Population Divergence of Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera: Meliponina) in Two Restricted Areas in Bahia, Brazil

Melipona scutellaris Latreille has great economic and ecological importance, especially because it is a pollinator of native plant species. Despite the importance of this species, there is little information about the conservation status of their populations. The objective of this study was to assess the diversity in populations of M. scutellaris coming from a Semideciduous Forest Fragment and an Atlantic Forest Fragment in the Northeast Brazil, through geometric morphometric analysis of wings in worker bees. In each area, worker bees were collected from 10 colonies, 10 workers per colony. To assess the diversity on the right wings of worker bees, 15 landmarks were plotted and the measures were used in analysis of variance and multivariate analysis, principal component analysis, discriminant analysis and clustering analysis. There were significant differences in the shape of the wing venation patterns between colonies of two sites (Wilk’s λ = 0.000006; p < 0.000001), which is probably due to the geographical distance between places of origin which impedes the gene flow between them. It indicates that inter and intrapopulation morphometric variability exists (p <0.000001) in M. scutellaris coming from two different biomes, revealing the existence of diversity in these populations, which is necessary for the conservation of this bee species.

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A Guide to Planting Wildflower Enhancements in Florida

EDIS ◽

10.32473/edis0in1180-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Mary C. Bammer ◽

Josh Campbell ◽

Chase B. Kimmel ◽

James D.. Ellis ◽

Jaret C. Daniels

Keyword(s):

Management Practices ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Native Plant ◽

Agricultural Producers ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Control Techniques ◽

Wild Bee ◽

Pollinator Species ◽

Nesting Sites ◽

The Right

The establishment of native wildflower plantings in Florida can benefit agricultural producers as well as native pollinators and other beneficial insects (predators and parasitoids). The plantings do this by: providing forage and nesting sites for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, increasing wild bee numbers possibly across the farm, and increasing natural enemies of insect pests (that also depend on forage and nesting sites). This document discusses choosing the right mix of native plant species to benefit many pollinator species, as well as proper site selection, planting practices, and weed control techniques. Wildflower plots should be practical to manage, maximize benefits to wildlife, and fit into the overall management practices of the property.

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The Shack Idea

Stories From the Leopold Shack ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190463229.003.0014 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Estella B. Leopold

Keyword(s):

Native Species ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Bird Species ◽

New Order ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Perfect Model ◽

Major Disruption ◽

The Right ◽

Splendid Isolation

As each of us siblings—Starker, Luna, Carl, Nina, and i— matured and entered our professional lives in different parts of the country, we carried with us a hankering to have a place in the country, a Shack of our own. It is not merely real estate, of course. Instead, it is a camping place for feeling close to the land, a place to work with the land and to observe the ecosystem and its fauna. To “own,” or as the first peoples saw it, to “belong” on a piece of land is exciting and special—a chance to become acquainted with a few favorite species, then to watch them grow. But of course it is way more than that. As Dad said, he chose his land for its backwardness, but it flourished in splendid isolation under our care. Shack land, as we conceived of it, had the potential of being inhabited by a vast number of native bird species, plus a diverse fauna of mammals, which got richer with time. We were excited that the Shack landscape itself had such physical variety; it had hills and dales, a grand river, a series of tributaries animated by spring and fall floods, a standing bottomland forest coursed by those floods and occupied by lively muskrats, with ducks flying in and out of the sloughs, as well as kingfishers and jays. Even though it was “degraded” agricultural land, Dad and Mother saw it as a land of opportunities for the family. While it had a “reduced level of complexity,” the soil was still there, and we could help improve it, which actually means that the right plants could make it better. Prairie is the perfect model for this kind of restoration and recovery. Dad described the upward flow of energy from soils through the plant community as a kind of circuit. After major disruption and loss of native species, the energy circuit is slowed and altered. He asked, “Can the land adjust itself to the new order?” He was sure it could if we reintroduced the native plant species on that cornfield, on that terrace, on that hill, in order for a genuine prairie, with its very efficient energy-flow, to become reestablished.

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Changes In Distribution And Structure Of Wild Origanum Vulgare L. Populations During The Last Decade In Armenia And Implications For Conservation

Environment Technology Resources Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference ◽

10.17770/etr2011vol2.959 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 321

Author(s):

Armine Abrahamyan

Keyword(s):

Population Distribution ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Field Studies ◽

Habitat Characteristics ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Limited Information ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Anthropogenic Threats

Armenia has a strong interest in examining the biodiversity of native plant species and assessing their conservation status. Anthropogenic threats to this biodiversity such as overpopulation, deforestation and urbanization have simultaneously hindered research and increased the need for it. Only limited information on the genetic biodiversity, population location, structure and size, and conservation status of most of these species is, however, at this time available. During 2006-2009, field studies were conducted to re-locate populations of wild Melissa officinalis L. on the basis of historical (i.e. herbarium voucher) records, and to discover new populations. The growth, phenological and habitat characteristics of the plant, and overall populations size were assessed. GPS map of present and past population distribution were created. This research provided baseline data that can be used for the development of further ex situ and in vitro strategies to conserve unique genotypes, as well as to assess the sustainability of wild populations with regard to the IUCN Red Book Criteria, of this important medicinal and culinary species in Armenia.

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Biodiversity benefits of alley farming with old man saltbush in central western New South Wales

Animal Production Science ◽

10.1071/ea08280 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 49 (10) ◽

pp. 860 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Julian Seddon ◽

Stuart Doyle ◽

Mark Bourne ◽

Richard Maccallum ◽

Sue Briggs

Keyword(s):

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

New South ◽

Conservation Status ◽

New South Wales ◽

Native Plant ◽

Site Condition ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Alley Farming ◽

South Wales ◽

Terrestrial Biodiversity

Agricultural production systems that also provide opportunities to conserve biodiversity will be a crucial component of integrated and sustainable land use in mixed farming landscapes and should be considered and evaluated. Alley farming is an innovative farming system that aims to increase farm profitability while also enhancing environmental outcomes. Alley farming incorporates belts of woody perennial plants such as trees or shrubs, interspersed with alleys of conventionally rotated cropping and livestock grazing land. In the present study, we assessed the impacts on terrestrial biodiversity of alley farming with the native perennial chenopod shrub old man saltbush (Atriplex nummularia Lindl.) in central western New South Wales. Terrestrial biodiversity conservation status was assessed by site surveys conducted in spring 2005, 2006 and 2007 at 15 old man salt bush alley farming sites (OMSB), 15 conventionally managed sites and three native woodland remnants in and around the Condobolin Agricultural Research and Advisory Station in the central western plains of New South Wales. Biodiversity surveys included an assessment of ‘site condition’ – a metric of biodiversity conservation status at the site scale based on measurement of 10 habitat and vegetation condition attributes, compared against benchmark values for the appropriate native ecosystems with relatively little recent anthropogenic modification. Bird surveys were also conducted to assess the diversity and abundance of birds in OMSB, conventional and remnant woodland sites in four functional response groups. Site condition was significantly higher at remnant woodland sites than at conventional farming and OMSB alley farming sites. Remnant woodland sites had greater native overstorey cover and native ground cover of forbs, more trees with hollows, presence of at least some overstorey regeneration and the presence of fallen logs. Site condition was also significantly higher at OMSB sites than at conventional sites and increased significantly across 3 years. By the third year after establishment, OMSB sites had higher native plant species richness and native mid-storey cover than did conventionally farmed sites. These attributes increased markedly over time at the OMSB sites whereas they did not increase at conventional or remnant woodland sites. Native grasses and forbs established under and around the saltbush plants, indicating that OMSB alley plantings can provide habitat for a wide range of native plant species, enhancing biodiversity values of these areas through improved structure and composition. Improved habitat condition at the OMSB sites after 3 years did not lead to a significantly higher diversity or to a higher overall abundance of birds at the OMSB than at conventional sites. Furthermore, diversity and abundance of birds at both OMSB and conventional sites remained significantly below those of remnant woodland sites. Some decliner bird species were observed using OMSB sites, but not conventional sites. Old man saltbush alley farming can provide direct on-site benefits for native biodiversity by improving the structure, function and composition of vegetation at the site or paddock scale. If proposed as a replacement to conventional crop–pasture rotation, OMSB alley farming can enhance biodiversity conservation values, and where production benefits are likely, could play an important role in the integration of production and conservation as a synergistic ‘win–win’ system in mixed farming enterprises.

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Flora of the natural monument «Cape Plaka» (Southern Coast of the Crimea): preliminary analysis

Title in english ◽

10.36305/2413-3019-2020-11-100-115 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 100-115

Author(s):

L. E. Ryff

Keyword(s):

Preliminary Analysis ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Native Plant ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

The Crimea ◽

Rhus Coriaria ◽

High Conservation ◽

Flora Of The Mediterranean ◽

Cheiranthus Cheiri ◽

Natural Monument

As a result of long standing research, 116 species from 88 genera of 36 families of vascular plants have been registered on the territory of the “Cape Plaka” nature monument. A preliminary analysis of the systematic, geographic and biomorphological structure of the flora was carried out, which showed that it belongs to the flora of the Mediterranean type. A list of habitats of the Cape has been compiled according to the EUNIS habitat classification. It was found that six native plant species ( Asphodeline lutea , Avena barbata , Hedypnois rhagadioloides , Juniperus excelsa , Pistacia mutica , Rhus coriaria ) and five types of biotopes have a conservation status, which confirms the high conservation value of the territory. It is proposed to include two more rare taxa in the list of protected species in the Crimea: Fumaria petteri and Misopates orontium . High invasive activity of Cheiranthus cheiri and two representatives of the genus Opuntia was revealed. It is recommended to combine two natural monuments - “Cape Plaka” and “The Coastal Aquatic Complex at Cape Plaka” - into a single protected area.

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Comparison of the phytochemical profiles of five native plant species in two different forest formations

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/1519-6984.179526 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 79 (2) ◽

pp. 233-242 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. M. Pilatti ◽

A. M. T. Fortes ◽

T. C. M. Jorge ◽

N. P. Boiago

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Abiotic Factors ◽

Retention Factor ◽

Native Plant ◽

Semideciduous Forest ◽

Native Plant Species ◽

Exhaustive Extraction ◽

Phytochemical Profiles ◽

Layer Chromatography ◽

Allelopathic Compounds

Abstract The expression of chemical compounds by individual plants of the same species in different locations may be affected by abiotic factors resulting in differences in the production of allelopathic compounds. The objective of this study was to compare the phytochemical profiles of plant species from two different forest formations in the state of Paraná, Brazil. The forest formations were Seasonal Semideciduous Forest (SSF) and Lowland Ombrophilous Dense Forest (LODF), and the five study species were Jacaranda micrantha, Cecropia pachystachya, Mimosa bimucronata, Schinus terebinthifolius and Cedrela fissilis. Secondary metabolites were extracted by exhaustive extraction with methanol, and the crude extract was fractionated using column chromatography. The fractions were used to calculate the retention factor of the main compounds using thin layer chromatography and phytochemical tests. The classes of compounds identified were practically the same among the analyzed species, however, at different levels of concentration. The type of tannins found in S. terebinthifolius differed between the two forest formations.

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