DISTRIBUTION AND BIOLOGY OF INVASIVE SPECIES OF BEAN BRUCHID ACANTHOSCELIDES OBTECTUS (INSECTA, COLEOPTERA, BRUCHIDAE)

The review of literary sources on ecology, biology, distribution of bean bruchid ( Acanthoscelides obtectus ) and its main food plant - Phaseolus vulgaris in North and South America; Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and more details in Russia; the influence of abiotic, biotic and anthropogenic factors on the invasive process, phytosanitary condition of common bean crops in Russia is presented. Some aspects of the invader management are shown. The main stages and areas of cultivation of common bean and invasion of bean bruchid from their primary habitat in South America and in the south of North America are traced; the vectors and reasons causing them are considered. In Russia, the economic importance of bean bruchid has increased since the mid-1980s, which coincided with the climate warming; there was an expansion of its distribution in the eastern and north-western directions. At the last decades of the 20th century, it had penetrated in Smolensk and in the south part of the Tver and the Tomsk regions. With the increase in production of beans in Russia, the lack of systemic protection from bean bruchid and further increase of climate warming will contribute to the extension of its range to the north in the European part of Russia and the Urals to 57-58° N. Lat., where the conditions of the summer period are favorable for development of common bean and bean bruchid. To the east, it may spread to Tyva, Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal territory, the Amur region, the Jewish Autonomous region, and the southern part of the Khabarovsk territory. With the introduction of strict internal quarantine and a system of protection of common bean from this pest, which prevents the spread of infected dry bean, on the contrary, it is possible to reduce the distribution range of the bean bruchid, with its disappearance in the Siberian, Ural districts, Bashkortostan and Tatarstan.

West Indian Manatees Use Partial Migration to Expand Their Geographic Range Into the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Partial migration provides a mechanism for species to shift their geographic ranges into new, environmentally favorable regions but has been poorly studied as a means to alleviate effects of climate change. Populations at the edge of their geographic range are ideal to investigate how migratory behaviors may enable range expansion as adjacent areas become more climatically favorable. We determined the contribution of partial migration to the range expansion of West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) using GPS data from tagged individuals that migrated between the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) and primary habitat in peninsular Florida. Most of these manatees migrated to the nGoM annually and exhibited high site fidelity among years. Many individuals spent cumulatively more time in the nGoM than in peninsular Florida, indicating the nGoM is a regular part of their geographic range, and they returned to peninsular Florida to meet temperature-related physiological needs for survival. Autumn migrations most frequently terminated at Crystal River, Florida, and manatees that commenced migration late in the season stopped less frequently and had more directed movements. Spring migrations most frequently terminated at Mobile Bay, Alabama, and several manatees quickly and directly migrated from Florida to nGoM stopover sites. Migrations ranged from 10 to 133 days in length, and variation in duration was primarily driven by use of stopover sites and directedness of travel. These data confirm partial migration as an important component of manatee migratory behavior that has already enabled range shifts for manatees on the U.S.A. Gulf of Mexico coast and has potential to facilitate future responses to climate change. As the most common type of migration across the animal kingdom, partial migration may provide a global mechanism for a diverse variety of species to resist the range limiting effects of climate change.

Coming from the Wild: Multidrug Resistant Opportunistic Pathogens Presenting a Primary, Not Human-Linked, Environmental Habitat

The use and misuse of antibiotics have made antibiotic-resistant bacteria widespread nowadays, constituting one of the most relevant challenges for human health at present. Among these bacteria, opportunistic pathogens with an environmental, non-clinical, primary habitat stand as an increasing matter of concern at hospitals. These organisms usually present low susceptibility to antibiotics currently used for therapy. They are also proficient in acquiring increased resistance levels, a situation that limits the therapeutic options for treating the infections they cause. In this article, we analyse the most predominant opportunistic pathogens with an environmental origin, focusing on the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance they present. Further, we discuss the functions, beyond antibiotic resistance, that these determinants may have in the natural ecosystems that these bacteria usually colonize. Given the capacity of these organisms for colonizing different habitats, from clinical settings to natural environments, and for infecting different hosts, from plants to humans, deciphering their population structure, their mechanisms of resistance and the role that these mechanisms may play in natural ecosystems is of relevance for understanding the dissemination of antibiotic resistance under a One-Health point of view.

The Selective Advantage of the lac Operon for Escherichia coli Is Conditional on Diet and Microbiota Composition

The lac operon is one of the best known gene regulatory circuits and constitutes a landmark example of how bacteria tune their metabolism to nutritional conditions. It is nearly ubiquitous in Escherichia coli strains justifying the use of its phenotype, the ability to consume lactose, for species identification. Lactose is the primary sugar found in milk, which is abundant in mammals during the first weeks of life. However, lactose is virtually non-existent after the weaning period, with humans being an exception as many consume dairy products throughout their lives. The absence of lactose during adulthood in most mammals and the rarity of lactose in the environment, means that the selective pressure for maintaining the lac operon could be weak for long periods of time. Despite the ability to metabolize lactose being a hallmark of E. coli’s success when colonizing its primary habitat, the mammalian intestine, the selective value of this trait remains unknown in this ecosystem during adulthood. Here we determine the competitive advantage conferred by the lac operon to a commensal strain of E. coli when colonizing the mouse gut. We find that its benefit, which can be as high as 11%, is contingent on the presence of lactose in the diet and on the presence of other microbiota members in the gut, but the operon is never deleterious. These results help explaining the pervasiveness of the lac operon in E. coli, but also its polymorphism, as lac-negative E. coli strains albeit rare can naturally occur in the gut.

Fin Shape, Asymmetry, and Evolutionary Ecomorphology in Triggerfishes and Filefishes (Superfamily: Balistoidea)

Triggerfishes and filefishes exhibit a wide range of fin and body morphologies, inhabit many marine habitats, and feed on a variety of benthic and pelagic organisms. Particular morphologies are predicted to provide functional advantages for swimming behaviors that facilitate life in diverse habitats and feeding guilds. Ecomorphological relationships can, in turn, inform evolutionary patterns of morphological convergence. We quantified morphological diversity of 80 balistoid species using geometric morphometrics and assigned each species a primary habitat and feeding mode. Results revealed strong evidence for evolutionary integration among body and fin shapes as well as widespread convergence of both high and low aspect ratio (AR) dorsal and anal fins, the fins that power steady locomotion in these fishes. Dorsal and anal fins were determined to be moderately to highly asymmetrical in most species. Families exhibited considerable overlap in fin and body shapes, but triggerfishes generally exhibited higher AR and more asymmetrical fins than filefishes. Fin asymmetry was not strongly associated with ecology. Planktivorous and offshore-pelagic species exhibited high AR dorsal and anal fins suitable for high endurance swimming performance, while benthic grazing and structured reef species exhibited convergence on low AR median fins more suitable for facilitating maneuverability.

An unknown hotspot of plant diversity in the heart of the Central Apennine: flora and vegetation outline of Mt. Pozzoni-St. Rufo valley (Cittareale, Rieti)

Surprisingly enough, Italy still has some botanically unexplored areas; among these there are some territories between Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzo not included in any protected area. The study area, ranging for 340 ha, includes the mountainous area of Mt. Pozzoni-Mt. Prato-St. Rufo valley, which forms the upper part of the river Velino basin, located in the territory of the municipality of Cittareale (Rieti, Lazio), at an elevation from 1150 to 1903 m a.s.l. The substrate is mainly made of marly limestone of the Meso-Cenozoic Umbria-Marche sedimentary succession. The climate is Temperate and comprises vegetation belts from the montane to sub-alpine. Land cover is dominated by pastures and deciduous forests, with only a few hay meadows. 794 entities have been detected: 16% are considered rare or very rare for the regional territory with several floristic novelties for the regional flora, 6% of the total was found to be endemic to Italy and only eight taxa were aliens. Four taxa are new for the regional flora of Lazio: Arum cylindraceum, Alopecurus pratensis subsp. pratensis, Hieracium bupleuroides and Trinia glauca subsp. glauca. Forest vegetation is represented by beech forests, while dry grasslands are the most widespread vegetation type. The greatest phytocoenotic diversity was found within the secondary pastures. Particularly interesting is the plant community with Iris marsica, which suggests that limestone mountain ledges can represent a primary habitat for this endemic species of the Central Apennine. The presence of several habitats listed in the EU Habitat Directive indicates how the lack of detailed territorial knowledge can lead to the non-designation of conservation sites in areas of high naturalistic value. These findings showed that botanical explorations in territories which are still not known could contribute significantly to the identification of areas of high interest in conserving plant diversity.

DIVERSITY OF THE BIBIONOMORPHA AND TIPULOMORPHA (DIPTERA) FROM DEAD ASH AND ASPEN WOOD IN THE FORESTS OF LITHUANIA

The aim of this study was to investigate the biodiversity of nematoceran flies associated with dead wood in a forest ecosystem. Although wood is a primary habitat for a vast amount of Diptera species, no effort has previously been made to study saproxylic flies in Lithuania. During this research, emergence traps were used on aspen (Populus tremula) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior) trees in Dūkštų Ąžuolynas forest and Būda Botanical-Zoological Reserve during the period 2014–2019. In total, 672 individuals of the Bibionomorpha and Tipulomorpha collected from fallen tree trunks were identified to species. Seventy-four species represented nine families, with the Sciaridae, Anisopodidae and Mycetophilidae being most abundant. The Sciaridae family has barely studied in Lithuania and its diversity is still poorly known. During the research 23 nematoceran species, of which 19 belonging to the Sciaridae family, are first reported from Lithuania. Key words: nematoceran, saproxylic species, emergence traps.

Updated Distribution of Endangered Psathyrella ammophila in Poland – New Localities on Wolin Island

<em>Psathyrella ammophila </em>is a psammophilous fungus most frequently inhabiting seashore beaches, sand dunes and sandy inland areas. Although it is a widely spread species, in some countries it is rare or threatened, including Poland, where it is classified as “endangered” (E). In Poland, <em>P. ammophila </em>has been found in 26 localities, including 14 new reports after 1970. We present two new Polish localities from white sand dunes at the western shore of the Baltic Sea (Wolin Island). Moreover, ecological information and macroscopic and microscopic features of the basidiocarp based on collected samples are presented. The problem of the disappearance of dunes as a primary habitat of <em>P. ammophila </em>is also discussed.

Brazil’s Next Deforestation Frontiers

Public land grabbing, concomitant with hinterland colonization and agrarian reform programs, translocated millions of rural migrants into remote regions of Brazil, most recently to the Amazonian forest domain. Despite state-of-the-art command-and-control and remote sensing monitoring systems in Brazil, effective law enforcement in a country of ∼8.5 million km2 remains a huge challenge, and particularly difficult in times of lenient central-government environmental policies. Cropland and pasture expansion is the most important factor in land use change in Brazil, and the leading driver of primary habitat conversion worldwide. This essay discusses the most likely business-as-usual agricultural frontiers in Northern and Central Brazil to make room for new farmland: the MaToPiBa region in the transitional Cerrado-Caatinga biogeographic zone; the northernmost Cerrado areas of Amapá; and the opening-up of Indigenous Lands to industrial scale agriculture. We discuss the origins, recent developments and implications to conservation of these new agricultural frontiers.