The eggs of many crustaceans are minute and resistant to desiccation. These properties favour their accidental dispersal and parthenogenesis ensures survival in the newly occupied niches. Agencies by which such dispersal is achieved have been long ensconced in the literature. The role of man as an agent of crustacean dispersal via the spread of useful plants, however, has been relatively neglected hitherto but the example provided by ostracode ospiti esteri of the Italian ricefields ecosystem indicates that this neglect is unwarranted. Italian historical and archaeobotanical records concerning the introductions of numerous other useful plants make it obvious that the dispersal potential of this agency cannot be restricted to rice only. When modern Ostracoda assemblages from Europe are compared against fossil ones, their dissimilarity suggests a high proportion of introduced species in the modern biota. The implications of this are discussed. Students of crustacean biogeography must come to terms with several aspects of crustacean physiology that can affect distribution patterns. One such aspect is the ability of numerous crustaceans inhabiting terrestrial aquatic ecosystems to reproduce parthenogenetically. The widespread dispersal of many taxa, even in tercontinentally, has been linked frequently to this phenomenon which is known as geographic parthenogenesis. We stress two particular facets of geographic parthenogenesis: firstly, that parthenogenetic populations tend to form the dispersal fringe of the taxa concerned; secondly, that where amphigonic populations are also known for the taxa under study they tend to be confined to the zoogeographic regions where these taxa are native (McKenzie, 1971a). Some possible exceptions will be discussed later, but these serve only to accentuate rather than invalidate our ideas. Another germane aspect of crustacean physiology is the ability of many taxa to produce desiccation-resistant eggs; and linked to this is the fact that the eggs of most crustaceans that inhabit terrestrial aquatic ecosystems are very small — for Ostracoda they rarely exceed 50-µm diameter. The combination of resistance to desiccation and minute size makes it unsurprising that passive dispersal is the rule for these Crustacea, as confirmed by a vast literature that is recycled regularly by reviewers. Our purpose in this paper is to stress the hitherto little emphasised role of man as an indirect agent of crustacean passive dispersal via the spread of useful plants. Our exemplars are Ostracoda of the ricefields ecosystem, specifically some species introduced into the major Italian rice-growing region of Lombardy-Padana (Fig. 1). We also cite records (historical as well as archaeoethnobotanical) of the introduction into Italy of rice and many other useful plants via which desiccation-resistant ostracode eggs might have been incidentally dispersed. Our discussion of this more general hypothesis will conclude with reference to comparisons between fossil and modern European ostracode assemblages.

Man As an Agent of Crustacean passive dispersal via useful plants-exemplified by Ostracoda Ospiti Esteri of the Italian ricefields ecosystem-and implications arising therefrom

Populations of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Oreonax flavicauda) persist in increasingly isolated, threatened cloud forests in scattered areas of the departments of San Martin and Amazonas, in northern Peru. No long-term research has been conducted on this species in more than 20 years. The range of O. flavicauda continues to suffer rapid and widespread deforestation. From June to August 2004,I was involved in selecting a site for an extended study of its behavior and ecology. Here I document the species' continued existence and status in the Bosque de Proteccion (Protected Forest) of Alto Mayo. Three sightings of O. flavicauda provided a group size of 17–20 individuals—higher than previous sightings by Mariela Leo Luna in the early 1980s, who observed an average group size of nine. The difficulty we encountered in finding groups in the study area suggests that yellowtailed woolly monkeys have a large home range. This and its large body size, low density, low reproductive rate, its restrictio...

https://bioone.org/journals/primate-conservation/volume-22/issue-1/052.022.0102/Notes-on-the-Yellow-Tailed-Woolly-Monkey-Oreonax-flavicauda-and/10.1896/052.022.0102.pdf

Notes on the Yellow-Tailed Woolly Monkey (Oreonax flavicauda) and Its Status in the Protected Forest of Alto Mayo, Northern Peru

The genus Cypretta VAVRA, 1895 from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines is reviewed. Currently, eleven species are known from these areas. Two new species are described and two species are redescribed. Remarks and diagnostic illustrations are given for the known species.

Freshwater Ostracods (Crustacea: Ostracoda) of the GenusCypretta VAVRA, 1895 from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines

The Ostracoda, a group of small entomostracan Crustacea, form an important element in the Sri Lankan fauna. The adults range from 0.3 to 5 mm in length. Occupying a wide variety of habitats, the rather rare terrestrial forms have never been found there and the marine species are regarded as lying outside the terms of reference of this account. With the exception of the euryhaline brackish water species Ghardaglaia ambigua (Neale 1979c), which belongs in the Paracypridinae, all the ostracods in this account are inhabitants of freshwater and found in lakes, tanks, ponds, ditches, reservoirs and rice fields.

The freshwater Ostracoda

Nine species of Ostracoda are reported from container habitats of some South Pacific islands. Two of these are new to science, four are already known, and three are identified only to the genus due to lack of material. Ecological information has been compiled for the species reported.

Systematics and ecological notes on Ostracoda from container habitats of some South Pacific islands

Summary A study of the ostracod fauna has been carried out in Madurai Area in Southern India. Nine species belonging to eight genera have been described as new to science. Comparisons have been made with related temperate and tropical ostracods and the relationships have been discussed.

Reginald Victor

Papers

Nine new species of freshwater ostracoda from Madurai area in Southern India