scholarly journals Phylogeography and morphometric variation in the Cinnamon Hummingbird complex: Amazilia rutila (Aves: Trochilidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melisa Vázquez-López ◽  
Nandadevi Córtes-Rodríguez ◽  
Sahid M. Robles-Bello ◽  
Alfredo Bueno-Hernández ◽  
Luz E. Zamudio-Beltrán ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The Mesoamerican dominion is a biogeographic area of great interest due to its complex topography and distinctive climatic history. This area has a large diversity of habitats, including tropical deciduous forests, which house a large number of endemic species. Here, we assess phylogeographic pattern, genetic and morphometric variation in the Cinnamon Hummingbird complex Amazilia rutila, which prefers habitats in this region. This resident species is distributed along the Pacific coast from Sinaloa—including the Tres Marías Islands in Mexico to Costa Rica, and from the coastal plain of the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico south to Belize. Methods We obtained genetic data from 85 samples of A. rutila, using 4 different molecular markers (mtDNA: ND2, COI; nDNA: ODC, MUSK) on which we performed analyses of population structure (median-joining network, STRUCTURE, FST, AMOVA), Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analyses, and divergence time estimates. In order to evaluate the historic suitability of environmental conditions, we constructed projection models using past scenarios (Pleistocene periods), and conducted Bayesian Skyline Plots (BSP) to visualize changes in population sizes over time. To analyze morphometric variation, we took measurements of 5 morphological traits from 210 study skins. We tested for differences between sexes, differences among geographic groups (defined based on genetic results), and used PCA to examine the variation in multivariate space. Results Using mtDNA, we recovered four main geographic groups: the Pacific coast, the Tres Marías Islands, the Chiapas region, and the Yucatán Peninsula together with Central America. These same groups were recovered by the phylogenetic results based on the multilocus dataset. Demography based on BSP results showed constant population size over time throughout the A. rutila complex and within each geographic group. Ecological niche model projections onto past scenarios revealed no drastic changes in suitable conditions, but revealed some possible refuges. Morphometric results showed minor sexual dimorphism in this species and statistically significant differences between geographic groups. The Tres Marías Islands population was the most differentiated, having larger body size than the remaining groups. Conclusions The best supported evolutionary hypothesis of diversification within this group corresponds to geographic isolation (limited gene flow), differences in current environmental conditions, and historical habitat fragmentation promoted by past events (Pleistocene refugia). Four well-defined clades comprise the A. rutila complex, and we assess the importance of a taxonomic reevaluation. Our data suggest that both of A. r. graysoni (Tres Marías Islands) and A. r. rutila (Pacific coast) should be considered full species. The other two strongly supported clades are: (a) the Chiapas group (southern Mexico), and (b) the populations from Yucatán Peninsula and Central America. These clades belong to the corallirostris taxon, which needs to be split and properly named.

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1889-1903 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Brizuela ◽  
A. Armigliato ◽  
S. Tinti

Abstract. Central America (CA), from Guatemala to Panama, has been struck by at least 52 tsunamis between 1539 and 2013, and in the extended region from Mexico to northern Peru (denoted as ECA, Extended Central America in this paper) the number of recorded tsunamis in the same time span is more than 100, most of which were triggered by earthquakes located in the Middle American Trench that runs parallel to the Pacific coast. The most severe event in the catalogue is the tsunami that occurred on 2 September 1992 off Nicaragua, with run-up measured in the range of 5–10 m in several places along the Nicaraguan coast. The aim of this paper is to assess the tsunami hazard on the Pacific coast of this extended region, and to this purpose a hybrid probabilistic-deterministic analysis is performed, that is adequate for tsunamis generated by earthquakes. More specifically, the probabilistic approach is used to compute the Gutenberg–Richter coefficients of the main seismic tsunamigenic zones of the area and to estimate the annual rate of occurrence of tsunamigenic earthquakes and their corresponding return period. The output of the probabilistic part of the method is taken as input by the deterministic part, which is applied to calculate the tsunami run-up distribution along the coast.


Check List ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 501-505
Author(s):  
Rudolf H. Scheffrahn

New World species of the genus Incisitermes Krishna, 1961 range from California to Peru.  The soldier of this genus is notable for the incised anterior margin of the pronotum and the elongated third antennal article.  I report the broad occurrence of Incisitermes platycephalus (Light, 1933) from extreme southern Mexico to the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. Incisitermes nigritus (Snyder, 1946) from Guatemala is a junior synonym of I. platycephalus.  Among Incisitermes, I.  platycephalus is characterized by its small size, dark imago, and dorsoventrally compressed soldier head capsule.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 2983-3021
Author(s):  
B. Brizuela ◽  
A. Armigliato ◽  
S. Tinti

Abstract. Central America has been struck by at least 49 tsunamis between 1539 and 1996. As many as 37 of these events occurred at the Pacific Coast, and 31 were generated by earthquakes. Some of the events have been destructive, but despite this, tsunamis are an underrated hazard in Central America: people are not aware that they are at risk and even recent tsunami events have been forgotten. Recent studies, following the destructive tsunami occurred in Nicaragua in 1992, have revealed that Central America is a moderately tsunamigenic zone that is mainly affected by tsunamis triggered by earthquakes, especially at the Pacific coast where the Middle American Trench runs parallel to the coast. In this study, a statistical first and then a deterministic analysis for the Pacific coast of Central America has been carried out. The statistical approach aims to estimate the Gutenberg-Richter coefficients of the main seismic tsunamigenic regions of the area in order to assess the annual rate of occurrence of tsunamigenic earthquakes and their corresponding return period. A deterministic approach is then used to compute the tsunami run-up distribution along the coast corresponding to a given annual rate of occurrence of tsunamigenic earthquakes.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3168
Author(s):  
Alejandra Morales Mérida ◽  
Aude Helier ◽  
Adriana A. Cortés-Gómez ◽  
Marc Girondot

In marine turtles, sex is determined during a precise period during incubation: males are produced at lower temperatures and females at higher temperatures, a phenomenon called temperature-dependent sex determination. Nest temperature depends on many factors, including solar radiation. Albedo is the measure of the proportion of reflected solar radiation, and in terms of sand color, black sand absorbs the most energy, while white sand reflects more solar radiation. Based on this observation, darker sand beaches with higher temperatures should produce more females. As marine turtles show a high degree of philopatry, including natal homing, dark beaches should also produce more female hatchlings that return to nest when mature. When sand color is heterogeneous in a region, we hypothesize that darker beaches would have the most nests. Nevertheless, the high incubation temperature on beaches with a low albedo may result in low hatching success. Using Google Earth images and the SWOT database of nesting olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) in the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America, we modeled sand color and nesting activity to test the hypothesis that darker beaches host larger concentrations of females because of feminization on darker beaches and female philopatry. We found the opposite result: the lower hatching success at beaches with a lower albedo could be the main driver of nesting activity heterogeneity for olive ridleys in Central America.


1969 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-40
Author(s):  
George N. Wolcott

The spiraea aphid, Aphis spiraecola Patch, which previous to 1924 was known only on species of Spiraea in the northern United States, in that year appeared in mass infestations on citrus trees in Florida and Cuba, causing enormous damage by distorting and resetting the young growth. By 1926 it had spread to Puerto Rico, attacking not only various endemic trees and plants, but being implicated in the transmission of a new virus disease of papaya. By 1928, it was reported on citrus from Honduras in Central America, and it has since dispersed to Costa Rica, and on a great variety of hosts to California, Oregon, and Washington on the Pacific Coast.


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4319 (2) ◽  
pp. 371
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER SCHARPF

Hubbs (1938) described Typhlias pearsei, representing both a new genus and species of blind cusk-eel (Ophidiiformes: Dinematichthyidae) from freshwater caves and sinkholes of the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico. Whitley (1951:67) proposed Typhliasina as a replacement name for Typhlias, citing a list of zoological names published by Neave (1950:284), but did not mention the taxon and author to which the putative senior homonym belonged. Cohen and Nielsen (1978:60) treated Typhliasina as a junior synonym of Ogilbia Jordan & Evermann 1898 in their provisional classification of the Ophidiiformes, wherein they mentioned that Typhlias Hubbs 1938 is preoccupied by Typhlias Bryce 1910 in rotifers. Typhlias Bryce 1910 has subsequently been given as the senior homonym in three important works: the FAO species catalog of ophidiiform fishes (Nielsen & Cohen 1999:134), Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America (Nielsen 2003:507), and a revisionary study (Møller et al. 2004:186) in which Typhliasina is resurrected from the synonymy of Ogilbia. However, a careful reading of Neave (1950) and Bryce (1910) reveals a fact that had apparently been overlooked: Typhlias Bryce 1910 is not an available name, but a lapsus for Typhlina Ehrenberg 1831. 


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucero del C. López Castilla ◽  
René Garruña Hernández ◽  
Crescencio de la Cruz Castillo Aguilar ◽  
Aida Martínez-Hernández ◽  
Matilde Margarita Ortiz-García ◽  
...  

Mexico has a wealth of Capsicum species, which has led to the development of a large number of chili pepper landraces. A great wealth of Capsicum germplasm can be found in southern Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula, an important area of diversification of Capsicum annuum. Specifically, in the western Yucatan Peninsula, three of the five domesticated species of Capsicum (C. annuum, C. chinense and C. frutescens) have been reported. However, information on their genetic diversity, conservation status and potential use is lacking. To generate useful information toward the sustainable use, management and conservation of these species, we evaluated the structure, diversity and genetic relationships of nine accessions of Capsicum spp., of major importance cultivated in the western Yucatan Peninsula using 42 ISSR loci. The results indicated that these accessions consisted of three genetic groups that were defined by the respective species of each accession. The level of genetic diversity was moderate and distributed mainly among accessions. The ISSR markers detected a high level of polymorphism and allowed the genetic differentiation of the C. annuum complex. The results indicated that the accessions collected in the western Yucatan Peninsula constitute a valuable genetic resource that can be used in genetic improvement and conservation programs.


Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3178 (1) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
TORE HØISÆTER

The Panamic biogeographic province has long been thought to harbour a rich pyramidellid fauna. In the compilation of Keen (1971) the family is second only to the Turridae in being the most speciose gastropod family in the region, and no less than 350 species are listed. However a number of these have later been recognized to be synonyms, and in the update of the compilation by Skoglund (2002) the number of pyramidellids was reduced to 258.


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