Abstract: Bacteria living on the cuticle of ants are generally studied for their protective role against pathogens, especially in the clade of fungus-growing ants. However, little is known regarding the diversity of cuticular bacteria in other ant host species, as well as the mechanisms leading to the composition of these communities. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to study the influence of host species, species interactions and the pool of bacteria from the environment on the assembly of cuticular bacterial communities on two phylogenetically distant Amazonian ant species that frequently nest together inside the roots system of epiphytic plants, Camponotus femoratus and Crematogaster levior. Our results show that (a) the vast majority of the bacterial community on the cuticle is shared with the nest, suggesting that most bacteria on the cuticle are acquired through environmental acquisition, (b) 5.2% and 2.0% of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) are respectively specific to Ca. femoratus and Cr. levior, probably representing their respective core cuticular bacterial community, and (c) 3.6% of OTUs are shared between the two ant species. Additionally, mass spectrometry metabolomics analysis of metabolites on the cuticle of ants, which excludes the detection of cuticular hydrocarbons produced by the host, were conducted to evaluate correlations among bacterial OTUs and m/z ion mass. Although some positive and negative correlations are found, the cuticular chemical composition was weakly species-specific, suggesting that cuticular bacterial communities are prominently environmentally acquired. Overall, our results suggest the environment is the dominant source of bacteria found on the cuticle of ants. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Abstract: Background and aims – The evolutionary history of Amazonia’s hyperabundant tropical tree species, also known as “hyperdominant” species, remains poorly investigated. We assessed whether the hyperdominant Eschweilera coriacea (DC.) S.A.Mori (Lecythidaceae) represents a single genetically cohesive species, and how its genetic constitution relates to other species from the same clade with which it occurs sympatrically in French Guiana. Methods – We sampled 152 individuals in nine forest sites in French Guiana, representing 11 species of the genus Eschweilera all belonging to the Parvifolia clade, with emphasis on E. coriacea. Samples were genotyped at four simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. We delimited gene pools, i.e., genetically coherent putative taxa, using STRUCTURE software and principal component analysis. We compared the genetic assignment of individuals with their morphological species determination and estimated genetic diversity and differentiation for gene pools and species. We also estimated genome size using flow cytometry. Key results – SSR profiles commonly displayed up to four alleles per genotype, suggesting that the investigated Eschweilera species bear a paleopolyploid signature. Flow cytometry suggested that the studied species are diploid with haploid genome sizes of 871–1046 Mbp. We detected five gene pools and observed a good correspondence between morphological and genetic delimitation for Eschweilera sagotiana Miers and the undescribed morphospecies E. sp. 3 (which resembles E. grandiflora (Aubl.) Sandwith), and to a lesser extent for E. decolorans Sandwith and E. micrantha (O.Berg) Miers. Eschweilera coriacea was the most genetically diverse species and included individuals assigned to each gene pool. Conclusions – We found no conclusive evidence for cryptic species within E. coriacea in French Guiana. SSRs detected fewer gene pools than expected based on morphology in the Parvifolia clade but discriminated evolutionary relationships better than available plastid markers. A positive trend between demographic abundance of species and allelic richness illustrates that hyperdominants may have a high evolutionary potential. This hypothesis can be tested using more powerful genomic data in combination with tree phenotypic trait variation and characterization of niche breadth, to enhance our understanding of the causes of hyperdominance in Amazonian trees.

Abstract: Assessing spider diversity remains a great challenge, especially in tropical habitats where dozens of species can locally co-occur. Pitfall trapping is one of the most widely used techniques to collect spiders, but it suffers from several biases, and its accuracy likely varies with habitat complexity. In this study, we compared the efficiency of passive pitfall trapping versus active nocturnal hand collecting (\"HC) to capture low understory-dwelling spider taxonomical (morpho-species) and functional (hunting guilds) diversity along a structural gradient of habitats in French Guiana. We focused on four habitats describing a structural gradient: garden to the orchard to the forest edge to the undisturbed forest. Overall, estimated morpho-species richness and composition did not vary consistently between habitats, but abundances of ground-hunting spiders decreased significantly with increasing habitat complexity. We found habitat-dependence differences in taxonomic diversity between sampling strategies: NHC revealed higher diversity in the orchard, whereas pitfalls resulted in higher diversity in the forest. Species turnover resulted in high dissimilarity in species composition between habitats using either method. This study shows how pitfall trapping is influenced by habitat structure, rendering this sampling method incomplete for complex, tropical environments. However, pitfall traps remain a valuable component of inventories because they sample distinct assemblage of spiders. © 2020 by the authors.

Abstract: Ants play essential roles in most terrestrial ecosystems and may be considered pests for agriculture and agroforestry. Recent morphological and molecular data have challenged conventional ant phylogeny and the interpretation of karyotypic variations. Existing Neotropical ant cytogenetic data focus on Atlantic rainforest species, and provide evolutionary and taxonomic insight. However, there are data for only 18 Amazonian species. In this study, we describe the karyotypes of 16 ant species belonging to 12 genera and three subfamilies, collected in the Brazilian state of Amapa, and in French Guiana. The karyotypes of six species are described for the first time, including that of the South American genus Allomerus Mayr, 1878. The karyotype of Crematogaster Lund, 1831 is also described for the first time for the New World. For other species, extant data for geographically distinct populations was compared with our own data, e.g. for the leafcutter ants Acromyrmex balzani (Emery, 1890) and Atta sexdens (Linnaeus, 1758). The information obtained for the karyotype of Dolichoderus imitator Emery, 1894 differs from extant data from the Atlantic forest, thereby highlighting the importance of population cytogenetic approaches. This study also emphasizes the need for good chromosome preparations for studying karyotype structure.

Abstract: Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, but the estimated species richness is very much debated. Here, we apply an ensemble of parametric estimators and a novel technique that includes conspecific spatial aggregation to an extended database of forest plots with up-to-date taxonomy. We show that the species abundance distribution of Amazonia is best approximated by a logseries with aggregated individuals, where aggregation increases with rarity. By averaging several methods to estimate total richness, we confirm that over 15,000 tree species are expected to occur in Amazonia. We also show that using ten times the number of plots would result in an increase to just ~50% of those 15,000 estimated species. To get a more complete sample of all tree species, rigorous field campaigns may be needed but the number of trees in Amazonia will remain an estimate for years to come. © 2020, The Author(s).