Determinants of diversity in higher taxonomic categories

Paleobiology ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Valentine
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
New Species ◽  
Growth Curve ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Maximum Level ◽  
Logistic Growth ◽  
Higher Taxa ◽  
Equilibrium Level ◽  
Higher Categories ◽  
Taxonomic Categories

It is often assumed that, if a few species are introduced into a relatively empty environment, the subsequent diversification will take the form of a logistic growth curve, rising to an equilibrium level of species richness. The diversifications of taxa in higher categories commonly resemble logistic curves, although there are no well-defined theoretical bases for such a resemblance.A model of diversification of taxa in higher categories is based on the notion that many taxa originate rapidly. Relatively small changes leading to new species occur at a high frequency, while larger changes leading to progressively higher taxa occur with progressive rarity. During diversification in an empty environment, few large changes will occur before the environment is filled. The rate of filling, relative to the rate of production of higher taxa, determines the richness of taxa in higher categories and gives the diversification curves a logistic appearance although the maximum level achieved is not an equilibrium. Subsequently, opportunities for diversification will generally lead only to the appearance of taxa in progressively lower categories.

scholarly journals Getting the Most From Surveys: How Method Selection and Method Modification Impact Butterfly Survey Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine C Kral-O’Brien ◽  
Adrienne K Antonsen ◽  
Torre J Hovick ◽  
Ryan F Limb ◽  
Jason P Harmon
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
New Species ◽  
Count Data ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Method Selection ◽  
M 10 ◽  
Sampling Procedures

Abstract Many methods are used to survey butterfly populations, with line transect and area surveys being prominent. Observers are typically limited to search within 5 or 10 m from the line, while observers are unrestricted in larger specified search regions in area surveys. Although methods differ slightly, the selection is often based on producing defendable data for conservation, maximizing data quality, and minimizing effort. To guide method selection, we compared butterfly surveys using 1) line versus area methods and 2) varying width transects (5 m, 10 m, or unrestricted) using count data from surveys in North Dakota from 2015 to 2018. Between line and area surveys, we detected more individuals with area surveys, even when accounting for effort. However, both methods accumulated new species at similar rates. When comparing transect methodology, we detected nearly 60% more individuals and nine more species when transect width increased from 5 m to unrestricted, despite similar effort across methodology. Overall, we found line surveys slightly less efficient at detecting individuals, but they collected similar species richness to area surveys when accounting for effort. Additionally, line surveys allow the use of unrestricted-width transects with distance sampling procedures, which were more effective at detecting species and individuals while providing a means to correct count data over the same transect length. Methods that reduce effort and accurately depict communities are especially important for conservation when long-term datasets are unavailable.

New species of Drymopsalta Heath Cicadas (Cicadidae: Cicadettinae: Cicadettini) from Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, with overview of genus

Zootaxa ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3620 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
A. EWART ◽  
L. W. POPPLE
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Similar Pattern ◽  
National Park ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Allopatric Species ◽  
Temporal Structures ◽  
Cape York ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
Tree Foliage

Three new species are described in the genus Drymopsalta Ewart, previously known only from D. crepitum Ewart and D. daemeli Distant. The three new species occur in Southern Queensland and Northern Territory. D. wallumi sp. nov. occurs along coastal S.E. Queensland, whereas D. hobsoni sp. nov. is restricted to the Bringalily State Forest, near Inglewood, southern inland Queensland. D. acrotela sp. nov. is found in the Litchfield National Park and other locations near Jabaluka, Cahills Crossing, E. Alligator River and Nourlangie, all across the northern Northern Territory. D. crepitum occurs on the Cape York Peninsular extending into the southern Gulf, while D. daemeli occurs in two localised regions in central coastal N.S.W. Each of the species inhabits heath vegetation, often spilling-over into adjacent tree foliage. The species of Drymopsalta are small and inconspicuous cicadas (<15 mm body length) with relatively high frequency songs (~15 to 22 kHz). The temporal structures of the normal calling songs follow a similar pattern in each species, consisting of the emission of short chirps (comprising 2–16 ticks). Between the chirps are emitted one (D. wallumi, D. hobsoni, D. acrotela), two (D. daemeli) or 1–9 (D. crepitum) intervening single ticks. The species can be distinguished by the timing and the number of these single ticks relative to the adjacent chirps with the notable exception of D. hobsoni and D. acrotela. The calling songs of these two allopatric species are indistinguishable, an unusual feature in Australian cicadas. Two additional song variants are described, a more unstructured chirping song without intervening single ticks observed in each of the species except D. crepitum, and periodic extended buzzing echemes emitted within the calling songs (excepting the D. wallumi song).

Using higher taxa to estimate species richness: birds on New Zealand islands

Ibis ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
SIMON HODGE ◽  
CHRIS FRAMPTON
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Higher Taxa

Palm house – biodiversity hotspot or risk of invasion? Aquatic invertebrates: The special case of Monogononta (Rotifera) under greenhouse conditions

Biologia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Kolicka ◽  
Marcin Krzysztof Dziuba ◽  
Krzysztof Zawierucha ◽  
Natalia Kuczyńska–Kippen ◽  
Lech Kotwicki
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
New Species ◽  
Aquatic Plants ◽  
Aquatic Invertebrates ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspot ◽  
Simpson Index ◽  
Mesocyclops Leuckarti ◽  
Euchlanis Dilatata ◽  
Special Case ◽  
Stable Populations

AbstractGreenhouses form favourable conditions for establishing stable populations of native as well as invasive alien microinvertebrates. Investigations of palm houses have a long tradition and native, alien and new species for science have been found in many of them. The examined pond and some microreservoirs in Bromeliaceae and Agavoideae in Pozna´n Palm House (Poland) sampled in 2012, appeared to contain representatives of Rotifera (64 species), Copepoda (2 species), Polychaeta, Acari and Insecta larvae. The most abundant Rotifera species were: Anuraeopsis fissa Gosse, 1851, Ascomorpha ecaudis Perty 1850, Euchlanis dilatata Ehrenberg, 1832, Pompholyx sulcata Hudson, 1885 and Trichocerca rousseleti Voight, 1902. Moreover, rotifers considered to be rare in Poland, i.e., Asplanchna herricki De Guerne, 1888, Collotheca pelagica Rousselet, 1893, Colurella sulcata Stenroos, 1898, Gastropus minor Rousselet, 1892 were also detected in Pozna´n Palm House. Two recorded Copepoda species were Phyllognathopus viguieri (Maupas, 1892) found in agave microreservoirs and Mesocyclops leuckarti (Claus, 1857) found in reservoir with aquatic plants. For biodiversity evaluation of rotifers Margalef’s and Shannon-Wiener’s indexes were used and in order to determine species richness the Simpson index was calculated. Additionally, a complete list of all aquatic invertebrates is presented, i.e., Plathelmintes (11 species), Nemeretea (2 species), Oligochatea (13 taxa), Polychaeta (7 species), Gastrotricha (13 taxa) and Copepoda (1 species) previously recorded in Pozna´n Palm House. To sum up, Palm houses create a convenient habitat for a prevalence of native and introduced invertebrates and are a putative source of alien species, possibly facilitating their release to the environment.

Hyporheic ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Texas (USA) with six new species

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5046 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-63
Author(s):  
OKAN KÜLKÖYLÜOĞLU ◽  
BENJAMIN T. HUTCHINS ◽  
MEHMET YAVUZATMACA ◽  
BENJAMIN F. SCHWARTZ
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
New Species ◽  
Hyporheic Zone ◽  
New Records ◽  
First Record ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Soft Body ◽  
Ecological Information ◽  
Ostracod Species

Between 2015 and 2017, 58 ostracod taxa were collected at 30 locations in 111 samples from the hyporheic zone of surface streams in Texas, U.S.A. Six new species (Bradleycypris foresteri n. sp., Bradleystrandesia macula n. sp., Pseudocandona lordi n. sp., Indocandona rusti n. sp., Stenocypris sancari n. sp., Cyclocypris dalyana n. sp.) are described based on carapace and soft body parts. Additionally, 17 species and two genera (Vestalenula and Indocandona) are presented as new records for Texas, and Indocandona rusti n. sp. is the first record of the genus outside India. Taxonomic positions of the new species are discussed along with ecological information. One-hundred and six nonmarine ostracod species are now reported from Texas. However, ongoing studies suggest that actual species richness is much higher.  

scholarly journals A remarkable leaf mine induced by Tachygonus sp.n. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Curculioninae: Rhamphini) on Erythroxylum subsessile (Erythroxylaceae) with a description of the new species

2012 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 949-953
Author(s):  
RF. Monteiro ◽  
MS. Nascimento ◽  
RM. Silva ◽  
HA. Hespenheide
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
National Park ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Larval Instar ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Leaf Miner ◽  
Parasitoid Species ◽  
Great Abundance

In this study, we describe and present original data on the bionomics and ecology of Tachygonus erythroxyli Hespenheide, New Species, on Erythroxylum subsessile (Mart.). Thirty individuals of E. subsessile were analysed every two months, from October, 2006 to October, 2007 at the National Park of Restinga de Jurubatiba (PNRJ) Carapebus, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Females of T. erythroxyli lay their eggs singly on the upper surface of the host's leaves. The mine of T. erythroxyli is expanded with three bubbles, each one representing one larval instar. These mines occur throughout the year in at least half of the host plants and are markedly more abundant in summer. We obtained three parasitoid species, making a total of 53% of the rate of parasitism. Cirrospilus sp. (Eulophidae) was the most prevalent and represented 88% of the parasitoids. The great abundance of Tachygonus mines, their high frequency in their host plant, and local monophagy of this leaf miner weevil suggest a close association between T. erythroxyli and Erythroxylum subsessile.

scholarly journals Changes of arthropod diversity across an altitudinal ecoregional zonation in Northwestern Argentina

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e4117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea X. González-Reyes ◽  
Jose A. Corronca ◽  
Sandra M. Rodriguez-Artigas
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Polynomial Regression ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Pitfall Trap ◽  
Northwestern Argentina ◽  
Higher Taxa ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Wide Range

This study examined arthropod community patterns over an altitudinal ecoregional zonation that extended through three ecoregions (Yungas, Monte de Sierras y Bolsones, and Puna) and two ecotones (Yungas-Monte and Prepuna) of Northwestern Argentina (altitudinal range of 2,500 m), and evaluated the abiotic and biotic factors and the geographical distance that could influence them. Pitfall trap and suction samples were taken seasonally in 15 sampling sites (1,500–4,000 m a.s.l) during one year. In addition to climatic variables, several soil and vegetation variables were measured in the field. Values obtained for species richness between ecoregions and ecotones and by sampling sites were compared statistically and by interpolation–extrapolation analysis based on individuals at the same sample coverage level. Effects of predictor variables and the similarity of arthropods were shown using non-metric multidimensional scaling, and the resulting groups were evaluated using a multi-response permutation procedure. Polynomial regression was used to evaluate the relationship between altitude with total species richness and those of hyperdiverse/abundant higher taxa and the latter taxa with each predictor variable. The species richness pattern displayed a decrease in species diversity as the elevation increased at the bottom wet part (Yungas) of our altitudinal zonation until the Monte, and a unimodal pattern of diversity in the top dry part (Monte, Puna). Each ecoregion and ecotonal zone evidenced a particular species richness and assemblage of arthropods, but the latter ones displayed a high percentage of species shared with the adjacent ecoregions. The arthropod elevational pattern and the changes of the assemblages were explained by the environmental gradient (especially the climate) in addition to a geographic gradient (the distance of decay of similarity), demonstrating that the species turnover is important to explain the beta diversity along the elevational gradient. This suggests that patterns of diversity and distribution of arthropods are regulated by the dissimilarity of ecoregional environments that establish a wide range of geographic and environmental barriers, coupled with a limitation of species dispersal. Therefore, the arthropods of higher taxa respond differently to the altitudinal ecoregional zonation.

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