Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Thinking fast and slow.

We redescribe the only previously known species of Myrsidea from bulbuls, M. pycnonoti Eichler. Sixteen new species are described; they and their type hosts are: M. phillipsi ex Pycnonotus goiavier goiavier (Scopoli), M. gieferi ex P. goiavier suluensis Mearns, M. kulpai ex P. flavescens Blyth, M. finlaysoni ex P. finlaysoni Strickland, M. kathleenae ex P. cafer (L.), M. warwicki ex Ixos philippinus (J. R. Forster), M. mcclurei ex Microscelis amaurotis (Temminck), M. zeylanici ex P. zeylanicus (Gmelin), M. plumosi ex P. plumosus Blyth, M. eutiloti ex P. eutilotus (Jardine and Selby), M. adamsae ex P. urostictus (Salvadori), M. ochracei ex Criniger ochraceus F. Moore, M. borbonici ex Hypsipetes borbonicus (J. R. Forster), M. johnsoni ex P. atriceps (Temminck), M. palmai ex C. ochraceus, and M. claytoni ex P. eutilotus. A key is provided for the identification of these 17 species.

A new species

High-throughput DNA sequencing has the potential to accelerate species discovery if it is able to recognize evolutionary entities from sequence data that are comparable to species. The general mixed Yule-coalescent (GMYC) model estimates the species boundary from DNA surveys by identifying independently evolving lineages as a transition from coalescent to speciation branching patterns on a phylogenetic tree. Applied here to 12 families from 4 orders of insects in Madagascar, we used the model to delineate 370 putative species from mitochondrial DNA sequence variation among 1614 individuals. These were compared with data from the nuclear genome and morphological identification and found to be highly congruent (98% and 94%). We developed a modified GMYC that allows for a variable transition from coalescent to speciation among lineages. This revised model increased the congruence with morphology (97%), suggesting that a variable threshold better reflects the clustering of sequence data into biological species. Local endemism was pronounced in all 5 insect groups. Most species (60-91%) and haplotypes (88-99%) were found at only 1 of the 5 study sites (40-1000 km apart). This pronounced endemism resulted in a 37% increase in species numbers using diagnostic nucleotides in a population aggregation analysis. Sample sizes between 7 and 10 individuals represented a threshold above which there was minimal increase in genetic diversity, broadly agreeing with coalescent theory and other empirical studies. Our results from >1.4 Mb of empirical data suggest that the GMYC model captures species boundaries comparable to those from traditional methods without the need for prior hypotheses of population coherence. This provides a method of species discovery and biodiversity assessment using single-locus data from mixed or environmental samples while building a globally available taxonomic database for future identifications. (Biodiversity; coalescent; DNA barcoding; DNA taxonomy; endemism; GMYC; Madagascar; turnover.)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/25677511.pdf

Accelerated species inventory on Madagascar using coalescent-based models of species delineation.

Global forest resources assessment 2000 : main report

Two more new species of Grospgus Simon, 1880, associated to the "Grosphus simoni group" (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from the regions of the Tsingy de Bemaraha and Montagne D'Ambre (Madagascar)

This contribution is an open letter to all CITES Management and Scientific Authorities, which is signed by all of the co-authors. As CITES convenes its 19th Conference of the Parties in November 2022, some of the largest seizures in history of illegally harvested CITES-listed species are poised to be handed back to the criminals who smuggled them out of Madagascar. Nearly 40,000 rosewood logs were illegally exported from the country in 2014, in clear violation of CITES and national embargos, as explicitly declared in Notices issued by the CITES Secretariat. The logs were seized by Singapore, Kenya, and Sri Lanka, but as a result of both passive and active interference from various Malagasy officials and aggressive use of these countries’ national court and political systems, orders have now been issued for the logs to be returned to the smugglers. Release of this wood would have catastrophic consequences for the future sustainable management of Madagascar’s remaining rosewood and ebony resources. We propose five essential steps that should be taken at the upcoming CITES CoP 19 in Panama to prevent this from happening.

https://www.ajol.info/index.php/mcd/article/download/234318/221334

CITES must urgently take the steps to save Madagascar’s unique species of rosewood and ebony

espanolSe presenta una nueva aportacion sobre los escorpiones del Parque Nacional del Tsingy de Namoroka, y se describe una especie nueva de Opisthacanthus. El raro butido Tityobuthus antsingy Lourenco & Goodman, 2004, descrito previamente de una cueva del parque, se ve confirmado por la recogida de un segundo ejemplar, encontrado igualmente en una cueva. Esta especies, sin embargo, parece ser solo un elemento trogloxeno. Se incluyen tambien unos comentarios sobre la extraordinaria diversidad del genero Opisthacanthus en Madagascar, donde el numero total de especies se eleva ahora a 13. Esto indica un alto nivel de endemismo en el grupo, como ya se ha sugerido para otros generos de escorpiones malgaches. EnglishA new contribution to the scorpions of the Parc National du Tsingy de Namoroka is presented and a new species of Opisthacanthus is described. The rare buthid Tityobuthus antsingy Lourenco & Goodman, 2004, previously described from a cave in the reserve, is confirmed by the collection of a second specimen, also found inside a cave. This species seems however to be only a trogloxene element. Some comments are also added on the extraordinary diversity of the genus Opisthacanthus in Madagascar, with a total number of species now raised to 13. This attests for a very high level of endemicity in this group, as already suggested for several other genera of Malagasy scorpions

Scorpions from the Parc National du Tsingy de Namoroka, Madagascar, with description of a new species of Opisthacanthus Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Hormuridae)

Siphonaptera, fleas, Parasy gazy

Some new taxonomic considerations are proposed for Tityobuthus Pocock, 1890, a Malagasy genus of the Ananterinae subfamily (sensu Pocock). Tityobuthus elements are only present in Madagascar, but the group does belong to a lineage representing a typical Gondwanian distribution. The number of known Tityobuthus species rose considerably in the last 25 years but most are rarely collected and only known from very few or even a single individual. The reanalysis of certain morphological traits of Tityobuthus species suggests the existence of two possible taxonomic groups within the genus, one comprising species with short chelae and another with long chelae. One new species, Tityobuthus orangea n. sp., is also described from a cave located in the reserve of Orangea in the North of Madagascar. The new species is a possible endemic element to this cave in Orangea.

Lucienne Wilmé

Papers

Two more new species of Grospgus Simon, 1880, associated to the "Grosphus simoni group" (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from the regions of the Tsingy de Bemaraha and Montagne D'Ambre (Madagascar)

CITES must urgently take the steps to save Madagascar’s unique species of rosewood and ebony

Scorpions from the Parc National du Tsingy de Namoroka, Madagascar, with description of a new species of Opisthacanthus Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Hormuridae)

Siphonaptera, fleas, Parasy gazy

New taxonomic considerations on the genus Tityobuthus Pocock, 1890, and description of a new species (Scorpiones, Buthidae)