El estudio de los servicios ecosistémicos (SE) en entornos urbanos ha tenido un gran crecimiento en los últimos años, debido a su relación con el bienestar de los ciudadanos y la manera en que estos perciben y valoran la naturaleza. En este estudio, se analizó la percepción de 674 personas pertenecientes a la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, sede Bogotá sobre los servicios ecosistémicos urbanos (SEU) proporcionados por el campus, utilizando encuestas semiestructuradas. Las respuestas fueron comparadas a nivel de facultades y grupos de interés (estudiantes, docentes y personal administrativo), identificando espacialmente las áreas importantes en oferta de SEU. Se comparó la percepción de los encuestados entre dos escenarios: previo a ser informados sobre el concepto de los SEU (a priori) y posterior a esto (a posteriori). Un 77,23% de los entrevistados desconocía el término “servicio ecosistémico”; sin embargo, reconocen los beneficios de la naturaleza en su diario vivir. Los servicios culturales y de regulación recibieron las mayores valoraciones (principalmente recreación, salud física y mental, calidad del aire) asociados a las zonas verdes o arboladas dentro del campus. Se evidenciaron diferencias en la importancia de los servicios en relación con la facultad, y, en menor medida, de acuerdo con su tipo de vinculación. Finalmente, los encuestados reconocieron la importancia del campus universitario como proveedor de SEU en el entorno local y como parte de la matriz urbana bogotana, haciendo hincapié en los beneficios obtenidos de los espacios naturales al interior de la ciudad.

Populations that become genetically isolated by geographical barriers may express phenotypic divergence more strongly in some traits than in others. Even when genetic differentiation among isolated populations accumulates at a rapid rate, this may not be reflected in phenotypic differentiation. This decoupling of trait divergence from genetic divergence has been found in multiple Andean bird lineages, which occupy latitudinally long, linear ranges that are fragmented by ecological and topographic barriers. One of these montane birds is Diglossa cyanea (Thraupidae; Masked Flowerpiercer); its distribution is interrupted by valleys and lowlands that often represent subspecies that differ only by subtle diagnostic phenotypic differences. We evaluated genetic and phenotypic divergence throughout its distribution and found support for two distinct lineages sharply separated by the Marañón River valley at the Northern Peruvian Low (NPL). Specifically, we found that the two populations from the opposite sides of the NPL show deep divergence in mtDNA (∼6.7% uncorrected p distance, n = 122), in song structure (exclusive final notes in southern populations, n = 88), and in wing length (longer wings in the southern population, n = 345). No genetic variation or song structure was observed within the large range of the southern group (from the NPL to central Bolivia) or within all northern populations (from the NPL to Venezuela). Moreover, these two lineages are possibly paraphyletic with respect to D. caerulescens (Bluish Flowerpiercer), which suggests a long history of isolation across the NPL between northern and southern populations of Masked Flowerpiercer. Our results suggest that the southern taxon, D. c. melanopis, should be recognized as a species-level taxon, distinct from a redefined D. cyanea. We highlight the need to continue amassing complementary suites of datasets from field observations and experiments, laboratory analyses, and collection-based assessments, to better characterize the evolutionary history and taxonomic diversity of birds.

Genetic divergence among isolated populations is not always reflected in phenotypic differentiation. We investigated the genetic and phenotypic differentiation in Diglossa cyanea (Thraupidae; Masked Flowerpiercer), a widely distributed species in the tropical Andes. We found strong evidence for two main lineages separated by the Marañón River valley in the Northern Peruvian Low (NPL). These two lineages show a deep sequence divergence in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA; ~6.7% uncorrected p-distance, n = 122), spectral frequency and song structure (with exclusive final whistles in southern populations, n = 88), and wing length (the northern populations are smaller, n = 364). The two divergent D. cyanea mitochondrial lineages were not sister to each other, suggesting a possible paraphyly with respect to D. caerulescens (Bluish Flowerpiercer) that remains to be tested with nuclear genomic data. No genetic variation, size difference or song structure was observed within the extensive range of the southern group (from the NPL to central Bolivia) or within all sampled northern populations (from the NPL to Venezuela). These vocal differences appear to have consequences for song discrimination, and species recognition, according to a previously published playback experiment study. We propose that the southern taxon be elevated to species rank as D. melanopis, a monotypic species (with the proposed name Whistling Masked-Flowerpiercer). In turn, we provide a redefinition of D. cyanea (Warbling Masked-Flowerpiercer), which is now restricted to the northern half of the tropical Andes as a polytypic species with 3 subspecies (tovarensis, obscura, and cyanea). Based on our results, the subspecies dispar should be treated as a junior synonym of cyanea. Our study highlights the need to continue amassing complementary datasets from field observations, experiments, and collection-based assessments to better characterize the evolutionary history, biogeography, bioacoustics, and taxonomy of Neotropical montane birds.

∙ Bird entanglement by plants may be globally widespread, but it is not a frequently studied phenomenon, and records in different regions of the world are still scarce. During a short visit to the El Impenetrable National Park, Chaco province, Argentina, in October–November 2022, we recorded 15 incidental cases of birds entangled or trapped by fruits of the tree Pisonia zapallo. Our report involves 12 bird species from eight families, with a wide range of body sizes and masses. To our knowledge, this is the first documented report on this phenomenon in continental South America.