Abstract: Phylogenetic patterns and the underlying speciation processes can be deduced from morphological, functional, and ecological patterns of species similarity and divergence. In some cases, though, species retain multiple similarities and remain almost indistinguishable; in other cases, evolutionary convergence can make such patterns misleading; very often in such cases, the “true” picture only emerges from carefully built molecular phylogenies, which may come with major surprises. In addition, closely related species may experience gene flow after divergence, thus potentially blurring species delimitation. By means of advanced inferential methods, we studied molecular divergence between species of the Virola genus (Myristicaceae): widespread Virola michelii and recently described, endemic V. kwatae, using widespread V. surinamensis as a more distantly related outgroup with different ecology and morphology—although with overlapping range. Contrary to expectations, we found that the latter, and not V. michelii, was sister to V. kwatae. Therefore, V. kwatae probably diverged from V. surinamensis through a recent morphological and ecological shift, which brought it close to distantly related V. michelii. Through the modeling of the divergence process, we inferred that gene flow between V. surinamensis and V. kwatae stopped soon after their divergence and resumed later, in a classical secondary contact event which did not erase their ecological and morphological differences. While we cannot exclude that initial divergence occurred in allopatry, current species distribution and the absence of geographical barriers make complete isolation during speciation unlikely. We tentatively conclude that (a) it is possible that divergence occurred in allopatry/parapatry and (b) secondary contact did not suppress divergence. © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Abstract: Oak chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation was studied in a grid-based inventory in western Central Europe, including Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the northern parts of Upper and Lower Austria. A total of 2155 trees representing 426 populations of Quercus robur L. and Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl. were screened for polymorphism in up to four PCR-amplified cpDNA fragments. Eleven haplotypes belonging to four lineages were detected; these lineages were formerly restricted to glacial refugia in the Iberian Peninsula, the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula. The haplotypes originating from the Apennines are particularly well represented in the study region, but there is also a significant contribution from the other refugia, which explain the high overall level of cpDNA diversity. The strong human impact in western Central Europe during the past centuries, which has resulted in the clearance of most forests, was followed by reforestation, sometimes involving seed transfers. Despite this strong human impact, broad geographic patterns of lineages and haplotypes could still be detected. To evaluate further the consequences of the former human activities on the present day oak cpDNA genetic structure, four regions where increasingly strong human impact was anticipated (ranging from hilly regions in southern Germany to roadsides plantations in The Netherlands) were selected. There, a comparison of the levels of intrapopulation cpDNA diversity and spatial structuring was made. Over the whole area, within stand diversity was significantly higher in Q. robur than in Q. petraea (h(S) = 0.24 vs. 0.16). Since total diversity is identical for both species, this results in a significantly lower level of fixation for Q. robur than for Q. petraea (G(ST) = 0.68 vs. 0.79). The analyses also reveal a decrease of fixation with increasing human impact on oak populations. The Dutch roadside plantations (Q. robur) exhibit a very low level of fixation (G(ST) = 0.28) as compared to Q. petraea in southern Germany (G(ST) = 0.91). The significance of the spatial genetic structure was tested using geostatistical methods. For the complete data set, a strong spatial genetic structure is confirmed, with higher than average genetic similarities between populations distant from up to 270 km, whereas there is no spatial structure in the roadside plantations in The Netherlands or in the northern German lowlands. These results should help to differentiate introduced from autochthonous populations, and provide a framework for the identification of the geographic origin of seed lots. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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: Precise mapping of above-ground biomass (AGB) is a major challenge for the success of REDD+ processes in tropical rainforest. The usual mapping methods are based on two hypotheses: a large and long-ranged spatial autocorrelation and a strong environment influence at the regional scale. However, there are no studies of the spatial structure of AGB at the landscapes scale to support these assumptions.We studied spatial variation in AGB at various scales using two large forest inventories conducted in French Guiana. The dataset comprised 2507 plots (0.4 to 0.5 ha) of undisturbed rainforest distributed over the whole region. After checking the uncertainties of estimates obtained from these data, we used half of the dataset to develop explicit predictive models including spatial and environmental effects and tested the accuracy of the resulting maps according to their resolution using the rest of the data. Forest inventories provided accurate AGB estimates at the plot scale, for a mean of 325 Mg.ha-1. They revealed high local variability combined with a weak autocorrelation up to distances of no more than10 km. Environmental variables accounted for a minor part of spatial variation. Accuracy of the best model including spatial effects was 90 Mg.ha-1 at plot scale but coarse graining up to 2-km resolution allowed mapping AGB with accuracy lower than 50 Mg.ha-1. Whatever the resolution, no agreement was found with available pan-tropical reference maps at all resolutions.We concluded that the combined weak autocorrelation and weak environmental effect limit AGB maps accuracy in rainforest, and that a trade-off has to be found between spatial resolution and effective accuracy until adequate “wall-to-wall” remote sensing signals provide reliable AGB predictions. Waiting for this, using large forest inventories with low sampling rate (<0.5%) may be an efficient way to increase the global coverage of AGB maps with acceptable accuracy at kilometric resolution. Copyright: © 2015 Guitet et al.

Abstract: The Neotropical understory plant Tachia guianensis (Gentianaceae)- known to shelter the colonies of several ant species in its hollow trunks and branches-does not provide them with food rewards (e.g., extrafloral nectar). We tested whether these ants are opportunistic nesters or whether mutualistic relationships exist as for myrmecophytes or plants sheltering ant colonies in specialized hollow structures in exchange for protection from enemies and/or nutrient provisioning (myrmecotrophy). We noted 37 ant species sheltering inside T. guianensis internodes, three of them accounting for 43.5% of the cases. They protect their host plants from leaf-cutting ant defoliation and termite damage because individuals devoid of associated ants suffered significantly more attacks. Using the stable isotope 15N, we experimentally showed that the tested ant species furnish their host plants with nutrients. Therefore, a mutualism exists. However, because it is associated with numerous ant species, T. guianensis can be considered a nonspecialized myrmecophyte. © 2017 by The University of Chicago.