scholarly journals Biogeography, Systematics, and Ecomorphology of Pacific Island Anoles

Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillips ◽  
Burton ◽  
Womack ◽  
Pulver ◽  
Nicholson
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Eastern Tropical Pacific ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Island Endemics ◽  
The Caribbean

: Anoles are regarded as important models for understanding dynamic processes in ecology and evolution. Most work on this group has focused on species in the Caribbean Sea, and recently in mainland South and Central America. However, the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) is home to seven species of anoles from three unique islands (Islas Cocos, Gorgona, and Malpelo) that have been largely overlooked. Four of these species are endemic to single islands (Norops townsendi on Isla Cocos, Dactyloa agassizi on Isla Malpelo, D. gorgonae and N. medemi on Isla Gorgona). Herein, we present a phylogenetic analysis of anoles from these islands in light of the greater anole phylogeny to estimate the timing of divergence from mainland lineages for each species. We find that two species of solitary anoles (D. agassizi and N. townsendi) diverged from mainland ancestors prior to the emergence of their respective islands. We also present population-wide morphological data suggesting that both display sexual size dimorphism, similar to single-island endemics in the Caribbean. All lineages on Isla Gorgona likely arose during past connections with South America, and ecologically partition their habitat. Finally, we highlight the importance of conservation of these species and island fauna in general.

scholarly journals Sexual Size Dimorphism and Morphological Evidence Supporting the Recognition of two Subspecies in the Galápagos Dove

The Condor ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-141
Author(s):  
Diego Santiago-Alarcon ◽  
Patricia G. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Life History Variation ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Discriminant Analyses

Abstract Abstract Sexual size dimorphism is a conspicuous trait of many wild bird species. Differences in body size between the sexes might reflect selective pressures and trade-offs to optimize performance. Here, we analyze the size dimorphism of the Galápagos Dove (Zenaida galapagoensis) using principal component and discriminant analyses with samples obtained from six islands: Santiago, Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Española, Genovesa, and Wolf. We also reanalyze published morphological data but also including additional samples from Wolf Island to account for morphological differences among islands. Males were significantly larger than females. Discriminant analyses correctly classified 98% of males and 100% of females, and cross-validation of the model correctly classified 97% of males and 98% of females. We created two sexual size dimorphism indices using wing chord and tarsus as body-size surrogates. Significant differences were found in the sexual size dimorphism index for both measurements among islands. Significant differences in sexual size dimorphism among islands might indicate the role of different selective pressures acting on individual islands (e.g., competition, predation, resources, sexual selection), which might result in life history variation of the species among islands. For the first time, we provide significant morphological evidence supporting the classification of the Galápagos Dove into two subspecies: Z. g. galapagoensis and Z. g. exsul.

A revision of Herennia (Araneae:Nephilidae:Nephilinae), the Australasian 'coin spiders'

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matjaž Kuntner
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Solomon Islands ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The Other ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Island Endemics ◽  
Sister Clade ◽  
New Synonymy ◽  
New Britain

The nephilid ‘coin spiders’ (Herennia Thorell) are known for their arboricolous ladder webs, extreme sexual size dimorphism and peculiar sexual biology. This paper revises Herennia taxonomy, systematics, biology and biogeography. The widespread Asian Herennia multipuncta (Doleschall) ( = H. sampitana Karsch, new synonymy; = H. mollis Thorell, new synonymy) is synanthropic and invasive, whereas the other 10 species are narrowly distributed Australasian island endemics: H. agnarssoni, sp. nov. is known from Solomon Islands; H. deelemanae, sp. nov. from northern Borneo; H. etruscilla, sp. nov. from Java; H. gagamba, sp. nov. from the Philippines; H. jernej, sp. nov. from Sumatra; H. milleri, sp. nov. from New Britain; H. oz, sp. nov. from Australia; H. papuana Thorell from New Guinea; H. sonja, sp. nov. from Kalimantan and Sulawesi; and H. tone, sp. nov. from the Philippines. A phylogenetic analysis of seven species of Herennia, six nephilid species and 15 outgroup taxa scored for 190 morphological and behavioural characters resulted in 10 equally parsimonious trees supporting the monophyly of Nephilidae, Herennia, Nephila, Nephilengys and Clitaetra, but the sister-clade to the nephilids is ambiguous. Coin spiders do not fit well established biogeographic lines (Wallace, Huxley) dividing Asian and Australian biotas, but the newly drawn ‘Herennia line’ suggests an all-Australasian speciation in Herennia. To explain the peculiar male sexual behaviour (palpal mutilation and severance) known in Herennia and Nephilengys, three specific hypotheses based on morphological and behavioural data are proposed: (1) broken embolic conductors function as mating plugs; (2) bulb severance following mutilation is advantageous for the male to avoid hemolymph leakage; and (3) the eunuch protects his parental investment by fighting off rival males.

scholarly journals Role of moisture transport for Central American precipitation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana María Durán-Quesada ◽  
Luis Gimeno ◽  
Jorge Amador
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Moisture Transport ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Central American ◽  
Moisture Supply ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Precipitation Trends

Abstract. A climatology of moisture sources linked with Central American precipitation was computed based upon Lagrangian trajectories for the analysis period 1980–2013. The response of the annual cycle of precipitation in terms of moisture supply from the sources was analysed. Regional precipitation patterns are mostly driven by moisture transport from the Caribbean Sea (CS). Moisture supply from the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETPac) and Northern South America (NSA) exhibits a strong seasonal pattern but weaker compared to CS. The regional distribution of rainfall is largely influenced by a local signal associated with surface fluxes during the first part of the rainy season, whereas large scale dynamics forces rainfall during the second part of the rainy season. The Caribbean Low Level Jet (CLLJ) and the Chocó Jet (CJ) are the main conveyors of regional moisture, being key to define the seasonality of large scale forced rainfall. Therefore, interannual variability of rainfall is highly dependent of the regional LLJs to the atmospheric variability modes. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was found to be the dominant mode affecting moisture supply for Central American precipitation via the modulation of regional phenomena. Evaporative sources show opposite anomaly patterns during warm and cold ENSO phases, as a result of the strengthening and weakening, respectively, of the CLLJ during the summer months. Trends in both moisture supply and precipitation over the last three decades were computed, results suggest that precipitation trends are not homogeneous for Central America. Trends in moisture supply from the sources identified show a marked north-south seesaw, with an increasing supply from the Caribbean Sea to northern Central America. Long term trends in moisture supply are larger for the transition months (March and October). This might have important implications given that any changes in the conditions seen during the transition to the rainy season may induce stronger precipitation trends.

Regional Aspects of Prolonged Meteorological Droughts over Mexico and Central America

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1175-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matías Méndez ◽  
Víctor Magaña
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Moisture Flux ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
The Caribbean

Abstract Major prolonged droughts in Mexico during the twentieth century are mainly related to anomalous dry summers, such as those observed in the 1930s, the 1950s, or the 1990s. Droughts in northern Mexico frequently coincide with anomalously wet conditions over Mesoamerica (i.e., southern Mexico and Central America), and vice versa, displaying a dominant “seesaw” structure in persistent precipitation anomalies, mostly in relation to tropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. A warmer North Atlantic Ocean, expressed as a positive phase of Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO), is related to the occurrence of major droughts in North America associated with weaker-than-normal moisture flux into northern Mexico. Drought over northern Mexico may also be related to changes in transient activity in the Caribbean Sea. During the negative phase of the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO), the Caribbean low-level jet (CLLJ) weakens and easterly wave (EW) activity increases, leading to more tropical convection over Mesoamerica and less moisture flux into northern Mexico. On the other hand, when EW activity is weak over the intra-Americas seas (IAS) (i.e., the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea) because of a stronger-than-normal CLLJ, precipitation increases over northern Mexico. Therefore, the interaction between easterly waves and the trade winds over the IAS appears to be crucial to explain the spatial patterns of droughts that have affected Mexico. In addition, low-frequency modulators, such as AMO or PDO, may serve to explain the spatial patterns of severe prolonged droughts in Mexico during the nineteenth century.

scholarly journals Pacific and Atlantic Multidecadal Variability Relations with the Choco and Caribbean Low-Level Jets during the 1900–2015 Period

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1120
Author(s):  
Wilmar L. Cerón ◽  
Mary T. Kayano ◽  
Rita V. Andreoli ◽  
Alvaro Avila-Diaz ◽  
Itamara Parente de Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
The United States ◽  
Atmospheric Modeling ◽  
Cyclonic Circulation ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Sst Gradient

This study analyzes the variability of the Choco jet (CJ) and Caribbean low-level jet (CLLJ) with consideration of the simultaneous Pacific interdecadal oscillation (PDO) and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) low-frequency mean states and their effects on the atmospheric circulation and rainfall in northwestern South America and Central America for the 1900–2015 period, during the seasons with the highest intensities of the CJ (September–November (SON)) and the CLLJ (June–August). Variations in the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly positioning in the eastern Pacific, tropical North Atlantic (TNA)/Caribbean Sea during different mean states restrict the anomalous circulation, and, consequently, the intensity of the CJ and CLLJ. During the warm AMO (WAMO)/cold PDO (CPDO), the SST gradient from the tropical Pacific into the TNA, accompanied by a cyclonic circulation near the east coast of the Americas, intensifies the west–east circulation in the region, strengthening the CJ and weakening the CLLJ during SON such that rainfall increases over Colombia, Central America and in adjacent oceans. During the cold AMO (CAMO)/warm PDO (WPDO) phase, a relative east/west SST gradient occurs in TNA, consistent with a cyclonic circulation in western TNA, establishing an anomalous southwest–northwestward circulation from the eastern Pacific into the Caribbean basin, forming a well-configured CJ, increasing precipitation over Central America and its adjacent oceans. For the CLLJ, during CAMO phases, the anticyclonic circulations extended over most of the TNA favor its intensification from 30° W to the Caribbean Sea. In contrast, during WAMO, the cyclonic circulation near the east coast of the United States restricts its intensification to the Caribbean Sea region. To the best of our knowledge, the results presented here are new and might be useful in atmospheric modeling and extreme event studies.

Caribbean Americans

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia Bayne-Smith ◽  
Annette M. Mahoney
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
African Ancestry ◽  
Caribbean Sea ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Caribbean Population ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Caribbean Populations

The diverse group of people referred to as Caribbean Americans come from the Circum-Caribbean region, which includes the island nations of the Caribbean Sea and the nations of Central America from Belize to Panama—35 nations in all. The heterogeneity of the Caribbean population is due to the colonization and geopolitical division of the region among English, Dutch, Spanish, and French colonizers, which resulted in many different cultures, ethnic groups, languages, educational systems, religious beliefs, and practices. However, the majority of the Caribbean populations share an African ancestry.

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