AI Article Synopsis
- The text discusses the need for practical methods to define and evaluate species flocks, particularly in the Antarctic shelf's benthic fauna.
- The authors apply five criteria to assess various taxa, focusing on historical criteria of endemicity, monophyly, and species richness due to practical limitations.
- They identify nine definitive species flocks, suggest eight additional "core flocks" for further ecological study, and challenge the idea that marine species flocks are uncommon.
Article Abstract
There has been a significant body of literature on species flock definition but not so much about practical means to appraise them. We here apply the five criteria of Eastman and McCune for detecting species flocks in four taxonomic components of the benthic fauna of the Antarctic shelf: teleost fishes, crinoids (feather stars), echinoids (sea urchins) and crustacean arthropods. Practical limitations led us to prioritize the three historical criteria (endemicity, monophyly, species richness) over the two ecological ones (ecological diversity and habitat dominance). We propose a new protocol which includes an iterative fine-tuning of the monophyly and endemicity criteria in order to discover unsuspected flocks. As a result nine « full » species flocks (fulfilling the five criteria) are briefly described. Eight other flocks fit the three historical criteria but need to be further investigated from the ecological point of view (here called "core flocks"). The approach also shows that some candidate taxonomic components are no species flocks at all. The present study contradicts the paradigm that marine species flocks are rare. The hypothesis according to which the Antarctic shelf acts as a species flocks generator is supported, and the approach indicates paths for further ecological studies and may serve as a starting point to investigate the processes leading to flock-like patterning of biodiversity.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3732269 | PMC |
| http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0068787 | PLOS |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Immunogenicity of Inactivated H5 Avian Influenza Vaccine Used in Commercial Laying Pullet in Tehran Province, Iran.
Arch Razi Inst
June 2024
Department of Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a viral disease caused by some H5 and H7 subtypes of influenza virus type A in most species of birds, especially poultry. HPAI viruses are among the most challenging viruses that threaten both human and animal health. Consequently, various strategies, such as the use of vaccines have been proposed to control the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmigration hides the decline caused by an anthropogenic trap and drives the spectacular increase of a mobile predator.
Oecologia
December 2024
Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
Accurate identification of decreasing trends is a prerequisite for successful conservation, but can be challenging when immigration compensates local declines in abundance. Here, we show that a potential declining trend driven by low vital rates was overridden and converted into a spectacular increase by massive immigration into the population of a semi-social raptor, the black kite Milvus migrans, breeding in a highly contaminated area near a major landfill. Immigration was promoted by a growing food-base of live prey, coupled with the attraction exerted by the progressive gathering of a large flock of non-breeders at the area, resulting in an "attraction spiral" that lured large numbers of breeders to settle into a contaminated population incapable of self-sustenance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInternational Symposium on Ruminant Physiology: Paternal Nutrient Supply: Impacts on Physiological and Whole Animal Outcomes in Offspring.
J Dairy Sci
December 2024
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.
Recent evidence suggests that environmental factors experienced by sires can be transmitted through the ejaculate (seminal plasma + sperm) into the female reproductive tract, influencing fertilization, embryo development, and postnatal offspring outcomes. This concept is termed paternal programming. In rodents, sire nutrition was shown to directly alter offspring outcomes through sperm epigenetic signatures, DNA damage/oxidative stress, cytokine profiles, and/or the seminal microbiome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe complexity of the interpretation of ELISA and RT-PCR results in the diagnosis of a reticuloendotheliosis virus infection: an extended case study.
Avian Pathol
December 2024
Royal GD, Deventer, the Netherlands.
Reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) is a species of the genus that can cause neoplasia, immunosuppression, and runting-stunting syndrome. To show the clinical relevance of REV is complicated, and requires the demonstration of the virus, REV antibodies, the presence of typical gross and microscopic lesions, and the exclusion of other oncogenic agents in the case of the presence of tumours. Under field conditions, the first tests to be used might be a commercially available REV antibody ELISA or an RT-PCR to detect the REV genome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEstimating the time of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus introduction into United States poultry flocks during the 2022/24 epizootic.
PLoS One
December 2024
Secure Food Systems Team, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States of America.
Following confirmation of the first case of the ongoing U.S. HPAI H5N1 epizootic in commercial poultry on February 8, 2022, the virus has continued to devastate the U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!