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opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Contrasting genetic diversity and population structure among three sympatric Madagascan shorebirds: parallels with rarity, endemism, and dispersal

Understanding the relative contributions of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to population structure and genetic diversity is a central goal of conservation and evolutionary genetics. One way to achieve this is through comparative population genetic analysis of sympatric sister taxa, which allows evaluation of intrinsic factors such as population demography and life history while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness and geography. We used ten conserved microsatellites to explore the population structure and genetic diversity of three sympatric and closely related plover species in southwestern Madagascar: Kittlitz's plover (Charadrius pecuarius), white-fronted plover (C. marginatus), and Madagascar plover (C. thoracicus). Bayesian clustering revealed strong population structure in the rare and endemic Madagascar plover, intermediate population structure in the white-fronted plover, and no detectable population structure in the geographically widespread Kittlitz's plover. In contrast, allelic richness and heterozygosity were highest for the Kittlitz's plover, intermediate for the white-fronted plover and lowest for the Madagascar plover. No evidence was found in support of the "watershed mechanism" proposed to facilitate vicariant divergence of Madagascan lemurs and reptiles, which we attribute to the vagility of birds. However, we found a significant pattern of genetic isolation by distance among populations of the Madagascar plover, but not for the other two species. These findings suggest that interspecific variation in rarity, endemism, and dispersal propensity may influence genetic structure and diversity, even in highly vagile species.

FIGURE 2 in The Eucnemidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: new records, observations on composition and zoogeography, and comments on the rarity of saproxylic beetles

FIGURE 2. The distribution of Epiphanis cornutus (Eschscholtz) and Hylis terminalis (LeConte) in the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

FIGURE 4 in The Eucnemidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: new records, observations on composition and zoogeography, and comments on the rarity of saproxylic beetles

FIGURE 4. The distribution of Onichodon canadensis (Brown), Dromaeolus harringtoni Horn, Deltometopus amoenicornis (Say), and Nematodes penetrans (LeConte), in the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

FIGURE 1 in The Eucnemidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: new records, observations on composition and zoogeography, and comments on the rarity of saproxylic beetles

FIGURE 1. The distribution of Isorhipis ruficornis (Say) and Isorhipis obliqua (Say) in the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

FIGURE 3 in The Eucnemidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: new records, observations on composition and zoogeography, and comments on the rarity of saproxylic beetles

FIGURE 3. The distribution of Microrhagus pectinatus LeConte, Microrhagus subsinuatus LeConte, and Microrhagus triangularis (Say) in the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

Supplementary material 3 from: Macko P, Derka T, Šamulková M, Novikmec M, Svitok M (2023) Checklist, distribution, diversity, and rarity of mayflies (Ephemeroptera) in Slovakia. ZooKeys 1183: 39-64. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1183.109819

Number of mayfly species in five frequency classes, and their altitudinal and geographical distributions

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

Phenotypic plasticity and genetic diversity elucidate rarity and vulnerability of an endangered riparian plant

Anthropogenic environmental change threatens many species and can be especially challenging for rare species given their potentially limited capacity for migration and adaptation relative to more common species. The ability to acclimate via phenotypic plasticity could provide an important path to persistence, especially for rare species. We investigated the responses of an endangered plant species endemic to a highly dynamic riparian habitat in southeastern Tennessee, USA, and its most widespread congener to environmental change to elucidate their current statuses and future vulnerability. Specifically, we compared the population- and species-level plasticity of rare Pityopsis ruthii and common P. graminifolia to contrasting light, temperature, and water conditions in a growth chamber experiment to evaluate their potential to acclimate to environmental change. Contrary to our expectations, P. ruthii had greater phenotypic plasticity than its common congener in response to both altered light and water availability. But this plasticity was not associated with increased fitness, suggesting that it was not adaptive. Concurrently, we genotyped these individuals at nine putatively neutral microsatellite loci to contrast genetic diversity across the range of each species. As expected, P. ruthii exhibited reduced genetic diversity relative to its more common congener. Overall, our findings accord with the narrow range and current habitat specificity of P. ruthii, especially its tolerance of highly variable water, and highlight its potential vulnerability to future environmental change.

opencc-zeroMar 2022View details →

Data for: The paradoxical rarity of a parasitic fruit fly fungus attacking a broad range of hosts

Understanding the factors that determine the realized and potential distribution of a species requires knowledge of abiotic, physiological, limitations as well as ecological interactions. Entomopathogenic fungi of the order Laboulbeniales specialize on arthropod hosts and are typically thought to be highly specialized on a single host or closely related group of hosts. Because infections are solely transmitted through direct contact of the hosts, the host ecology to a large extent determines the distribution and occurrence of the fungus. We examined ~20,000 fruit flies (Diptera: Dacinae) collected in Malaysia, Sulawesi, Australia and the Solomon Islands between 2017–2019 for ectoparasitic fungal infections and found 197 infected flies across eight different Bactrocera species. Morphology and small subunit (18S) DNA sequences both support that the infections are from a single polyphagous fungal species. This presents the paradox of why S. dacinus is not more common when its hosts are widespread and ubiquitous. In addition, the hosts are all Bactrocera, a genus with ~480 species, but many sympatric Bactrocera were never infected. Host-selection does not appear to be phylogenetically correlated. Our results show that a single fungus species can be found on different host species in different continents. We discuss factors that might be involved in determining the host and distribution range of S. dacinus, such as host resistance, and discuss the potential for population control of agriculturally important hosts, such as the pestiferous Oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis and the Queensland fruit fly B. tryoni.

opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

Interspecific hybridization and island colonization history, not rarity, most strongly affect the genetic diversity in a clade of Mascarene-endemic trees

Many factors shape the genetic diversity of island-endemic trees, with important implications for conservation. Oceanic island-endemic lineages undergo an initial founding bottleneck during the colonization process and subsequently accumulate diversity following colonization. Moreover, many island endemics occur in small populations and are further threatened by anthropogenic factors that cause population declines, making them susceptible to losses in genetic diversity through genetic drift, inbreeding, and bottlenecks. <a name="_Hlk80963234"></a>However, life-history traits commonly found in trees, such as outcrossing mechanisms, long lifespans, and a propensity for interspecific hybridization, may help buffer against losses of genetic variation. To assess the relative importance of colonization history, rarity, and distribution in shaping genetic diversity of island-endemic trees, we conducted a<a name="_Hlk80964566"></a> comparative population genomic analysis of 13 species of Diospyros (Ebenaceae) endemic to the Mascarene Islands that differ in island colonization history, distribution, population size, and IUCN threat status. We genotyped 328 individuals across the islands using 2b-RADseq, compared genetic diversity both among and within species, and assessed patterns of genetic structure. <a name="_Hlk80965008"></a>Genetic diversity did not vary significantly by IUCN status, but we found that species that co-occur with others on the same intermediate-aged island (Mauritius) had much greater genetic diversity than those that occur solitarily on an island (Réunion and Rodrigues), likely because of greater interspecific hybridization among species with overlapping distributions and processes related to time since island colonization. Results presented here were used to <a name="_Hlk80991503"></a>determine priority localities for in situ and ex situ conservation efforts to maximize the genetic diversity of each Mascarene Diospyros species.

opennotspecifiedNov 2018View details →

FIGURE 1 in Extending rarity: discovery of the rare braconine genus, Carinibracon van Achterberg (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in the Oriental region with the description of a new species from south India

FIGURE 1. Carinibracon orientalis Ranjith sp. nov., female, holotype; A) Habitus, in lateral view; B) Head, in anterior view; C) Head, in dorsal view; D) Mesosoma, in dorsal view; E) Mesosoma, in lateral view; F) Propodeum, in dorsal view.

opennotspecifiedNov 2018View details →

FIGURE 4 in Extending rarity: discovery of the rare braconine genus, Carinibracon van Achterberg (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in the Oriental region with the description of a new species from south India

FIGURE 4. Carinibracon danielssoni van Achterberg, female, holotype; A) Tarsal claws, in oblique view; B) Ovipositor, in lateral view.

opennotspecifiedNov 2018View details →

FIGURE 2 in Extending rarity: discovery of the rare braconine genus, Carinibracon van Achterberg (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in the Oriental region with the description of a new species from south India

FIGURE 2. Carinibracon orientalis Ranjith sp. nov., female, holotype; A) Metasomal tergites 1–2, in dorsal view; B) Metasomal tergites 2–6, in dorsal view; C) Metasoma, in lateral view; D) Hind tarsal claw and apex of ovipositor, in lateral view; E) Wings.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Supporting data for Melendo & Rus 2024 Effect of rarity on the reproductive succes of Delphinium fissum subsp. sordidum

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opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Commonness, rarity and oligarchies of woody plants in the tropical dry forests of Mexico

We assessed woody plant communities in two widely separated forests in the tropical dry forest (TDF) biome of Mexico for evidence of similar patterns of species commonness and rarity. We used belt transects laid out along contour lines (i.e., constant elevation) and stratified across elevation gradients at sites in Jalisco and Oaxaca to sample woody plant species diversity, abundance, relative frequency and basal area. We assembled a combined species list and compared species found in both sites (shared) to species found in only one site, assessing whether the most and least common species at a site tended to be shared or unshared. Of the 8242 individuals sampled, 370 species or morpho-species were identified, with 222 species recorded at the Jalisco site and 270 at the Oaxaca site—122 (33%) species were shared across sites. Abundance, frequency and basal area of shared species were greater on average than for unshared species, and were positively correlated across sites. A subset of 68 shared species (18%) accounted for over half of all individuals encountered at the two sites. Species in the most common quartile were more likely to be shared than expected by chance, while species in the least common quartile were less likely. A genus-level analysis found similar patterns. Our findings suggest that the TDF of Pacific coast Mexico shows evidence of widespread dominance by a small subset of species. These findings have potentially important implications for predicting species composition, understanding the role of oligarchic species in ecological processes, and conserving rare species.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: A unified model explains commonness and rarity on coral reefs

Abundance patterns in ecological communities have important implications for biodiversity maintenance and ecosystem functioning. However, ecological theory has been largely unsuccessful at capturing multiple macroecological abundance patterns simultaneously. Here, we propose a parsimonious model that unifies widespread ecological relationships involving local aggregation, species-abundance distributions, and species associations, and we test this model against the metacommunity structure of reef-building corals and coral reef fishes across the western and central Pacific. For both corals and fishes, the unified model simultaneously captures extremely well local species-abundance distributions, interspecific variation in the strength of spatial aggregation, patterns of community similarity, species accumulation, and regional species richness, performing far better than alternative models also examined here and in previous work on coral reefs. Our approach contributes to the development of synthetic theory for large-scale patterns of community structure in nature, and to addressing ongoing challenges in biodiversity conservation at macroecological scales.

publicOct 2012View details →

Data from: Long-term differences in extinction risk among the seven forms of rarity

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publicJan 2018View details →

Data from: A unified model explains commonness and rarity on coral reefs

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publicDec 2021View details →

Phenotypic plasticity and genetic diversity elucidate rarity and vulnerability of an endangered riparian plant

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publicJun 2021View details →

Interplay of population size and environmental fluctuations: a new explanation for fitness cost rarity in asexuals

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