In the systematics of cnidarians, the different types of cnidocysts are considered an important taxonomic character. In Hydra, the four types of cnidocysts found in the ectoderm, concentrated in ...tentacles and their measurements, together with other morphological and reproductive characteristics, are very important for the taxonomy of the species. In this study, we explore in detail the biometric and statistical characteristics of the cnidome of three species of Hydra collected in three different environments for each climate season. A total of 17,378 capsules were measured. We used ANOVA test and Generalized Linear Model to analyze the distribution and differences reflected in each cnidome, considering the factors “individuals”, “season”, “lagoon” and “species”. The results were clear: the cnidome keep specific information that, together with other taxonomic characteristics, allows us to discern between species of different groups. The same happens with cnidome of the same species but from different lagoons or climatic seasons: we observed a variation of parameters for each type of cnidocyst that could differentiate “ecological races”, since these differences are not enough to declare different species.
We provide a taxonomic note on Paedarium Aldrich, 1926, with new generic synonyms, Neopaedarium Blanchard, 1943 syn. nov. and Velardemyia Valencia, 1972 syn. nov., and new combinations resulting from ...these synonyms, Paedarium ica (Valencia, 1972) comb. nov. and Paedarium subauratum (Blanchard, 1943) comb. nov. Paedarium punctipennis Walker, 1857, is considered an unplaced species of Voriini. A redescription of P. subauratum and notes on its biology are given. A key for species of the genus Paedarium is provided.
The genus Plega Navás, 1928, belongs to the subfamily Symphrasinae, a group recently transferred from Mantispidae to Rhachiberothidae. This genus is herein reported as parasitoid of the symphytan ...family Diprionidae for the first time, becoming the first record of association between this neuropteran subfamily and non-aculeate Hymenoptera. This new association was discovered in “Ixcateopan de Cuauhtémoc”, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, where Plega spinosa Ardila et al., 2019 was found associated with immatures of the sawfly Monoctenus cuauhtemoci De Lira, 2021, a pest in forests of Juniperus flaccida Schlechtendal (white cedar). The neuropteran was found to be the most abundant parasitoid of this symphytan, becoming a potential candidate for biological control of phytophagous sawflies in juniper forests, an economically important plant species for the wood industry in the region. Considering the behavior and morphological aspects of the primary larvae and the behavior of the adults of Plega, three possible scenarios in which the primary larvae of P. spinosa board the larvae of Monoctenus to complete its life cycle are outlined. This finding reinforces the hypothesis of a generalist ectoparasitoid lifeway of the larvae of the genus Plega on larvae and pupae of holometabolous insects.
Agricultural practices can have detrimental impacts on biodiversity, but some studies have shown the benefits of agroforestry practices like shade-grown coffee to bird communities and, to a lesser ...extent, to mammal communities. To better understand whether shade-grown coffee plantations can contribute to the conservation of mammal communities, we deployed camera traps in private reserves with a matrix of shade-grown coffee plantations and forest in the highlands of Guatemala. At each reserve we estimated species richness of terrestrial medium- and large-sized mammals. We also estimated mammal relative abundance and occupancy probabilities as proxies for mammalian habitat associations and evaluated how these were affected by key landscape features (e.g., land-use type, asphalt roads, and distance to protected areas). We used hierarchical multi-species Bayesian abundance models that account for imperfect detection to estimate our parameters of interest and model the influence of landscape features on site-level species richness and species relative abundance. We detected 14 species across all reserves and found a strong influence of land use and presence of asphalt roads on mammalian relative abundances and species richness. More species used areas around the camera traps in forest than in shade-grown coffee plantations and far from asphalt roads. Our study shows that reserves with shade-grown coffee plantations can harbor terrestrial mammalian communities of conservation interest. Our results also suggest that to maintain mammalian diversity and abundances in our study area, shade-grown coffee crops should be mixed in with natural forests and the presence of asphalt roads within these should be avoided or minimized.
An illustrated identification key to the North American termite families and genera based mainly on the soldier caste is proposed. A checklist of termites (Insecta: Blattodea: Isoptera) of Canada, ...continental USA and Mexico is presented, listing 89 species (and two subspecies) grouped in 26 genera and four families. Five species are added to the Mexican termite fauna, these records are for the states of Campeche: Cryptotermes cavifrons; Quintana Roo: Cryptotermes cavifrons, Neotermes holmgreni, Neotermes phragmosus, Neotermes mona; Sonora: Incisitermes banksi; and Yucatan: Neotermes phragmosus. Other 32 new state records are made for the states of Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Sonora, and Yucatan. The species Coptotermes crassus, Coptotermes havilandi, Incisitermes perparvus, Microcerotermes strunckii, Nasutitermes costalis, Incisitermes nigritus and Termes melindae are eliminated from the termite fauna of this region.
Abstract Knowledge of the marine bryozoan fauna of Uruguay is mostly based on scattered records found in local faunistic surveys and the taxonomic results of two oceanographic cruises to the ...Southwest Atlantic, but a comprehensive study has not yet been published for this area. This paper aims to compile an updated checklist, bringing together all the published information about the Uruguayan bryozoan fauna. Of the 73 recorded taxa, 30 (41%) are known only from deep waters off the Río de la Plata. Even considering undetermined species, these re sults show the high degree of endemism as it was already shown for several other benthic groups such as Bivalvia, Ascidiacea and Pycnogonida. The absence of local taxonomists on bryozoans has resulted in the unprecedented situation that the deep-sea bryozoan fauna of Uruguay is better known than the coastal and shelf representatives of the phylum. The main conclusion of this faunal compilation is that efforts should be made to coordinate the gathering and taxonomic study of shallow and shelf bryozoan collections to bridge the present knowledge gap about the biodiversity of this important group of marine benthic invertebrates.
Abstract The subgenus Crewella Cockerell of Ceratina Latreille is found only in the Neotropical region, with maximal diversity in South America. A morphological study of the species in the subgenus ...led to the recognition of five species groups, based on several characteristics of the head, the first metasomal tergum, and the female sixth metasomal tergum. A key to the species-groups is presented. The following new species are described: C. dalyana from Colombia, C. amazonica, C. crassipunctata, and C. foveinasis from Peru, C. duplocarinata, C. guaranitica, and C. lobata from Argentina, C. acuminata from Brazil and Paraguay, and C. carbonaria from Argentina and Brazil. Lectotypes are designated for C. brunneipes Friese, C. diligens Smith, and C. vernoniae Schrottky. The following are new synonyms: C. brunneipes Friese, 1910 of C. maculifrons Smith, 1854, and C. gossypii var. asuncionis Strand, 1910 of C. gossypii Schrottky, 1907. A revision of the species in Argentina, with a key to species, is presented.
Abstract There is an extensive lack of information on the parasitic fauna accompanying cartilaginous fish in Peru. The objective of this work was to identify the community of parasite metazoans of ...the cockfish Callorhinchus callorynchus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Chimaeriformes: Callorhinchidae) from artisanal fishing in San Andrés, Pisco, Ica, Peru. Thirty-one specimens of C. callorynchus were collected between June 2018 and October 2019. Following nec ropsy, six species of parasites were obtained: Gyrocotyle rugosa Diesing, 1850 (Cestoda), Callorhynchocotyle callo rhynchi (Manter, 1955) (Monogenea), Callorhynchicola branchialis Brinkmann, 1952 (Monogenea), Branchellion lobata Moore, 1952 (Hirudinea), Prokroyeria meridionalis (Ramírez, 1975) (Copepoda) and an unidentified spe cies of the Anisakidae family (Nematoda). The G. rugosa tapeworm was the most prevalent parasite (77.42%), followed by the monogenean Cle. callorhynchi (54.84%) and finally the copepod P. meridionalis (16.13%). The total body length and sex of Ca. callorynchus showed no association with respect to the parasitological indices of prevalence, intensity, and mean abundance. Cle. callorhynchi and Cla. branchialis were registered for the second time in the same host, but for the first time in the department of Ica. However, the present study constitutes the first geographic record of G. rugosa, B. lobata, and P. meridionalis, and a new host for an unidentified species of the Anisakidae family in cockfish in Peru.
Las semillas de Erythrina americana Mill., son consumidas por el brúquido Specularius impressithorax, por lo que para evaluar el efecto que pueden tener los escarabajos sobre las semillas se ...determinó el porcentaje de daño en semillas de E. americana en la etapa de pre-dispersión, así como el daño acumulado durante un año causado por S. impressithorax. Se evaluó el porcentaje de germinación de semillas sanas y dañadas. Las semillas se colectaron en el valle de Tulancingo, Hidalgo, México en diciembre de 2017. Se colectaron 1,272 semillas provenientes de nueve árboles diferentes, los cuales se encontraban como mínimo a 500 m de distancia uno de otro. A las semillas se les conto el número de orificios, es decir el número de brúquidos que emergieron de cada semilla (n = 269). El porcentaje de daño promedio durante la pre-dispersión de las semillas fue de 17.4 % y para la etapa post-dispersión fue de 83.1 %. Las semillas con un orificio de salida de un brúquido germinaron en un 66.6 %. Las semillas sin daño presentaron un porcentaje de germinación de 2.2 %, debido a que las semillas de E. americana presentan dormancia. El porcentaje de germinación de las semillas con un orificio de emergencia causado por S. impressithorax (66.6 %), indica que cuando una semilla de E. americana es consumida por un brúquido, éste no daña el embrión, y emula un proceso de escarificación natural.
