An annotated checklist of the psyllids of California (Hemiptera: Psylloidea)

A revised checklist to the species of Psylloidea (Hemiptera) from California is presented, with information on host plantdata, distributions, introduced and pest species, parasites, parasitoids, and predators, and biological control programs. Thelist includes 164 species, of which six are newly recorded. In total, this comprises a 26% increase in the number of speciesrecorded for California since the last published checklist in 1988. Choricymoza Bliven is a new synonym of PhylloplectaRiley, and 10 species previously in Euphalerus Schwarz are recombined under Nyctiphalerus Bliven. California has therichest native psyllid fauna in North America, and the influence of climatic and floristic diversity on this diversificationis considered. Key words: biogeography, host plant, jumping plant lice, species diversity, pest species.

Biogeographic relationships between the macrofungi of temperate eastern Asia and eastern North America

Eastern North America and temperate eastern Asia reportedly share a relatively high number of taxa of macrofungi (mushrooms and relatives), including a number of taxa that have putative eastern North America – temperate eastern Asia disjunct distributions. These reports have been used to imply an affinity between the mycota (fungal equivalent of flora and fauna) of the two regions. To date, however, this affinity has not been examined in detail. A comparison of north temperate macrofungal mycotas was undertaken to examine the similarity between these regions. We used two methods in this study: (i) direct comparison of taxon lists and (ii) calculation of the Simpson Coefficient of similarity from lists of selected taxa. These analyses were based on field work, herbarium records, and published taxonomic treatments for Amanita, Lactarius, Ramaria, and Boletaceae. Results of these analyses document that taxonomic similarity between eastern North America and temperate eastern Asia mycotas can be quite high. In all cases, the calculated similarity values for eastern North America – temperate eastern Asia comparisons are higher than those between either region of North America and Europe or between western North America and eastern Asia. Furthermore, the eastern North American and temperate eastern Asian disjunct distributions of macrofungi are usually limited to the level of species or lower. Key words: biogeography, China, disjunct distribution, macrofungi, North America, Simpson Coefficient.

Biogeography and fungal systematics

Almost all mycogeographic studies to date have dealt with fungi that are directly or indirectly associated with plants; very few have been concerned with fungal associates of insects or other animals. Some widespread species of Trichomycetes (Zygomycota), all of which live in arthropod guts, are useful subjects for biogeographic studies, and such an approach can be used in some instances to distinguish between long-distance dispersal and vicariance events. Evidence for the presumed antiquity of certain trichomycete species is provided using specific examples of Eccrinales and Asellariales in marine Isopoda, and Harpellales in lotic larvae of Chironomidae and Plecoptera. These examples indicate that speciation of the fungi is more conservative than that of their hosts. Thirty-two isolates of Smittium culisetae cultured from different continents and from several families of dipteran hosts had almost no variation in their isozyme patterns, which suggests a degree of evolutionary stasis in that species. Historical mycogeography, though it requires some basic knowledge of the taxonomy of fungal groups, adds a spacial component to phylogenetic systematics as well as a more realistic time scale than phylogeny alone can provide. Mycogeography can also be used to reassess and develop new phylogenies for some fungal species. Key words: biogeography, fungi, Harpellales, insects, isopods, Trichomycetes.

Relationships between some North Atlantic and North Pacific species of Porphyra (Bangiales, Rhodophyta): evidence from isozymes, morphology, and chromosomes

Five pairs of putative sibling species of Porphyra are recognized between the boreal North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans on the basis of similarities in isozymes, morphology, and chromosomes. These pairs are North Atlantic P. amplissima and North Pacific P. miniata (recognized here as P. cuneiformis), North Atlantic P. "leucosticta" and North Pacific P. fucicola, North Atlantic P. "linearis" and North Pacific P. pseudolinearis, North Atlantic P. miniata and North Pacific P. variegata, and North Atlantic P. "purpurea" and North Pacific P. "purpurea." Species names in quotation marks are tentative, pending verification by further studies, since at least two species are currently recognized by each of these names. Evidence from isozymes and morphology is used to support separation of P. amplissima and P. cuneiformis from P. miniata, and reference is made to their type specimens. Key words: biogeography, chromosomes, isozymes, morphology, Porphyra, vicariance.

Smittium bullatum from a New Zealand midge larva and new records of other trichomycete gut fungi

An apparently uncommon gut fungus, Smittium bullatum (Trichomycetes, Harpellales), is described from Chironomidae (Orthocladiinae) larvae living in South Island, New Zealand, streams. Records of other Harpellales in South Island aquatic insects are reported, including the presence of zygospores of the New Zealand species Pennella asymmetrica from Simuliidae larvae. The richness of some harpellid gut fungi in New Zealand is compared with that in Australia and other parts of the world, and the biogeography of Smittium is discussed. Key words: biogeography, Chironomidae, Diptera, New Zealand, Smittium, Trichomycetes.

An analysis of morphological variation in Senecio cymbalaria (Asteraceae)

Senecio cymbalaria Pursh is an arctic-alpine perennial that exhibits a broad range of morphological variation and occurs in four disjunct regions within North America. In this study, a morphological analysis of herbarium material is undertaken to determine whether the observed morphological variation is primarily attributable to morphological discontinuities among geographically isolated groups. Eighty individuals representing the total geographic range of the species were scored for 24 morphological characters and the data matrix subjected to principal components and cluster analyses. Individuals from the southern Rocky Mountains, previously recognized as Senecio conterminus, are separated from the remainder of S. cymbalaria in both analyses. Our results support recognition of two species, S. conterminus and S. cymbalaria. Although populations from the Gaspé and from Newfoundland form somewhat distinct clusters, neither can clearly be distinguished from populations of S. cymbalaria from Alaska, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories. Chromosome counts of 2n = 138 were obtained from two individuals from the Gaspé peninsula. Key words: biogeography, phenetics, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Senecio, disjunction, chromosome numbers.