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Bulgarella M, Lincango MP, Lahuatte PF, Oliver JD, Cahuana A, Ramírez IE, Sage R, Colwitz AJ, Freund DA, Miksanek JR, Moon RD, Causton CE, Heimpel GE. Persistence of the invasive bird-parasitic fly Philornis downsi over the host interbreeding period in the Galapagos Islands. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2325. [PMID: 35149738 PMCID: PMC8837626 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06208-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Many parasites of seasonally available hosts must persist through times of the year when hosts are unavailable. In tropical environments, host availability is often linked to rainfall, and adaptations of parasites to dry periods remain understudied. The bird-parasitic fly Philornis downsi has invaded the Galapagos Islands and is causing high mortality of Darwin's finches and other bird species, and the mechanisms by which it was able to invade the islands are of great interest to conservationists. In the dry lowlands, this fly persists over a seven-month cool season when availability of hosts is very limited. We tested the hypothesis that adult flies could survive from one bird-breeding season until the next by using a pterin-based age-grading method to estimate the age of P. downsi captured during and between bird-breeding seasons. This study showed that significantly older flies were present towards the end of the cool season, with ~ 5% of captured females exhibiting estimated ages greater than seven months. However, younger flies also occurred during the cool season suggesting that some fly reproduction occurs when host availability is low. We discuss the possible ecological mechanisms that could allow for such a mixed strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Bulgarella
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
| | - M Piedad Lincango
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Paola F Lahuatte
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Jonathan D Oliver
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Andrea Cahuana
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Ismael E Ramírez
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Roxanne Sage
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Alyssa J Colwitz
- Biology Department, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI, USA
| | - Deborah A Freund
- Biology Department, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI, USA
| | - James R Miksanek
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Roger D Moon
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Charlotte E Causton
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - George E Heimpel
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
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Abdallah M, Hervías-Parejo S, Traveset A. Low Pollinator Sharing Between Coexisting Native and Non-native Plant Pairs: The Effect of Corolla Length and Flower Abundance. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.709876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms by which non-native plants can attract pollinators in their new geographical zones is important because such species infiltrate native communities and can disrupt native ecological interactions. Despite the large number of studies assessing how invasive plants impact plant–pollinator interactions, the specific comparison of pollination interactions between native and non-native plant pairs has received much less attention. Here we focused on four coexisting co-flowering pairs of common native and non-native species, both with abundant flowers but different floral traits, and asked: (1) to what extent native and non-native plants share pollinator species, and whether the non-native plants attract a different set of pollinators, (2) whether the most shared pollinators are the most frequent floral visitors and the most generalized in their interactions, and (3) how much of the variation in the diversity and frequency of pollinator species between native and non-native plant species can be explained by floral trait dissimilarity and flower abundance. Direct pollinator observations revealed that the plant pairs shared a low fraction (0–33%) of insect species, i.e., non-native plants tended to acquire a different set of pollinators than their native counterparts. The most shared pollinators in each plant pair were the most common but not the most generalized species, and non-native species attracted both generalized and specialized pollinators. Corolla length at opening and flower abundance showed to be important in determining the differences in flower visitation rate between natives and non-natives. Our findings support the general pattern that non-native species have no barriers at the pollination stage to integrate into native communities and that they may attract a different assemblage of pollinators relative to those that visit native plants with which they coexist.
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Jose PA, Ben-Yosef M, Lahuatte P, Causton CE, Heimpel GE, Jurkevitch E, Yuval B. Shifting microbiomes complement life stage transitions and diet of the bird parasite Philornis downsi from the Galapagos Islands. Environ Microbiol 2021; 23:5014-5029. [PMID: 33587780 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Domestication disconnects an animal from its natural environment and diet, imposing changes in the attendant microbial community. We examine these changes in Philornis downsi (Muscidae), an invasive parasitic fly of land birds in the Galapagos Islands. Using a 16S rDNA profiling approach we studied the microbiome of larvae and adults of wild and laboratory-reared populations. These populations diverged in their microbiomes, significantly more so in larval than in adult flies. In field-collected second-instar larvae, Klebsiella (70.3%) was the most abundant taxon, while in the laboratory Ignatzschineria and Providencia made up 89.2% of the community. In adults, Gilliamella and Dysgonomonas were key members of the core microbiome of field-derived females and males but had no or very low representation in the laboratory. Adult flies harbour sex-specific microbial consortia in their gut, as male core microbiomes were significantly dominated by Klebsiella. Thus, P. downsi microbiomes are dynamic and shift correspondingly with life cycle and diet. Sex-specific foraging behaviour of adult flies and nest conditions, which are absent in the laboratory, may contribute to shaping distinct larval, and adult male and female microbiomes. We discuss these findings in the context of microbe-host co-evolution and the implications for control measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polpass Arul Jose
- Faculty of Agriculture Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7612001, Israel
| | - Michael Ben-Yosef
- Department of Entomology, Agricultural Research Organization, Gilat Center, M. P. Negev, 85280, Israel
| | - Paola Lahuatte
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, 200350, Ecuador
| | - Charlotte E Causton
- Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, 200350, Ecuador
| | - George E Heimpel
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Avenue, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Edouard Jurkevitch
- Faculty of Agriculture Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7612001, Israel
| | - Boaz Yuval
- Faculty of Agriculture Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, 7612001, Israel
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Abstract
AbstractThe introduced smooth-billed ani Crotophaga ani has become widespread across the Galápagos archipelago in the past half-century. It is known to predate upon a range of native and endemic species, and is a potential vector for the spread of invasive plants and parasites. Here we report previously undocumented examples of smooth-billed ani predation in Galápagos, including that of an endemic racer snake and a scorpion. We highlight the possibility of smooth-billed anis having a serious impact on the endemic Galápagos carpenter bee, a major pollinator, as well as native and endemic Lepidopterans and other invertebrates. In addition, we report smooth-billed ani predation of other introduced species and note the importance of further research on the wide-scale impacts of smooth-billed anis in Galápagos and their role within the archipelago’s ecological networks.
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Hervías-Parejo S, Heleno R, Nogales M, Olesen JM, Traveset A. Divergence in floral trait preferences between nonflower-specialized birds and insects on the Galápagos. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2019; 106:540-546. [PMID: 30985925 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY The characteristic scarcity of insects on remote oceanic islands has driven nonflower-specialized vertebrates to broaden their trophic niches and explore floral resources. From our previous studies in the Galápagos, we know that native insectivorous and frugivorous birds visit a wide range of entomophilous flowers and can also act as effective pollinators. Here, we tested whether opportunistic Galápagos birds show any preference for specific floral traits, and if so, this preference differs from that of insects. METHODS Sixteen floral morphology and nectar traits of 26 native species were studied, as well as the frequency with which they are visited by birds and insects. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to evaluate the distribution of flower traits values along two main dimensions and measure the similarity between the plants visited mostly by birds versus those by insects. KEY RESULTS NMDS of floral traits resulted in two species groups: (1) bell-shaped, white flowers with wider corollas at nectary level and higher nectar volume, associated with high bird visitation rates; and (2) bowl and tubular-shaped flowers with narrower corollas at nectary level and lower nectar volume, associated with high insect visitation rates. CONCLUSIONS Despite the divergence in floral trait preferences between opportunistic Galápagos birds and insects, bird-visited flowers display mixed traits not fitting the classical ornithophilous syndrome. This finding is compatible with the existence of a transitional or bet-hedging phenotype between insect and bird visitors and underscores the importance of coevolution and floral diversification in nonspecialized plant-visitor interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Hervías-Parejo
- Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats (CSIC-UIB), Global Change Research Group, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
| | - Ruben Heleno
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Manuel Nogales
- Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (CSIC-IPNA), Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - Jens M Olesen
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
| | - Anna Traveset
- Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats (CSIC-UIB), Global Change Research Group, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
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Fantinato E, Del Vecchio S, Silan G, Buffa G. Pollination networks along the sea-inland gradient reveal landscape patterns of keystone plant species. Sci Rep 2018; 8:15221. [PMID: 30323249 PMCID: PMC6189214 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33652-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Linking the functional role of plants and pollinators in pollination networks to ecosystem functioning and resistance to perturbations can represent a valuable knowledge to implement sound conservation and monitoring programs. The aim of this study was to assess the resistance of pollination networks in coastal dune systems and to test whether pollination interactions have an explicit spatial configuration and whether this affect network resistance. To this aim, we placed six permanent 10 m-wide belt transects. Within each transect we placed five plots of 2 m x 2 m, in order to catch the different plant communities along the dune sequence. We monitored pollination interactions between plants and pollinators every 15 days during the overall flowering season. The resulting networks of pollination interactions showed a relatively low degree of resistance. However, they had a clear spatial configuration, with plant species differently contributing to the resistance of pollination networks occurring non-randomly from the seashore inland. Our results evidenced that beside contributing to the creation and maintenance of dune ridges, thereby protecting inland communities from environmental disturbance, plant species of drift line and shifting dune communities have also a crucial function in conferring resistance to coastal dune pollination networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Fantinato
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Italy.
| | - S Del Vecchio
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Italy
| | - G Silan
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Italy
| | - G Buffa
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Italy
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van Leeuwen CHA. Internal and External Dispersal of Plants by Animals: An Aquatic Perspective on Alien Interference. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 9:153. [PMID: 29487609 PMCID: PMC5816930 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Many alien plants use animal vectors for dispersal of their diaspores (zoochory). If alien plants interact with native disperser animals, this can interfere with animal-mediated dispersal of native diaspores. Interference by alien species is known for frugivorous animals dispersing fruits of terrestrial plants by ingestion, transport and egestion (endozoochory). However, less attention has been paid to possible interference of alien plants with dispersal of diaspores via external attachment (ectozoochory, epizoochory or exozoochory), interference in aquatic ecosystems, or positive effects of alien plants on dispersal of native plants. This literature study addresses the following hypotheses: (1) alien plants may interfere with both internal and external animal-mediated dispersal of native diaspores; (2) interference also occurs in aquatic ecosystems; (3) interference of alien plants can have both negative and positive effects on native plants. The studied literature revealed that alien species can comprise large proportions of both internally and externally transported diaspores. Because animals have limited space for ingested and adhering diaspores, alien species affect both internal and external transport of native diaspores. Alien plant species also form large proportions of all dispersed diaspores in aquatic systems and interfere with dispersal of native aquatic plants. Alien interference can be either negative (e.g., through competition with native plants) or positive (e.g., increased abundance of native dispersers, changed disperser behavior or attracting additional disperser species). I propose many future research directions, because understanding whether alien plant species disrupt or facilitate animal-mediated dispersal of native plants is crucial for targeted conservation of invaded (aquatic) plant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casper H. A. van Leeuwen
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, Netherlands
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Gleditsch JM, Hruska AM, Foster JT. Connecting Resource Tracking by Frugivores to Temporal Variation in Seed Dispersal Networks. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Guzmán B, Heleno R, Nogales M, Simbaña W, Traveset A, Vargas P. Evolutionary history of the endangered shrub snapdragon (Galvezia leucantha) of the Galápagos Islands. DIVERS DISTRIB 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Guzmán
- Department of Biodiversity and Conservation; Real Jardín Botánico - CSIC; Plaza de Murillo 2 28014 Madrid Spain
| | - Ruben Heleno
- Centre for Functional Ecology; Department of Life Sciences; University of Coimbra; 3000-213 Coímbra Portugal
| | - Manuel Nogales
- Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group; Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología - CSIC; Av. Astrofisico Francisco Sánchez, 3 38206 San Cristóbal de La Laguna Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife Spain
| | - Walter Simbaña
- Faculty of Food Science and Engineering; Universidad Técnica de Ambato; Colombia 02-11 Ambato EC180105 Ecuador
| | - Anna Traveset
- Department of Biodiversity and Conservation; Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats - CSIC; Carrer de Miquel Marquès; 21, 07190 Esporles Mallorca Spain
| | - Pablo Vargas
- Department of Biodiversity and Conservation; Real Jardín Botánico - CSIC; Plaza de Murillo 2 28014 Madrid Spain
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Armbruster WS. The specialization continuum in pollination systems: diversity of concepts and implications for ecology, evolution and conservation. Funct Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- William Scott Armbruster
- School of Biological Sciences University of Portsmouth PortsmouthPO1 2DY UK
- Institute of Arctic Biology University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks AK99775‐7000 USA
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Traveset A, Fernández-Palacios JM, Kueffer C, Bellingham PJ, Morden C, Drake DR. Introduction to the Special Issue: Advances in island plant biology since Sherwin Carlquist's Island Biology. AOB PLANTS 2015; 8:plv148. [PMID: 26722109 PMCID: PMC4740358 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plv148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2015] [Accepted: 12/08/2015] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Sherwin Carlquist's seminal publications-in particular his classic Island Biology, published in 1974-formulated hypotheses specific to island biology that remain valuable today. This special issue brings together some of the most interesting contributions presented at the First Island Biology Symposium hosted in Honolulu on 7-11 July 2014. We compiled a total of 18 contributions that present data from multiple archipelagos across the world and from different disciplines within the plant sciences. In this introductory paper, we first provide a short overview of Carlquist's life and work and then summarize the main findings of the collated papers. A first group of papers deals with issues to which Carlquist notably contributed: long-distance dispersal, adaptive radiation and plant reproductive biology. The findings of such studies demonstrate the extent to which the field has advanced thanks to (i) the increasing availability and richness of island data, covering many taxonomic groups and islands; (ii) new information from the geosciences, phylogenetics and palaeoecology, which allows us a more realistic understanding of the geological and biological development of islands and their biotas; and (iii) the new theoretical and methodological advances that allow us to assess patterns of abundance, diversity and distribution of island biota over large spatial scales. Most other papers in the issue cover a range of topics related to plant conservation on islands, such as causes and consequences of mutualistic disruptions (due to pollinator or disperser losses, introduction of alien predators, etc.). Island biologists are increasingly considering reintroducing ecologically important species to suitable habitats within their historic range and to neighbouring islands with depauperate communities of vertebrate seed dispersers, and an instructive example is given here. Finally, contributions on ecological networks demonstrate the usefulness of this methodological tool to advancing conservation management and better predicting the consequences of disturbances on species and interactions in the fragile insular ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Traveset
- Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (CSIC-UIB), C/Miquel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
| | - José María Fernández-Palacios
- Island Ecology and Biogeography Research Group, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna 38206, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Christoph Kueffer
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Clifford Morden
- Department of Botany, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Donald R Drake
- Department of Botany, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
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