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opencc-zeroJun 2019View details →

Data from: Fallow management increases habitat suitability for endangered steppe bird species through changes in vegetation structure

In the face of the dramatic worldwide decline of farmland bird populations, the preservation of fallow fields is a conservation measure encouraged through subsidies (e.g. agri‐environmental schemes, AES). Beyond the general benefits of increasing fallow availability for endangered steppe bird populations, there is a lack of knowledge on how fallow management can contribute to meeting species‐specific habitat requirements. We used occurrence data from three steppe bird species protected at the EU level (Stone Curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax, and Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra), framed in a quasi‐experimental approach covering an unprecedented spatio‐temporal scale that included 612 fallow fields over a three‐year study period in an agricultural Mediterranean landscape (Spain). We used path analysis to explore the mechanisms by which common agricultural practices affected species‐specific occurrence. We examined partial effects of agricultural practices on vegetation structure and food availability, and the partial effect of these variables on bird occurrence compared to control fields (no agricultural practices applied). Agricultural practices had a significant effect on the presence of the three studied species. Through changes in the vegetation structure, Shredding + Herbicide and Tillage increased the occurrence of the Stone Curlew and Shredding increased the occurrence of the Little Bustard. The occurrence of Calandra Lark was mostly affected by landscape variables. Synthesis and applications. Our study highlights that, in addition to the acknowledged positive role of fallow availability, applying a limited number of specific agricultural practices before the breeding season can further increase bird occurrence by changing the vegetation structure. Using path analysis, we explored the mechanisms driving the occurrence of three steppe bird species under different agricultural practices. Such information is key to providing specific recommendations for future conservation management of endangered species within agri‐environmental schemes.

opennotspecifiedDec 2006View details →

FIGURE 1. a in A new species of Liolaemus from central steppes of Chubut, Patagonia Argentina (Reptilia: Iguania: Iguanidae)

FIGURE 1. a. Adult male holotype of Liolaemus uptoni in life from Bajada del Buey, Gastre, Chubut, dorsal view. Photo: J.A. Scolaro, 07032000. b. Adult male holotype of Liolaemus somuncurae from a landscape between Laguna Raimundo and Laguna Miñuelo, 1400 m asl., Somuncurá Plateau, Río Negro. Photo: J.M. Cei, 21021980.

FIGURES 35–38 in On the synonymy of two wolf spider species of the genus Alopecosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) from the steppe zone of Russia

FIGURES 35–38. Habitats of Alopecosa cronebergi in Orenburg (35–37) and Astrakhan' (38) regions. 35 grassy-wormwood (Artemisia) steppe; 36 Artemisia–Festuca steppe; 37 saline-land; 38 grass steppe.

FIGURES 9–18 in On the synonymy of two wolf spider species of the genus Alopecosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) from the steppe zone of Russia

FIGURES 9–18. Epigyne and male palp of Alopecosa cronebergi. 9, 11–14 epigyne, ventral (11–14 A. cronebergi syntypes); 10 female internal genitalia, dorsal; 15, 17 male palp ventral (15 holotype of A. atypical); 16, 18 male palp, pro- and retrolateral. view. Scale = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 19–24 in On the synonymy of two wolf spider species of the genus Alopecosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) from the steppe zone of Russia

FIGURES 19–24. Syntype female (19) of Alopecosa cronebergi and holotype male of A. atypica (20–24). 19–20 habitus, dorsal; 21 male palp, ventral; 22–23 bulb without embolic division, ventral and anterior-prolateral; 24 cymbium and tibia, dorsal. Scale = 1mm (19–20), 0.1 mm (21–24).

FIGURES 31–34 in On the synonymy of two wolf spider species of the genus Alopecosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) from the steppe zone of Russia

FIGURES 31–34. Dissected palp of A. cronebergi (holotype of A. atypica). 31–32 embolic division, posterior and ventral; 33 tegulum, anterior; 34 embolic division, anterior. Scale = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 25–30 in On the synonymy of two wolf spider species of the genus Alopecosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) from the steppe zone of Russia

FIGURES 25–30. Male palp and epigyne of A. cronebergi. 25, 27 tegular apophysis, ventral and retrolateral; 26 embolic division, ventral; 28–30 epigyne, ventral. 28 from Astrakhan', 29–30 from Orenburg. Scale = 0.1 mm (25–27) and 0.5 mm (28– 30).

opennotspecifiedDec 2007View details →

FIGURE 2. a in A new species of Phymaturus from rocky outcrops in the central steppe of Rio Negro province, Patagonia Argentina (Reptilia: Iguania: Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 2. a. Adult female paratype of Phymaturus ceii in life from Chasicó, Río Negro, dorsal view. Photo: J.A. Scolaro, 24-03-2006. b. Adults male and female: ventral view. Photo: J.A. Scolaro, 24-03-2006.

opennotspecifiedDec 2007View details →

FIGURE 1. a in A new species of Phymaturus from rocky outcrops in the central steppe of Rio Negro province, Patagonia Argentina (Reptilia: Iguania: Liolaemidae)

FIGURE 1. a.Adult male holotype of Phymaturus ceii in life from Chasicó, Río Negro, dorsal view. Photo: J.A. Scolaro, 24-03-2006. b. Adult male paratype of Phymaturus ceii in life from Chasicó, Río Negro, dorsal view, light greenish phase. Photo: J.A. Scolaro, 24-03-2006.

Figure 8 in Phylogeny, species delimitation and population structure of the steppe-inhabiting land snail genus Helicopsis in Eastern Europe

Figure 8. Distribution of Helicopsis species in Central and Eastern Europe and localities from which 16S rDNA sequences are available (symbols). The geographical boundaries of H. striata, H. hungarica and H. lunulata are not yet clear because of the lack of reliable morphological characteristics.

Figure 6 in Phylogeny, species delimitation and population structure of the steppe-inhabiting land snail genus Helicopsis in Eastern Europe

Figure 6. Distribution of clusters obtained from the admixture analysis of AFLP data of Helicopsis from Ukraine with STRUCTURE. A, solution for K = 2. B, solution for K = 5. C, solution for K = 7. Population numbers are given next to the bar plots (Supporting Information, Table S1). The bar plots show the proportional assignment of an individual to a cluster (see also Fig. 5).

Figure 7 in Phylogeny, species delimitation and population structure of the steppe-inhabiting land snail genus Helicopsis in Eastern Europe

Figure 7. Relationships between Jaccard distances between individuals of Helicopsis filimargo and H. lunulata based on AFLP data and logarithmized geographical distances. Black circles and red triangles: distances between individuals belonging to H. filimargo and H. lunulata, respectively; green crosses: distances between individuals belonging to different species; black and red broken lines: regression lines fitted within species; green broken line: regression line fitted on the within-group distances only (i.e. the black circles and red triangles taken together); green solid line: regression line fitted on all distances together; blue lines: centres of the betweengroups geographical distances.

Figure 4 in Phylogeny, species delimitation and population structure of the steppe-inhabiting land snail genus Helicopsis in Eastern Europe

Figure 4. Neighbour-net network of Helicopsis from Ukraine based on Jaccard distances obtained from AFLP data. Coloration of clusters corresponds to the STRUCTURE solution for K = 2. Red corresponds to H. filimargo, yellow to H. lunulata. DNA voucher numbers for specimens are given at the tips of the network. Coloured dots at the tips of the network correspond to cluster assignments (on majority-rule basis) of specimens in the STRUCTURE solutions for K = 5 (inner) and K = 7 (outer). For locality data and the distribution of clusters, see also Supporting Information, Table S1 and Figure 6, respectively.

Figure 1 in Phylogeny, species delimitation and population structure of the steppe-inhabiting land snail genus Helicopsis in Eastern Europe

Figure 1. Sampled Helicopsis populations in Ukraine, the adjacent Central Russian Upland and Romania and distribution of mitochondrial haplotype clades: H. lunulata (yellow dots), H. hungarica (magenta triangles) and H. filimargo (clade A, red diamonds, clade B, green diamonds and mixed population of clades Aand B, blue diamonds).

opencc-zeroMay 2022View details →

Intra-annual species gain overrides species loss in determining species richness in a typical steppe ecosystem after a decade of nitrogen enrichment

Increasing deposition of atmospheric nitrogen (N) due to accelerated human activities is a threat to various ecosystems. However, there is a lack of long-term experimental evidence demonstrating the seasonal dynamics of plant species turnover that ultimately determine species richness in natural ecosystems under N enrichment. Moreover, the frequency of N addition also may affect species turnover in a community, but it is rarely studied. To assess the responses of a plant community to N addition, we manipulated the amounts (0-50 g N m-2 year-1) and frequency (2 vs. 12 times year-1) of N addition in an Inner Mongolian typical steppe ecosystem in northern China for 12 consecutive years (2008-2020). We measured species richness and density of plant in the growing seasons (May-September) from 2018 to 2020, starting 10 years after the initial N addition treatment. Both species gain and species loss decreased with increasing amounts of N addition, resulting in a lower plant species turnover rate and greater similarity in the community between two adjacent months throughout the growing season. Species loss and species gain increased modestly under high N addition frequency. Species gain was more important than species loss in determining species richness after a decade of N application. In addition, plant density increased at high N amounts, mainly driven by enhanced clonal growth of the dominant species, Leymus chinensis. Synthesis. Together, these results suggest that high levels of N deposition may suppress species richness due to aggravated soil chemical properties and may favor growth of a limited number of N-tolerant species compared to systems that experience low levels of N deposition. To conserve biodiversity and to facilitate restoration of degraded grassland ecosystems exposed to long-term N deposition, amelioration of the acidified soils induced by N deposition may be an important strategy to use.

opencc-zeroJul 2024View details →

Data from: Phylogenomic inference and demographic model selection suggest peripatric separation of the cryptic steppe ant species Plagiolepis pyrenaica stat. rev.

The ant Plagiolepis taurica Santschi, 1920 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) is a typical species of the Eurasian steppes, a large grassland-dominated biome that stretches continuously from Central Asia to Eastern Europe and is represented by disjunct outposts also in Central and Western Europe. The extent of this biome has been influenced by the Pleistocene climate, and steppes expanded recurrently during cold stages and contracted in warm stages. Consequently, stenotopic steppe species such as P. taurica repeatedly went through periods of demographic expansion and severe isolation. Here, we explore the impact of these dynamics on the genetic diversification within P. taurica. Delimitation of P. taurica from other Plagiolepis species has been unclear since its initial description, which raised questions on both its classification and its spatiotemporal diversification early on. We re‐evaluate species limits and explore underlying mechanisms driving speciation by using an integrative approach based on genomic and morphometric data. We found large intraspecific divergence within P. taurica and resolved geographically coherent western and eastern genetic groups, which likewise differed morphologically. A morphometric survey of type material showed that Plagiolepis from the western group were more similar to P. barbara pyrenaica Emery, 1921 than to P. taurica; we thus lift the former from synonymy and establish it as separate species, P. pyrenaica stat. rev. Explicit evolutionary model testing based on genomic data supported a peripatric speciation for the species pair, probably as a consequence of steppe contraction and isolation during the mid‐Pleistocene. We speculate that this scenario could be exemplary for many stenotopic steppe species, given the emphasized dynamics of Eurasian steppes.

opennotspecifiedMay 2024View details →

FIGURES 2–11 in Mallomonas paraperfossa sp. nov. (Chrysophyceae, Synurales), a new species from the shallow ephemeral ponds in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals, Russia

FIGURES 2–11. Mallomonas paraperfossa sp. nov. Figure 2. Whole cell, SEM. Figures 3–4. Body scales, TEM. Figures 5–8. Body scales, SEM. Figures 9–10. Apical scales, SEM. Figure 11. Apical scale, TEM. Scale bars: 2 μm.

publicJun 2016View details →

Data from: Phosphorus amendment mitigates nitrogen addition-induced phosphorus limitation in two plant species in a desert steppe, China

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publicMay 2022View details →

Intra-annual species gain overrides species loss in determining species richness in a typical steppe ecosystem after a decade of nitrogen enrichment

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