A formal method was developed to determine areas of endemism. The study region is divided into cells, and the number of species that can be considered as endemic is counted for a given set of cells (= area). Thus, the areas with the maximum number of species considered endemic are preferred. This is the first method for the identification of areas of endemism that implements an optimality criterion directly based on considering the aspects of species distribution that are relevant to endemism. The method is implemented in two computer programs, NDM and VNDM, available from the authors.

Plastic production has been increasing exponentially in the last 60 years, but plastic disposal is out of control, resulting in the pollution of all ecosystems on Earth. Finding alternative environmentally sustainable choices, such as biodegradation by insects and their associated gut microbiota, is crucial, however we have only begun to characterize these ecosystems. Some bacteria and one fungus have been previously identified in the gut of Greater Wax Moth larvae (Galleria mellonella L., Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) located mainly in the Northern hemisphere. The aim of this study was to describe changes in the gut microbiota associated with the consumption of polyethylene and polystyrene by the Greater Wax Moth in Argentina, considering both bacteria and fungi. Larvae were fed polyethylene, polystyrene and beeswax as control for 7 days. Next generation sequencing revealed changes in the bacterial gut microbiome of the wax moth larvae at the phyla and genus levels, with an increase in two Pseudomonas strains. The fungal communities showed no differences in composition between diets, only changing in relative abundance. This is the first report of both bacterial and fungal communities associated with a plastivore insect. The results are promising and call for more studies concerning a potential multi-kingdom synergy in the plastic biodegradation process.

No abstract

Se presenta la primera lista de especies de Saturniidae, Sphingidae y Geometridae (Lepidoptera) de la Reserva de la Biósfera Yabotí y sus alrededores en Misiones, Argentina. Esta Reserva es una de las áreas protegidas más extensas de la “Selva Paranaense”, la ecorregión más biodiversa de Argentina y altamente vulnerable por el extremo grado de fragmentación y degradación a la que está sometida. El trabajo de campo se realizó en ocho localidades durante la primavera y verano de 2012. Se utilizó trampa de luz para la atracción de los ejemplares y captura individual. La completitud de los muestreos se evaluó mediante curvas de acumulación de especies y estimadores no paramétricos de riqueza. Se identificaron 22 especies de Saturniidae, con cuatro nuevos registros para la fauna de Argentina: Paradaemonia meridionalis (Arsenurinae) y Catacantha ferruginea, Hidripa paranensis y Travassosula subfumata (Hemileucinae). Además, se determinaron 21 especies de Sphingidae y 40 de Geometridae, con seis registros nuevos de esta última familia para Argentina: Opisthoxia corinnaria, O. aurelia, Polla carnipennis y P. ochreicosta (Ennominae), Eois isographata (Larentiinae) y el primer registro de Racasta (Oenochrominae). El número de especies colectadas en cada familia representa alrededor del 60 % del total esperado en el área de estudio, por lo que se sugiere aumentar el esfuerzo de muestreo. Además, la carencia de información sobre la biología y ecología de la mayoría de las especies encontradas sustenta la necesidad de realizar más investigación sobre estos aspectos.