Niche differentiation and fine-scale projections for Argentine ants based on remotely sensed data.

Modeling ecological niches of species is a promising approach for predicting the geographic potential of invasive species in new environments. Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) rank among the most successful invasive species: native to South America, they have invaded broad areas worldwide. Despite their widespread success, little is known about what makes an area susceptible--or not--to invasion. Here, we use a genetic algorithm approach to ecological niche modeling based on high-resolution remote-sensing data to examine the roles of niche similarity and difference in predicting invasions by this species. Our comparisons support a picture of general conservatism of the species' ecological characteristics, in spite of distinct geographic and community contexts.     

Sexual selection and the evolution of bird song: A test of the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis

Summary Hamilton and Zuk (1982) suggested that secondary sexual characters evolve because they allow females to assess a potential mate's ability to resist parasites. A prediction of this theory is that the degree of elaboration of secondary sexual characters should be positively correlated with parasite load across species. In support of their hypothesis, Hamilton and Zuk reported a correlation across North American passerine species between haematozoa prevalence and both brightness and song complexity and variety, scored on a subjective six point scale. Here we show that this relationship is confounded by phylogenetic associations. We use quantitative data on song duration, inter-song interval, song continuity, song rate, song versatility, and song and syllable repertoire size for 131 species of European and North American passerines to test the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis. Across species, there are significant negative relationships between haematozoa prevalence and song continuity, contrary to the direction predicted by Hamilton and Zuk. In accordance with their prediction, there is a positive correlation with song versatility. However, these relationships come about through taxonomic associations: within taxa there are no consistent relationships between any of the song variables and haematozoa prevalence. None of the other song variables correlate with haematozoa prevalence. We conclude that there is no evidence of an association between song elaboration and parasites. Offprint requests to: A.F. Read     

Mate choice in the brown thornbill (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Acanthiza pusilla</Emphasis>): are settlement decisions,divorce and extrapair mating complementary strategies?

In socially monogamous birds, females may express mate preferences when they first select a breeding partner, through divorce and subsequent breeding dispersal to a new partner and through extrapair mating. We examined settlement patterns, divorce and breeding dispersal in a sedentary Australian passerine, the brown thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla), in relation to two traits known to influence extrapair paternity (male age and male size). Settlement decisions, divorce and territory switching behaviour were all female strategies that reduced their likelihood of breeding with 1-year-old males. Females preferred to settle in territories with 2+ -year-old males, were more likely to divorce 1-year-old males, and only switched territories if they had an opportunity to form a new pair bond with an old male. In contrast, female settlement and divorce decisions were not influenced by male size. Female thornbills obtain a direct benefit from preferring older males as social mates because breeding success improves with male age in brown thornbills. Nevertheless, divorce rates in this species were low (14% of pair bonds were terminated by divorce), and individuals rarely switched territories following the death of a mate. Both of these mating strategies appeared to be primarily constrained by the distance adults moved to initiate a new pair bond (1–2 territories) and by the limited availability of unpaired older males in the immediate neighbourhood.Communicated by M. Webster     

Land use change around protected areas: management to balance human needs and ecological function.

Protected areas throughout the world are key for conserving biodiversity, and land use is key for providing food, fiber, and other ecosystem services essential for human sustenance. As land use change isolates protected areas from their surrounding landscapes, the challenge is to identify management opportunities that maintain ecological function while minimizing restrictions on human land use. Building on the case studies in this Invited Feature and on ecological principles, we identify opportunities for regional land management that maintain both ecological function in protected areas and human land use options, including preserving crucial habitats and migration corridors, and reducing dependence of local human populations on protected area resources. Identification of appropriate and effective management opportunities depends on clear definitions of: (1) the biodiversity attributes of concern; (2) landscape connections to delineate particular locations with strong ecological interactions between the protected area and its surrounding landscape; and (3) socioeconomic dynamics that determine current and future use of land resources in and around the protected area.     

Invertebrate Morphospecies as Surrogates for Species: A Case Study

Environmental monitoring and conservation evaluation in terrestrial habitats may be enhanced by the use of invertebrate inventories, but taxonomic and logistic constraints frequently encountered during conventional taxonomic treatment have greatly restricted their use. To overcome this problem we suggest that nonspecialists may be used to classify invertebrates to morphospecies without compromising scientific accuracy. To test this proposition, large pitfall and litter samples of ants, beetles, and spiders from four forest types were sorted to morphospecies by a nonspecialist and to species by specialists. These data were used to generate morphospecies and species inventories and to estimate richness (α diversity) and turnover (β diversity), information frequently used in the above activities. Our results show that the estimates of richness of ants and spiders varied little between morphospecies and species inventories. Differences between estimates of beetle richness were largely influenced by errors of identification in two families, Curculionidae and Staphylinidae. But morphospecies and species inventories yielded identical ranking of forest type using richness. Turnover was assessed by sample ordination, which revealed similar clusters regardless of the type of inventory. Analysis of similarities of assemblages of ants and beetles showed significant differences between all forest types. Spider assemblages showed a lower level of discrimination. The assessment of turnover was consistent among inventories but different between the major taxa. Our findings suggest that morphospecies may be used as surrogates for species in some environmental monitoring and conservation, in particular when decisions are guided by estimates of richness and the assessment of turnover.     

Deception by helpers in cooperatively breeding white-winged choughs and its experimental manipulation

White-winged choughs (Corcorax melanorhamphos) are obligate cooperative breeders, living in groups which may contain up to 20 birds. Although breeding is dominated by a single pair, all birds contribute to rearing young, including the provisioning of nestlings. However, some birds which have carried food to the nest, even to the point of placing the food in the gaping mouth of a nestling, consume the food themselves rather than provision the nestlings. Birds which fail to feed nestlings are typically young, and are only likely to fail to deliver food when they cannot be observed by other group members. Birds which have just failed to deliver food are more likely to engage in alternative helping behaviours such as allopreening the nestlings than are helpers which have just delivered food in the conventional manner. Failure to deliver food is almost eliminated when foraging constraints are experimentally reduced by supplemental feeding of the group. Collectively these observations suggest that young white-winged choughs act deceptively by simulating helping behaviours without sacrificing food supplies. Received: 24 January 1997 / Accepted after revision: 6 June 1997     

Male signaling behavior and sexual selection in a wolf spider (Araneae: Lycosidae): a test for dual functions

Male signaling behaviors are often studied in a single context but may serve multiple functions (e.g., in male–male competition and female mate choice). We examined the issue of dual function male signals in a wolf spider species Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz) that displays the same species-specific signaling behaviors in both male–male and male–female contexts. These signaling behaviors have been described as either aggression or courtship according to the context observed. We tested the possibility of dual functions by comparing the relationship between behaviors and outcome of male–male contests (winner/loser) and male–female mating encounters (mating success). Frequency, rate, and mean duration of signaling behaviors did not vary with outcome of male–male contests, which appears instead to be based upon relative size and body mass. Winners of contests had significantly greater body mass than losers, and greater mass relative to opponents was significantly associated with probability of winning. Overall, signaling rates were much higher in male–female interactions than in male–male contests and were higher for males that successfully mated than for those that did not mate. Mean duration of some male displays was also greater for males that successfully mated. However, male size was not associated with probability of mating. Taken together, results suggest an intersexual selection context for the current function of male signals in these wolf spiders and that increased display vigor is associated with male mating success.     

Chemical availability of arsenic and antimony in industrial soils

Total concentrations and extractable fractionations of As and Sb were determined in soil samples from former mining sites in Scotland and Italy. Pseudo-total levels of As and Sb in the sample were between 50–17,428 mg/kg and 10–1,187 mg/kg (Scotland), and 16–691 mg/kg and 1.63–11.44 mg/kg (Italy). Between 0.001–0.63% and <0.001−8.82% of the total soil As and Sb, were extractable using, a single extraction bioavailability estimate. Data from an As-specific extraction procedure revealed that up to 60% of As was associated to amorphous Fe-Al oxyhydroxide phase in all soils. A non-specific-sequential extraction test also showed As to be strongly associated with Fe (and Al) oxyhydroxides at both locations. In the case of Sb, in addition to the crystalline Fe-oxide bound Sb the Al-silicate phase also appeared to be significant. At both sites Sb appears to be chemically more accessible than As with consistent availability despite the varied origin and host soil properties.     

Developing Subseasonal to Seasonal Climate Forecast Products for Hydrology and Water Management

We describe a new effort to enhance climate forecast relevance and usability through the development of a system for evaluating and displaying real‐time subseasonal to seasonal (S2S) climate forecasts on a watershed scale. Water managers may not use climate forecasts to their full potential due to perceived low skill, mismatched spatial and temporal resolutions, or lack of knowledge or tools to ingest data. Most forecasts are disseminated as large‐domain maps or gridded datasets and may be systematically biased relative to watershed climatologies. Forecasts presented on a watershed scale allow water managers to view forecasts for their specific basins, thereby increasing the usability and relevance of climate forecasts. This paper describes the formulation of S2S climate forecast products based on the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) and the North American Multi‐Model Ensemble (NMME). Forecast products include bi‐weekly CFSv2 forecasts, and monthly and seasonal NMME forecasts. Precipitation and temperature forecasts are aggregated spatially to a United States Geological Survey (USGS) hydrologic unit code 4 (HUC‐4) watershed scale. Forecast verification reveals appreciable skill in the first two bi‐weekly periods (Weeks 1–2 and 2–3) from CFSv2, and usable skill in NMME Month 1 forecast with varying skills at longer lead times dependent on the season. Application of a bias‐correction technique (quantile mapping) eliminates forecast bias in the CFSv2 reforecasts, without adding significantly to correlation skill.