During the Pleistocene and Holocene, the southwest Andean Altiplano (17°-22°S) was affected by repeated fluctuations in water levels, high volcanic activity and major tectonic movements. In the early Holocene the humid Tauca phase shifted to the arid conditions that have lasted until the present, producing endorheic rivers, lakes, lagoons and wetlands. The endemic fish Orestias (Cyprinodontidae...

While previous research has indicated the utility of DNA barcoding in identifying spider species sampled from a localized region, the eff ectiveness of this method over a broader geographic scale and with denser taxon sampling has not yet been extensively considered. Using both new and published data from 1801 individuals belonging to 361 morphospecies, this study examined intraand interspecifi...

The correct identification of morphological species is a key task for richness estimation any ecosystem. Although body colour widely used character identifying European Lepidocyrtus species, recent investigations using molecular data have revealed that delineation can result in an underestimation real diversity because the presence cryptic species. violaceus characterised by its dark violet col...

During inventories of lesser-known timber species in eastern Gabon, a new Dialium morphospecies was discovered. To discriminate it from the two other 2–5 leaflets species, 25 leaf traits were measured on 45 trees (16 pachyphyllum, 14 lopense, 15 sp. nov.). Nine wood chemical traits, as well infrared spectra, also examined harvestable (four pachyphyllum and four This study revealed seven discrim...

Telford et al. (Brevia, 19 May 2006, p. 1015) reported that freshwater diatoms exhibit regional-scale richness-pH relationships that depend substantially on regional habitat availability. On this basis, the authors argued that, despite their microscopic size, diatoms are not ubiquitously dispersed. Here, I describe my demonstration that their primary evidence against the ubiquitous dispersal hy...

The fungal entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana became established as an endophyte in in vitro-grown cocoa seedlings tested for up to 2 mo after inoculation to the radicle with B. bassiana suspensions. The fungus was recovered in culture from stems, leaves and roots. B. bassiana also was detected as an epiphyte 1 and 2 mo postinoculation. Penicillium oxalicum and five bacterial morphospecies also ...

Nitrogen fixation blue-green algae make a major contribution to the fertility of soil. It has been suggested that blue-green algae (BGA) assist higher plant growth by supplying growth substances. There are numerous works about roles of blue-green algae in paddy soils and rice growth but little on other plants. In this research, 19 morphospecies belonging to three families of heterocystous and n...