| 1. |
- Bergsten, Johannes, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Åkerjordfly, Agrotis exclamationis, identifierad som värdart för svävflugan Villa hottentotta med hjälp av DNA streckkodning (Diptera: Bombyliidae).
- 2015
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Ingår i: Entomologisk Tidskrift. - 0013-886X. ; 136:4, s. 121-130
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study we identify Agrotis exclamationis (Linnaeus, 1758) as a host species for the bee y Villa hottentotta (Linnaeus, 1758) in Sweden. Host use and speci city for bee y species are generally very poorly known, why the hatching of a bee y of the genus Villa from an unknown Noctuid pupa caught our attention. The parasitized Noctuid pupa was found in a garden in Staffanstorp, Skåne (Sweden), in May 2015 and kept in a jar to hatch. The bee y hatched in June leaving two empty exuviae in the jar. DNA was extracted sepa- rately from both excuviae to identify the y and the host using DNA Barcoding. A 600+ bp long sequence of the gene Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 was sequenced for both samples and queried against the reference library BOLD (www.boldsystems.org). The Noctuid host pupa was unambiguously identi ed as the common Noctuid species Agrotis exclamationis. The sequence was identical to the most common haplotype over much of Europe. The bee y pupa was identi ed as Villa hottentotta, the most common Villa species in Sweden. This added a new Noctuid species to the list of known hosts for V. hottentotta which also includes several other Noctuid genera as well as a Geometrid moth. Belonging to the sand chamber group of bee ies where the female scatter the eggs on the ground while hovering, the active host-seeking rst instar planidium larvae bene ts from having a wide host range to potentially encounter in the substrate zone.
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| 2. |
- Bukontaite, Rasa, 1984-
(författare)
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Evolution of the Biodiversity Hotspot of Madagascar from the Eye of Diving Beetles : Phylogeny, colonization and speciation
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Dytiscidae, contains numerous endemic and non-endemic species on Madagascar. Their evolutionary history is largely unknown on the island. Herein, I use analyses to infer phylogenetic relationship among groups of diving beetles, with a focus on the subfamily Dytiscinae and endemic species in two other groups of Dytiscidae. Paper I represents the first phylogenetic reconstruction focusing on the tribe Aciliini based on molecular data. Several commonly used molecular markers, as well as a new marker for Hydradephagan beetles, were evaluated in this study. Our analyses suggest that six genera within Aciliini are monophyletic. The most basal clades with Neotropical and Afrotropical taxa suggest a possible Gondwanan origin. Evaluation of gene fragments indicated CAD to be the most informative marker. Paper II focuses on colonization and radiation events of large bodied endemic diving beetles of the tribes Cybistrini and Hydaticini on Madagascar. Colonization events were inferred from dated phylogenetic trees and ancestral biogeographical reconstructions. Our results suggest both multiple colonizations, and out-of-Madagascar dispersal events, mostly during the Miocene and Oligocene. In paper III, we revised the Rhantus species of Madagascar. We used both molecular and morphological data to evaluate species hypothesis and emphasized the value of Manjakatompo – one of the last remaining fragments of central highland forests. In Paper IV we reconstruct the phylogeny and use Species Distribution Modelling for the endemic genus Pachynectes in Madagascar. Our sampling has discovered that the species diversity of Pachynectes is at least three times higher than previously believed. It seems that allopatric speciation was the main driver, which led to the diversity of Pachynectes. Our results suggest that climatic gradients and the five main biomes were a better predictor than watershed systems in explaining the distribution pattern and speciation between sister species.
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| 3. |
- Bukontaite, Rasa, et al.
(författare)
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In or Out-of-Madagascar?-Colonization Patterns for Large-Bodied Diving Beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)
- 2015
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 10:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High species diversity and endemism within Madagascar is mainly the result of species radiations following colonization from nearby continents or islands. Most of the endemic taxa are thought to be descendants of a single or small number of colonizers that arrived from Africa sometime during the Cenozoic and gave rise to highly diverse groups. This pattern is largely based on vertebrates and a small number of invertebrate groups. Knowledge of the evolutionary history of aquatic beetles on Madagascar is lacking, even though this species-rich group is often a dominant part of invertebrate freshwater communities in both standing and running water. Here we focus on large bodied diving beetles of the tribes Hydaticini and Cybistrini. Our aims with this study were to answer the following questions 1) How many colonization events does the present Malagasy fauna originate from? 2) Did any colonization event lead to a species radiation? 3) Where did the colonizers come from-Africa or Asia- and has there been any out-of-Madagascar event? 4) When did these events occur and were they concentrated to any particular time interval? Our results suggest that neither in Hydaticini nor in Cybistrini was there a single case of two or more endemic species forming a monophyletic group. The biogeographical analysis indicated different colonization histories for the two tribes. Cybistrini required at least eight separate colonization events, including the non-endemic species, all comparatively recent except the only lotic (running water) living Cybister operosus with an inferred colonization at 29 Ma. In Hydaticini the Madagascan endemics were spread out across the tree, often occupying basal positions in different species groups. The biogeographical analyses therefore postulated the very bold hypothesis of a Madagascan origin at a very deep basal node within Hydaticus and multiple out-of-Madagascar dispersal events. This hypothesis needs to be tested with equally intense taxon sampling of mainland Africa as for Madagascar.
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| 4. |
- Bukontaite, Rasa, et al.
(författare)
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Phylogeny, distribution and speciation in the endemic diving beetle genus Pachynectes on Madagascar
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Madagascar is well known for high levels of endemism in both the flora and fauna. More specifically most of Madagascars' endemic species have extremely restricted regional distributions, which is a characteristic of this large island’s biodiversity. Biologists are still struggling to understand the speciation processes that have produced this pattern of diversity. Several general hypotheses have been developed trying to explain the origin and microendemism of Malagasy species. Two main hypotheses focus on watersheds and climate gradients. Here, we use a phylogeny in combination with data on spatial distribution of the endemic diving beetle genus Pachynectes (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Bidessini) to critically evaluate the watershed versus the climatic gradient hypotheses of this river dwelling insect radiation. Based on field sampling from expeditions between 2006 and 2014, we first show that the species diversity in this genus is at least three times higher than previously believed. We reconstructed a molecular phylogeny based on five gene fragments and recovered three main clades: a western clade, an eastern clade and a "keeled" clade diagnosable based on an elytral keel. The western and keeled clades both occur mainly in the drier western parts of the country, while species in the eastern clade are typical of rivers in the eastern humid rainforest. Notably, sister species were always allopatrically distributed along either latitudinal or longitudinal-altitudinal gradients. Based on species distribution modelling (SDM) and our phylogenetic data, we conclude that the microendemic patterns of Pachynectes species are unlikely to be explained by the watershed hypothesis. In contrast, the four main bioclimatic regions are more likely to have been causally involved in the past speciation processes and might explain the current distribution pattern in this insect genus.
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| 5. |
- Bukontaite, Rasa, et al.
(författare)
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The utility of CAD in recovering Gondwanan vicariance events and the evolutionary history of Aciliini (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Evolutionary Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2148. ; 14, s. 5-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Aciliini presently includes 69 species of medium-sized water beetles distributed on all continents except Antarctica. The pattern of distribution with several genera confined to different continents of the Southern Hemisphere raises the yet untested hypothesis of a Gondwana vicariance origin. The monophyly of Aciliini has been questioned with regard to Eretini, and there are competing hypotheses about the intergeneric relationship in the tribe. This study is the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis focused on the tribe Aciliini and it is based on eight gene fragments. The aims of the present study are: 1) to test the monophyly of Aciliini and clarify the position of the tribe Eretini and to resolve the relationship among genera within Aciliini, 2) to calibrate the divergence times within Aciliini and test different biogeographical scenarios, and 3) to evaluate the utility of the gene CAD for phylogenetic analysis in Dytiscidae. Results: Our analyses confirm monophyly of Aciliini with Eretini as its sister group. Each of six genera which have multiple species are also supported as monophyletic. The origin of the tribe is firmly based in the Southern Hemisphere with the arrangement of Neotropical and Afrotropical taxa as the most basal clades suggesting a Gondwana vicariance origin. However, the uncertainty as to whether a fossil can be used as a stem-or crowngroup calibration point for Acilius influenced the result: as crowngroup calibration, the 95% HPD interval for the basal nodes included the geological age estimate for the Gondwana break-up, but as a stem group calibration the basal nodes were too young. Our study suggests CAD to be the most informative marker between 15 and 50 Ma. Notably, the 2000 bp CAD fragment analyzed alone fully resolved the tree with high support. Conclusions: 1) Molecular data confirmed Aciliini as a monophyletic group. 2) Bayesian optimizations of the biogeographical history are consistent with an influence of Gondwana break-up history, but were dependent on the calibration method. 3) The evaluation using a method of phylogenetic signal per base pair indicated Wnt and CAD as the most informative of our sampled genes.
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| 6. |
- Gustafson, Grey T., et al.
(författare)
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Tip-dated phylogeny of whirligig beetles reveals ancient lineage surviving on Madagascar
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 7, s. 1-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The temporal origin of Madagascar’s extraordinary endemic diversity is debated. A preference for Cenozoic dispersal origins has replaced the classical view of Mesozoic vicariance in the wake of molecular dating. However, evidence of ancient origins is mounting from arthropod groups. Using phylogenetic ‘tip-dating’ analysis with fossils, we show that a whirligig beetle species, Heterogyrus milloti, inhabiting forest streams in southeastern Madagascar is the last survivor of a once dominant and widespread Mesozoic group. With a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic origin (226–187 Ma) it is the hitherto oldest dated endemic lineage of animal or plant on Madagascar. Island biotas’ sensitivity to extinction is well known, but islands can also provide refuge from continental extinction. Heterogyrus milloti is an irreplaceable link to the freshwater biota of the Mesozoic and serves as a reminder of what may be lost without critical conservation e orts on Madagascar.
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| 7. |
- Hjalmarsson, Anna Emilia, et al.
(författare)
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Taxonomic revision of Madagascan Rhantus (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Colymbetinae) with an emphasis on Manjakatompo as a conservation priority
- 2013
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Ingår i: ZooKeys. - : Pensoft Publishers. - 1313-2989 .- 1313-2970. ; :350, s. 21-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We review the diving-beetle genus Rhantus Dejean of Madagascar (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Colymbetinae) based on museum collection holdings and recently collected expedition material. Both morphology and DNA is used to test species boundaries, in particular whether newly collected material from the Tsaratanana mountains in the north represent a new species or are conspecific with Rhantus manjakatompo Pederzani and Rocchi 2009, described based on a single male specimen from the central Ankaratra mountains. DNA of the holotype of R. manjakatompo was successfully extracted in a non-destructive way and sequenced. The general mixed Yule coalescent model applied to an ultrametric tree constructed from mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence data delimited three species. Morphological characters supported the same species unambiguously. We therefore recognise three species of Rhantus to occur in Madagascar: R. latus (Fairmaire, 1869), R. bouvieri Regimbart, 1900 and R. manjakatompo Pederzani and Rocchi, 2009. All three species are endemic to Madagascar and restricted to the highlands of the island. Rhantus stenonychus Regimbart, 1895, syn. n., is considered a junior synonym of R. latus. We designate lectotypes for R. bouvieri and R. goudoti Sharp, 1882, the latter a junior synonym of R. latus. We provide descriptions, a determination key, SEM-images of fine pronotal and elytral structures, distribution maps, habitus photos, and illustrations of male genitalia and pro-and mesotarsal claws. We discuss the role of the Manjakatompo forest as a refugium for Madagascan Rhantus diversity and other endemics of the montane central high plateau.
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| 8. |
- Ranarilalatiana, Tolotra, et al.
(författare)
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Remaining forests on the Central Highlands of Madagascar : Endemic and endangered aquatic beetle fauna uncovered
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 12:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Madagascar is known for its high endemism and as many as 90% of this unique diversity are forest-dwellers. Unfortunately, the forest cover of Madagascar is decreasing at an alarming rate. This decrease can also affect aquatic insects, but our knowledge on aquatic insect diversity and distribution on Madagascar are limited. Although the eastern rainforests are considered the most diverse, the Central Highlands of Madagascar also harbors unique microendemic fauna but has been less studied. Here, we analyze the aquatic Adephaga beetle fauna of three remaining protected forests of the Central Highlands. Diversity, abundance, and uniqueness are compared between and within natural forests and surrounding grasslands. At least 15 undescribed species were found, highlighting the Central Highlands as an important area for endemism. The natural forests and the surrounding grasslands differed significantly in species assemblages. Interestingly, the three remaining forests differed in their assemblages with the geographically more distant Manjakatompo Ankaratra having the most unique fauna but also the highest altitude span. By contrast, the species composition was similar between the peripheral zones of each of the three remaining forests. The similarity of the fauna in the peripheral open habitats illustrates how some local forest endemics are replaced with widespread generalists in degraded habitats. Our study shows that the remaining forests of the Central Highlands of Madagascar are important refuges of unique fauna at high risk of extinction.
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| 9. |
- Strandberg, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Partial degeneration - a solution to LBA and saturation problems
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: There are many factors to consider when studying evolutionary relationships. The effect of substitution saturation and compositional heterogeneity may result in erroneous relationships and long-branch attraction artifacts (LBA) are all too real for a researcher in this field. A well-used method of avoiding LBA is removal or degeneration of the faster evolving third codon positions in protein coding genes and while successful, it possibly reduces valuable information in the process. We want to test the effectiveness of degenerating synonymous sites (i.e. degen1 coding) used on only a selective part of a dataset and how it compares to the common methods otherwise used. Testing these methods, two protein coding gene datasets covering Hymenoptera and Diptera, differing in size, hierarchal level and evolutionary age, was analyzed using maximum likelihood. Results: Both data sets, with high support across the trees, displayed LBA in the early lineages when all codon positions were included. Both methods of dataset alteration yielded similar and more likely trees, but the partial degeneration method showed higher number of supported nodes and as well as a higher median support.Conclusions: Partial degeneration is able to solve LBA artifacts and is a more efficient method to use when data is poorly sampled or suffers from substitution saturation and/or compositional heterogeneity.
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