Speciation generally involves a three-step process--range expansion, range fragmentation and the development of reproductive isolation between spatially separated populations. Speciation relies on cycling through these three steps and each may limit the rate at which new species form. We estimate phylogenetic relationships among all Himalayan songbirds to ask whether the development of reproductive isolation and ecological competition, both factors that limit range expansions, set an ultimate limit on speciation. Based on a phylogeny for all 358 species distributed along the eastern elevational gradient, here we show that body size and shape differences evolved early in the radiation, with the elevational band occupied by a species evolving later. These results are consistent with competition for niche space limiting species accumulation. Even the elevation dimension seems to be approaching ecological saturation, because the closest relatives both inside the assemblage and elsewhere in the Himalayas are on average separated by more than five million years, which is longer than it generally takes for reproductive isolation to be completed; also, elevational distributions are well explained by resource availability, notably the abundance of arthropods, and not by differences in diversification rates in different elevational zones. Our results imply that speciation rate is ultimately set by niche filling (that is, ecological competition for resources), rather than by the rate of acquisition of reproductive isolation.

An assemblage of problematical microfossils of Precambrian-Cambrian boundary age is redescribed from the Chert-Phosphorite Member, at the base of the Lower Tal Formation of Maldeota in the Lesser Himalaya of India. This assemblage has previously been ascribed to various ages, from Precambrian to Cretaceous, but is held by us to contain: Maldeotaia bandalica, Protohertzina anabarica group, trumpet-shaped elements, acicular elements A & B, IConotheca sp., Ovalitheca cf. multicostata, allathecid sp. A, Barbitositheca ansata, Hexangulaconularia cf. formosa, Coleoloides aff. typicalis, Hyolithellus aff. insolitus, H. cf. isiticus, H. vladimirovae, Spirellus shankari and Olivooides multisulcatus. These compare closely with assemblages found above the base of the first, Anabarites trisulcatus-Protohertzina anabarica Zone in China and in the second, Pseudorthotheca costata Zone of southern Kazakhstan. The stratigraphic setting of the Krol-Tal succession is reviewed and several similarities are noted between the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary successions of Lesser Himalaya in India and of Yunnan and Sichuan in Southwest China, indicating that correlation between them is possible at several levels.

How to effectively remove toxic dyes from the industrial wastewater using a green low-cost lignocellulose-based adsorbent, such as lignin, has become a topic of great interest but remains quite challenging. In this study, cosolvent-enhanced lignocellulosic fractionation (CELF) pretreatment and Mannich reaction were combined to generate an aminated CELF lignin which is subsequently applied for removal of methylene blue and direct blue (DB) 1 dye from aqueous solution. 31 P NMR was used to track the degree of amination, and an orthogonal design was applied to determine the relationship between the extent of amination and reaction parameters. The physicochemical, morphological, and thermal properties of the aminated CELF lignin were characterized to confirm the successful grafting of diethylenetriamine onto the lignin. The aminated CELF lignin proved to be an effective azo dye-adsorbent, demonstrating considerably enhanced dye decolorization, especially toward DB 1 dye (>90%). It had a maximum adsorption capacity of DB 1 dye of 502.7 mg/g, and the kinetic study suggested the adsorption process conformed to a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The isotherm results also showed that the modified lignin-based adsorbent exhibited monolayer adsorption. The adsorbent properties were mainly attributed to the incorporated amine functionalities as well as the increased specific surface area of the aminated CELF lignin.

Aspects of birdsong complexity, such as the number of distinct notes in a song, commonly increase along latitudinal gradients, a pattern for which at least 10 explanations have been suggested. In two Himalayan warblers, songs are more complex in the northwest than in the southeast. In Grey‐hooded Warbler Phylloscopus xanthoschistos, high complexity results from increased note diversity within song types, sung across a higher bandwidth. In Blyth's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus reguloides, high complexity is a consequence of increased variation between song types. The hypothesis with strongest support is that songs evolved to be more complex in species‐poor, demonstrably less noisy environments. We consider geographical variation to be an outcome of sexual selection favouring complexity across environments, where detection of the signal varies. Sexual selection favouring complexity may be resolved in different ways, because complexity has multiple features (repertoire size, song switching, etc.). We argue this has led to the great diversity in song that we have documented among five Phylloscopus species.

ABSTRACT-The genus Impatiens (Compositae) was reviewed for its chemical constituents and biological significance and its traditional uses. The genus has been known for its various biological activities like: antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, antiallergic activity, antipruritic activity, antidermatitic activity, transcriptional activity, anti-rheumatoid arthritis activity, anti-histamine activity, testosterone 5α-reductase inhibitory activity, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitory activity and anti platelet activating activity. Most of the plants of this genus are rich sources of napthoquinones, flanonoids, glycosides and sapogenins. The bioactive constituents or plants extracts may be uses for treatment of various diseases and these would be used as a new formulation for the novel drugs discovery in pharmaceutical industries. This review presents comprehensive information on the chemistry and pharmacology of the genus together with the traditional uses of many of its plants. In addition, this review discusses the structure-activity relationship of different compounds as well as recent developments and the scope for future research in this aspect.

Taxa classified as subspecies may in fact be cryptic species. We assessed the taxonomic status of the Blue‐throated Flycatcher Cyornis rubeculoides complex in India, which consists of several forms with similar plumages and song. We used mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, plumage traits, and detailed song analysis to ascertain the taxonomic status of the different forms. The molecular data identified three primary clades: (1) in the west Himalayan foothills, (2) at higher elevations in the northeast hill states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram, and (3) at lower elevations in the northeastern hills of Meghalaya and the east Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh. The western clade represents nominate C. rubeculoides rubeculoides. The high‐elevation eastern clade was considered to be C. rubeculoides rogersi, because it included a sample from this subspecies from near the type locality in southwest Myanmar. These two sister clades had an estimated divergence time of 1.5 million years (my). The low‐elevation east clade has previously been assigned to C. rubeculoides, but we showed it is closely related to the Hainan Blue Flycatcher Cyornis hainanus, formerly thought to breed only further east, with an estimated divergence time of only ~0.8 my. This clade may represent a subspecies of C. hainanus or, given reports of widespread sympatry with C. hainanus in Thailand, a distinct species, Cyornis dialilaemus. However, more research is advocated, including molecular data, from the area of overlap. Songs were remarkably similar across all taxa. In playback experiments, C. r. rubeculoides in the west responded to all taxa. This is in agreement with recent work demonstrating that song differences and responses to songs are not always a good indicator of the progress of reproductive isolation.

Tropical forests have exceptional woodpecker diversity, but little is known about the abundance and diversity of woodpeckers in the Indian subcontinent, particularly for the Shorea robusta‐dominated moist deciduous forests of northern India. Our objective was to compare the number of woodpecker species and number of individuals detected using playback surveys and visual/aural transect surveys at five sites. Each site was surveyed 5–6 times along a 2000‐m transect, with woodpeckers detected using two methods: (1) visual and aural cues, and (2) playing back calls of 13 species at 400‐m intervals. Both methods involved similar effort per survey (100–110 min). During surveys, we detected 11 species of woodpeckers. More species and more than twice as many individuals were detected during playback surveys than during visual/aural surveys. In addition, species accumulation curves showed that we detected the species known to be present based on previous work faster with playback surveys than with visual/aural surveys at four of the five sites. During field trials, 97% of targeted individuals (N= 269) of 12 species responded to playback, and 83% of the responses occurred within 1 min of broadcast. The number of species of woodpeckers in our study area (11 species) was typical for a structurally diverse, tropical/subtropical moist broad‐leaved forest. Our results demonstrate that playback surveys are more efficient and accurate than visual/aural surveys, and that playback surveys can be useful for assessing and monitoring woodpecker diversity in tropical forests.

We studied a guild of overwintering Phylloscopus warblers (Hume's Warbler, Grey-hooded Warbler, Lemon-rumped Warbler) in the Himalayan foothills to gain an understanding of the manner in which they respond to changes in their habitat structure and resource availability from early to late winter (2006)(2007). The relative abundances of birds and vegetation attributes were quantified at 91 point count stations. Arthropod abundance was measured in both the tree and shrub layers. Foraging behaviour was characterized in terms of the following dimensions: foraging height, foraging tree species, foraging manoeuvre and foraging substrate. From early to late winter, we observed a significant decline in vegetation cover in the canopy layer and arthropod abundance in both the tree and shrub layers, but did not detect any associated decline in the relative abundance of the three species. While a general shift to lower foraging heights was observed in late winter, no significant seasonal variation could be detected at the species level in the other dimensions. Furthermore, though interspecific segregation by foraging heights remained conserved across winter, foraging segregation in terms of the use of foraging trees and manoeuvres emerged only in late winter. Our results suggest that a shift in foraging patterns enabled the guild to adjust to changes in habitat structure and decline in food availability in winter.Keywords Arthropod abundance Á Foraging behaviour Á P. humei Á P. xanthoschistos Á P. chloronotus Zusammenfassung Wir haben eine Gilde überwintern-der Phylloscopus-Laubsänger (Tienshan-Laubsänger, Grauscheitel-Laubsänger, Goldhähnchen-Laubsänger) in den Ausläufern des Himalajas untersucht, um zu verstehen, auf welche Art und Weise diese Laubsänger auf Verän-derungen der Habitatstruktur und Ressourcenverfügbarkeit vom Früh-bis zum Spätwinter (2006)(2007) reagieren. Die relativen Abundanzen der Vögel sowie Vegetationsmerkmale wurden von 91 Punktzählstationen aus quantifiziert. Die Abundanz von Arthropoden wurde sowohl in der Baum-als auch in der Strauchschicht gemessen. Das Nahrungssuchverhalten wurde im Hinblick auf folgende Parameter beschrieben: Höhe, Baumart, Manöver und Substrat für die Nahrungssuche. Vom Früh-bis zum Spätwinter haben wir eine signifikante Abnahme der Vegetationsbedeckung in der Kronenschicht und der Arthropodenabundanz in sowohl der Baum-als auch der Strauchschicht beobachtet. Es wurde allerdings keine damit verbundene Abnahme der relativen Abundanzen der drei Vogelarten festgestellt. Während sich die Nahrungssuche im Spätwinter allgemein in geringere Höhen verlagerte, konnten für die anderen Maße keine signifikanten jahreszeitlichen Schwankungen auf dem Artniveau festgestellt werden. Obwohl die verschiedenen Arten den ganzen Winter über in unterschiedlicher Höhe nach Nahrung suchten, zeichnete sich eine Trennung anhand der Baumarten und Manöver, die zur Nahrungssuche genutzt wurden, erst im Spätwinter ab. Daher deuten unsere Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass eine Verschiebung in den Communicated by F....