (30–31 million years ago) of Poland. Aviraptor longicrus, n. gen. et sp. is of a size comparable with the smallest extant Accipitridae. The new species is characterized by very long legs, which, together with the small size, suggest an avivorous (bird-eating) feeding behavior. Overall, the new species resembles extant sparrowhawks (Accipiter spp.) in the length proportions of the major limb bones, even though some features indicate that it convergently acquired an Accipiter-like morphology. Most specialized avivores amongst extant accipitrids belong to the taxon Accipiter and predominantly predate small forest passerines; the smallest Accipiter species also hunts hummingbirds. Occurrence of a possibly avivorous raptor in the early Oligocene of Europe is particularly notable because A. longicrus coexisted with the earliest Northern Hemispheric passerines and modern-type hummingbirds. We therefore hypothesize that the diversification of these birds towards the early Oligocene may have triggered the evolution of small-sized avivorous raptors, and the new fossil may exemplify one of the earliest examples of avian predator/prey coevolution.

     

Phenoloxidase activity in the infraorder Isoptera: unraveling life-history correlates of immune investment

A termite colony is usually founded by a pair of alates, the primary reproductives, which produce all the nestmates. In some species, secondary reproductives appear to either replace the primaries or supplement colony reproduction. In termites, secondary reproductives are generally ergatoids derived from workers or nymphoids derived from nymphs. Silvestritermes euamignathus is a termite species that forms multiple nymphoid reproductives, and to date it was hypothesized that these secondary reproductives were the progeny of the primary founding reproductives. We developed markers for 12 microsatellite loci and used COI mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to genotype 59 nymphoid neotenics found in a colony of S. euamignathus to test this hypothesis. Our results showed that nymphoids of S. euamignathus are not all siblings. The microsatellite analysis suggests that the secondary reproductives derived from a minimum of four different pairs of reproductives belonging to at least two different matrilines. This is the first record of non-sibling secondary reproductives occupying the same nest in a higher termite. These unrelated reproductives might be the result of either pleometrotic colony foundation or colony fusion.

     

Sex-specific effects of parasites on telomere dynamics in a short-lived passerine—the blue tit

The pollination syndrome concept implies that flowers evolved with particular sets of characteristics, such as colors, shapes, orientations, and rewards, as a means of attracting pollinators. However, these traits may have also evolved to deter unwanted visitors. The North American genus Penstemon exhibits a great floral diversity that is mainly associated with bumblebee and hummingbird pollination. Evolutionary shifts from insect pollination to hummingbird pollination have occurred in Penstemon repeatedly, but some species maintain mixed-pollination systems and intermediate floral traits between bee- and hummingbird-pollination modes. The apparently intermediate floral traits of species with mixed-pollination systems might be potentially acting to deter bumblebee foragers. Then, bird-flower traits might be selected with increased hummingbird visitation over evolutionary time might, resulting in specialization to and the evolution of floral traits present in hummingbird-pollinated species. Here, we modified bee-pollination floral traits in Penstemon gentianoides with a mixed pollination system, to resemble hummingbird-pollination traits, and measured the effects of trait modification on bumblebee foraging behavior and plant female reproductive fitness. Our results showed that reduction in the width of the corolla tube and the absence of the corolla lip negatively affects bumblebee visitation and their efficiency as pollinators, and that the synergistic interaction of both traits enhanced the “anti-bee” effect. We conclude that acquisition of floral traits that resemble those of hummingbird-pollination enables Penstemon plant species to deter bumblebee visits.

     

Temporal organization among pollination systems in a tropical seasonal forest

The Placerias/Downs’ Quarry complex in eastern Arizona, USA, is the most diverse Upper Triassic vertebrate locality known. We report a new short-faced archosauriform, Syntomiprosopus sucherorum gen. et sp. nov., represented by four incomplete mandibles, that expands that diversity with a morphology unique among Late Triassic archosauriforms. The most distinctive feature of Syntomiprosopus gen. nov. is its anteroposteriorly short, robust mandible with 3–4 anterior, a larger caniniform, and 1–3 “postcanine” alveoli. The size and shape of the alveoli and the preserved tips of replacement teeth preclude assignment to any taxon known only from teeth. Additional autapomorphies of S. sucherorum gen. et sp. nov. include a large fossa associated with the mandibular fenestra, an interdigitating suture of the surangular with the dentary, fine texture ornamenting the medial surface of the splenial, and a surangular ridge that completes a 90° arc. The external surfaces of the mandibles bear shallow, densely packed, irregular, fine pits and narrow, arcuate grooves. This combination of character states allows an archosauriform assignment; however, an associated and similarly sized braincase indicates that Syntomiprosopus n. gen. may represent previously unsampled disparity in early-diverging crocodylomorphs. The Placerias Quarry is Adamanian (Norian, maximum depositional age ~219 Ma), and this specimen appears to be an early example of shortening of the skull, which occurs later in diverse archosaur lineages, including the Late Cretaceous crocodyliform Simosuchus. This is another case where Triassic archosauriforms occupied morphospace converged upon by other archosaurs later in the Mesozoic and further demonstrates that even well-sampled localities can yield new taxa.

     

Surveillance of Enteric Viruses and Thermotolerant Coliforms in Surface Water and Bivalves from a Mangrove Estuary in Southeastern Brazil

This study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological quality of a mangrove estuary in the Vitória Bay region, Espírito Santo, Brazil. We analyzed the presence and concentration of enteric viruses and thermotolerant coliforms in water, mussels (Mytella charruana and Mytella guyanensis), and oysters (Crassostrea rhizophorae), collected over a 13-month period. Human adenovirus, rotavirus A (RVA), and norovirus genogroup II were analyzed by quantitative PCR. The highest viral load was found in RVA-positive samples with a concentration of 3.0 × 10⁴ genome copies (GC) L⁻¹ in water samples and 1.3 × 10⁵ GC g⁻¹ in bivalves. RVA was the most prevalent virus in all matrices. Thermotolerant coliforms were quantified as colony-forming units (CFU) by the membrane filtration method. The concentration of these bacteria in water was in accordance with the Brazilian standard for recreational waters (< 250 CFU 100 mL⁻¹) during most of the monitoring period (12 out of 13 months). However, thermotolerant coliform concentrations of 3.0, 3.1, and 2.6 log CFU 100 g⁻¹ were detected in M. charruana, M. guyanensis, and C. rhizophorae, respectively. The presence of human-specific viruses in water and bivalves reflects the strong anthropogenic impact on the mangrove and serves as an early warning of waterborne and foodborne disease outbreaks resulting from the consumption of shellfish and the practice of water recreational activities in the region.

     

Assessing negative carbon dioxide emissions from the perspective of a national “fair share” of the remaining global carbon budget

We present an assessment of the plausible Paris-aligned fair share nett cumulative carbon dioxide (CO₂) quota for an example nation state, the Republic of Ireland. By Paris-aligned, we mean consistent with the Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, at Paris, France, in December 2015 (UNFCCC 2015). We compare and contrast this quota with both the aspirations expressed in the current Irish National Policy Position and current national emission projections. The fair share quota is assessed as a maximum of c. 391 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO₂), equal to 83 tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO₂) per capita, from 2015, based on a precautionary estimate of the global carbon budget (GCB) and specific interpretation of global equity. Given Ireland’s high current CO₂ per capita emission rate, this would correspond to sustained year-on-year reductions in nett annual CO₂ emissions of over ??11% per year (beginning as of 2016). By contrast, the CO₂ mitigation target indicated in the National Policy Position corresponds to nett annual reduction rates in the range of only ?4.7% per year (low ambition) up to a maximum of ??8.3% per year (high ambition), and projections based on current and immediately planned mitigation measures indicate the possibility, instead, of sustained increases in emissions at a rate of the order of +?0.7% per year. Accordingly, there is a large gap between Paris-aligned ambition and current political and policy reality on the ground, with a significant risk of early emergence of “CO₂ debt” and tacit reliance on rapid deployment of currently speculative (at a relevant scale and feasible cost) negative CO₂ emission technologies to actively remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. While the detailed policy situation will clearly differ from country to country, we suggest that this methodology, and its CO₂debt framing, may be usefully applied in other individual countries or regions. We recommend that such framing be incorporated explicitly into a global mitigation strategy via the statements of nationally determined contributions required to be submitted and updated by all parties under the Paris Agreement processes.

     

Plant trees for the planet: the potential of forests for climate change mitigation and the major drivers of national forest area

Forests are one of the most cost-effective ways to sequester carbon today. Here, I estimate the world’s land share under forests required to prevent dangerous climate change. For this, I combine newest longitudinal data of FLUXNET on forests’ net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) from 78 forest sites (N?=?607) with countries’ mean temperature and forest area. This straightforward approach indicates that the world’s forests sequester 8.3 GtCO₂year^?1. For the 2 °C climate target, the current forest land share has to be doubled to 60.0% to sequester an additional 7.8 GtCO₂year^?1, which demands less red meat consumption. This afforestation/reforestation (AR) challenge is achievable, as the estimated global biophysical potential of AR is 8.0 GtCO₂year^?1 safeguarding food supply for 10 billion people. Climate-responsible countries have the highest AR potential. For effective climate policies, knowledge on the major drivers of forest area is crucial. Enhancing information here, I analyze forest land share data of 98 countries from 1990 to 2015 applying causal inference (N?=?2494). The results highlight that population growth, industrialization, and increasing temperature reduce forest land share, while more protected forest and economic growth generally increase it. In all, this study confirms the potential of AR for climate change mitigation with a straightforward approach based on the direct measurement of NEE. This might provide a more valid picture given the shortcomings of indirect carbon stock-based inventories. The analysis identifies future regional hotspots for the AR potential and informs the need for fast and forceful action to prevent dangerous climate change.

     

Postnatal nutrition influences male attractiveness and promotes plasticity in male mating preferences

The fossil record of Late Cretaceous–Paleogene modern birds in the Southern Hemisphere includes the Maastrichtian Neogaeornis wetzeli from Chile, Polarornis gregorii and Vegavis iaai from Antarctica, and Australornis lovei from the Paleogene of New Zealand. The recent finding of a new and nearly complete Vegavis skeleton constitutes the most informative source for anatomical comparisons among Australornis, Polarornis, and Vegavis. The present contribution includes, for the first time, Vegavis, Polarornis, and Australornis in a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis. This analysis resulted in the recognition of these taxa as a clade of basal Anseriformes that we call Vegaviidae. Vegaviids share a combination of characters related to diving adaptations, including compact and thickened cortex of hindlimb bones, femur with anteroposteriorly compressed and bowed shaft, deep and wide popliteal fossa delimited by a medial ridge, tibiotarsus showing notably proximally expanded cnemial crests, expanded fibular crest, anteroposterior compression of the tibial shaft, and a tarsometatarsus with a strong transverse compression of the shaft. Isolated bones coming from the Cretaceous and Paleogene of South America, Antarctica, and New Zealand are also referred to here to Vegaviidae and support the view that these basal anseriforms were abundant and diverse at high southern latitudes. Moreover, vegaviids represent the first avian lineage to have definitely crossed the K–Pg boundary, supporting the idea that some avian clades were not affected by the end Mesozoic mass extinction event, countering previous interpretations. Recognition of Vegaviidae indicates that modern birds were diversified in southern continents by the Cretaceous and reinforces the hypothesis indicating the important role of Gondwana for the evolutionary history of Anseriformes and Neornithes as a whole.

     

Selfing in a malacostracan crustacean: why a tanaidacean but not decapods

The crustacean class Malacostraca, with over 22,000 species, includes commercially important members, such as crabs, shrimps, and lobsters. A few simultaneous hermaphrodites are known in this group, but self-fertilization was unknown. Here we show, through microscopy and breeding experiments, that the simultaneously hermaphroditic malacostracan Apseudes sp. (order Tanaidacea) can self-fertilize; individuals reared in isolation become hermaphroditic via a male-like phase and produce eggs that develop into fertile adults. Although selfing occurs in crustaceans like the Branchiopoda, in which simultaneous hermaphrodites have the sex ducts united, in decapods the separation of gonadal ducts and gonopores, specialized mating organs, and complex mating behavior appear to have constrained the evolution of selfing. In contrast, in most tanaidaceans, sperm is released externally by a male and reaches the eggs in the female brood pouch, where fertilization occurs. This mode of fertilization permitted Apseudes sp. to achieve selfing without large modifications in morphology or behavior.

     

A new neosuchian with Asian affinities from the Jurassic of northeastern Brazil

Phylogenetic relationships near the origin of extant crocodylians are weakly supported, and this lack of resolution makes for poor estimates of taxonomic and morphological diversity. Previously known taxa are found throughout the Cretaceous in Laurasia and at a few sites from Brazil, Australia, and northern Africa. Here, we report Batrachomimus pastosbonensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Late Jurassic of northeastern Brazil, which is deeply nested within Neosuchia and associated to the Cretaceous Asian paralligatorids. The new taxon predates all other members of Paralligatoridae and its immediate sister group (including Eusuchia) by 30 million years. A nearly complete skull, osteoderms, and limb bones were recovered, and autapomorphies of B. pastosbonensis include a scalloped lateral margin of the rostrum in dorsal view, unsculpted alveolar margin at the caudalmost portion of the maxilla, blunt lateral prongs on the jugal at the base of the postorbital bar, hourglass shaped choanae, and pterygoid choanal septum extended between the palatal shelves of the palatines. The crocodyloid-like skull proportions and the slender, conical teeth suggest an amphibious and piscivorous life history to this 1 m long animal.

     

Reduced light avoidance in spiders from populations in light-polluted urban environments

New finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), one from Portugal and one from Spain, were directly ¹⁴C dated to the first century AD. While the Portuguese specimen was found without connection to the Chalcolithic occupation of the Pedra Furada cave where it was recovered, the Spanish find, collected in the city of Mérida, comes from a ritual pit that also contained three human and 40 dog burials. The finds reported here show that the Egyptian mongoose, contrary to the traditional and predominant view, did not first arrive in the Iberian Peninsula during the Muslim occupation of Iberia. Instead, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the species was first introduced by the Romans, or at least sometime during the Roman occupation of Hispania. Therefore, radiocarbon dating of new archaeological finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula push back the confirmed presence of the species in the region by approximately eight centuries, as the previously oldest dated record is from the ninth century. With these new dates, there are now a total of four ¹⁴C dated specimens of Egyptian mongooses from the Iberian Peninsula, and all of these dates fall within the last 2000 years. This offers support for the hypothesis that the presence of the species in Iberia is due to historical introductions and is at odds with a scenario of natural sweepstake dispersal across the Straits of Gibraltar in the Late Pleistocene (126,000–11,700 years ago), recently proposed based on genetic data.

     

The RNA Secondary Structure Analysis Reveals Potential for Emergence of Pathogenic Flaviviruses

The Flavivirus genus is divided into four groups: Mosquito-borne flaviviruses, Tick-borne flaviviruses, no-known vector flaviviruses, and Insect specific flaviviruses. Millions of people are affected worldwide every year due to the flaviviral infections. The 5' UTR of the RNA genome plays a critical role in the biology of flaviviruses. To explore any correlation between the topology of the 5' UTR and pathogenesis, a global scale study of the RNA secondary structure of different groups of flaviviruses has been conducted. We found that most of the pathogenic flaviviruses, irrespective of their mode of transmission, tend to form a Y shaped topology in the Stem loop A of the 5' UTR. Some of the current non-pathogenic flaviviruses were also observed to form Y shaped structure. Based on this study, it has been proposed that the flaviviruses having the Y shaped topology in their 5′ UTR regions may have the potential to become pathogenic.

     

Simulation of a 100-MW solar-powered thermo-chemical air separation system combined with an oxy-fuel power plant for bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

The combination of concentrated solar power–chemical looping air separation (CSP-CLAS) with an oxy-fuel combustion process for carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture is a novel system to generate electricity from solar power and biomass while being able to store solar power efficiently. In this study, the computer program Advanced System for Process Engineering Plus (ASPEN Plus) was used to develop models to assess the process performance of such a process with manganese (Mn)-based oxygen carriers on alumina (Al₂O₃) support for a location in the region of Seville in Spain, using real solar beam irradiance and electricity demand data. It was shown that the utilisation of olive tree prunings (Olea europaea) as the fuel—an agricultural residue produced locally—results in negative CO₂ emissions (a net removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere). Furthermore, it was found that the process with an annual average electricity output of 18 MW would utilise 2.43% of Andalusia’s olive tree prunings, thereby capturing 260.5 k-tonnes of CO₂, annually. Drawbacks of the system are its relatively high complexity, a significant energy penalty in the CLAS process associated with the steam requirements for the loop-seal fluidisation, and the gas storage requirements. Nevertheless, the utilisation of agricultural residues is highly promising, and given the large quantities produced globally (~?4 billion tonnes/year), it is suggested that other novel processes tailored to these fuels should be investigated, under consideration of a future price on CO₂ emissions, integration potential with a likely electricity grid system, and based on the local conditions and real data.

     

Microbial Source Tracking Analysis Using Viral Indicators in Santa Lucía and Uruguay Rivers,Uruguay

The aim of this study was to determine the origin (human, bovine or porcine) and the concentration of the fecal sources of contamination in waters from Santa Lucía basin and Uruguay River in Uruguay by using host-specific viral markers (adenoviruses and polyomaviruses) as microbial source tracking (MST). Between June 2015 and May 2016, monthly collections of surface water samples were performed in six sites in Santa Lucía basin and four sites in Uruguay River (n = 120 samples). Viral concentration was carried out using an absorption-elution method. Detection and quantification of human and porcine adenovirus (HAdV and PAdV, respectively) and human and bovine polyomavirus (HPyV and BoPyV, respectively) were performed by quantitative PCR (qPCR). To evaluate the infectivity of circulating HAdV, an integrated cell culture-qPCR (ICC-qPCR) was used. A logistic regression analysis was carried out to estimate the influence of environmental variables on the virus presence in surface waters. Overall, HAdV was the prevalent (18%; 21/120) followed by BoPyV (11%; 13/120) and HPyV (3%; 3/120), whereas PAdV was not detected in this study. The mean concentration ranged from 1.5 × 10⁴ genomic copies/L (gc/L) for HAdV to 1.8 × 10² gc/L for HPyV. Infective HAdVs were observed in two out of ten analyzed samples. A significant effect of environmental temperature (p = 0.001) and river (p = 0.012) on the presence of human viruses was found. These results suggest that fecal contamination could affect the water quality of these rivers, showing deficiencies in the procedure of sewage discharge from regional cities, livestock and dairy farms.

     

A Myanmar amber cockroach with protruding feces contains pollen and a rich microcenosis

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the mechanisms responsible for maintenance of host-specific gentes in the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Some of them expect that when adult cuckoos return to lay their eggs to their natal site (natal philopatry hypothesis) or habitat in which they were reared (habitat-imprinting hypothesis), there is a higher probability of finding nests of the host species by which they were reared. Since published evidence is ambiguous, we here evaluate the natal philopatry and habitat-imprinting hypotheses using information on habitat homogeneity and cross-continental long-term ringing data. We found no evidence for the natal philopatry hypothesis—instead of returning to their natal site, juvenile cuckoos exhibited longer dispersal movements than adults, and the difference was even larger in comparison with a wide array of cuckoo host species. On the contrary, we found support for the habitat-imprinting hypothesis—juvenile cuckoos followed similar levels of natal habitat homogeneity at 5- and 25-km scale when returning to breed in the next years. Our results suggest that preference for the particular habitat structures may help cuckoos to find appropriate hosts.