A thorough review concerning palm uses in tropical rainforests of northwestern South America was carried out to understand patterns of palm use throughout ecoregions (Amazonia, Andes, Chocó), countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia), and among the different human groups (indigenous, mestizos, afroamericans, colonos) that occur there. A total of 194 useful palm species, 2,395 different uses and 6,141 use-reports were recorded from 255 references. The Amazon had the highest palm use, whereas fewer, but similar uses were recorded for the Andes and Chocó. Ecuador was the most intensively studied country. Most palms were used for human food, utensils and tools, construction, and cultural purposes. Indigenous people knew more palm uses than mestizos, afroamericans and colonos. The use of palms was not random and the main uses were the same throughout the studied ecoregions and countries. Palms satisfy basic subsistence needs and have great importance in traditional cultures of rural indigenous and peasant populations in our study area. Arecaceae is probably the most important plant family in the Neotropics, in relation to use diversity and abundance.Resumen Se realizó una revisión exhaustiva de los usos de las palmeras en los bosques tropicales lluviosos del noroeste de América del Sur para comprender los patrones de uso de las palmeras por ecorregiones (Amazonia, Andes, Chocó), países (Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia) y entre los diferentes grupos humanos (indígenas, mestizos, afroamericanos, colonos) existentes. Se registraron 194 especies de palmeras útiles, 2,395 usos distintos y 6,141 registros de uso a partir de 255 referencias. La Amazonia tuvo el uso más alto de palmeras, mientras que en los Andes y el Chocó se encontraron menores usos aunque similares. Ecuador fue el país que se estudió más intensamente. La mayoría de las especies se usaron para alimentación humana, utensilios y herramientas, construcción y usos culturales. Los indígenas conocieron más usos de palmeras que los mestizos, afroamericanos y colonos. El uso de las palmeras no fue al azar y los usos principales fueron los mismos en todas las ecorregiones y países estudiados. Las palmeras cubren necesidades básicas de subsistencia y tienen una gran importancia en las culturas tradicionales de las poblaciones indígenas y campesinas rurales en nuestra área de estudio. Arecaceae es probablemente la familia de plantas más importante del Neotrópico, en relación a su diversidad y abundancia de usos.

A comprehensive evolutionary analysis of aquaporins, a family of intrinsic membrane proteins that function as water channels, was conducted to establish groups of homology (i.e., to identify orthologues and paralogues) within the family and to gain insights into the functional constraints acting on the structure of the aquaporin molecule structure. Aquaporins are present in all living organisms, and therefore, they provide an excellent opportunity to further our understanding of the broader biological significance of molecular evolution by gene duplication followed by functional and structural specialization. Based on the resulting phylogeny, the 153 channel proteins analyzed were classified into six major paralogous groups: (1) GLPs, or glycerol-transporting channel proteins, which include mammalian AQP3, AQP7, and AQP9, several nematode paralogues, a yeast paralogue, and Escherichia coli GLP; (2) AQPs, or aquaporins, which include metazoan AQP0, AQP1, AQP2, AQP4, AQP5, and AQP6; (3) PIPs, or plasma membrane intrinsic proteins of plants, which include PIP1 and PIP2; (4) TIPs, or tonoplast intrinsic proteins of plants, which include alphaTIP, gammaTIP, and deltaTIP; (5) NODs, or nodulins of plants; and (6) AQP8s, or metazoan aquaporin 8 proteins. Of these groups, AQPs, PIPs, and TIPs cluster together. According to the results, the capacity to transport glycerol shown by several members of the family was acquired only early in the history of the family. The new phylogeny reveals that several water channel proteins are misclassified and require reassignment, whereas several previously undetermined ones can now be classified with confidence. The deduced phylogenetic framework was used to characterize the molecular features of water channel proteins. Three motifs are common to all family members: AEF (Ala-Glu-Phe), which is located in the N-terminal domain; and two NPA (Asp-Pro-Ala) boxes, which are located in the center and C-terminal domains, respectively. Other residues are found to be conserved within the major groups but not among them. Overall, the PIP subfamily showed the least variation. In general, no radical amino acid replacements affecting tertiary structure were identified, with the exception of Ala-->Ser in the TIP subfamily. Constancy of rates of evolution was demonstrated within the different paralogues but rejected among several of them (GLP and NOD).

A phylogeny of the main lineages of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) from the Iberian Peninsula was based on partial nucleotide sequences (about 1221 bp) of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II genes of 33 taxa. Our phylogenetic analyses confirmed the validity and composition of most of the recognized tribes within the subfamily. Interestingly, the Onitini showed an evolutionary rate significantly higher than that of the other tribes. The molecular phylogeny supports a sister-group relationship of the tribes Onitini and Oniticellini + Onthophagini. A close relationship of Scarabaeini, Gymnopleurini, and Sisyphini is also suggested but lacks bootstrap support. Surprisingly, the Coprini, which had always been related to the Oniticellini and Onthophagini, were placed closer to the Scarabaeini, Gymnopleurini, and Sisyphini. The inferred molecular phylogeny was used to assess the main evolutionary trends of nesting behavior. Our results suggest tentative single origins for both the tunneling and the rolling behaviors, and the possibility that the rolling behavior could have been lost secondarily in Copris.

The crisis facing the conservation of biodiversity is reflected in a parallel crisis in alpha taxonomy. On one hand, there is an acute need from government and non-government organisations for large-scale and relatively stable species inventories on which to build major biodiversity information systems. On the other, molecular information will have an increasingly important impact on the evidential basis for delimiting species and is likely to result in greater scientific debate and controversy on their circumscription. This paper argues that alpha-taxonomy built on the Internet (alpha e-taxonomy) can provide a key component of the solution. Two main themes are considered: (1) the potential of e-taxonomic revisions for engaging both the specialist taxonomic community and a wider public in gathering taxonomic knowledge and deepening understanding of it, and (2) why alpha-species will continue to play an essential role in the conventional definition of species and what kinds of methodological development this implies for descriptive species taxonomy. The challenges and requirements for sustaining etaxonomic revisions in the long-term are discussed, with particular reference to models being developed by five initiatives with botanical exemplar websites: CATE (Creating a Taxonomic E-Science), Solanaceae Source, GrassBase and EDIT (European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy) exemplar groups and scratchpads. These projects give a clear indication of the crucially important role of the national and regional taxonomic organisations and their networks in providing both leadership and a fruitful and beneficial human and technical environment for taxonomists, both amateur and professional, to contribute their expertise towards a collective global enterprise.

Quaternary climate fluctuations can affect speciation in regional biodiversity assembly in two non-mutually exclusive ways: a glacial species pump, where isolation in glacial refugia accelerates allopatric speciation, and adaptive radiation in underused adaptive zones during ice-free periods. We detected biogeographic and genetic signatures associated with both mechanisms in the assembly of the biota of the European Alps. Age distributions of endemic and widespread species within aquatic and terrestrial taxa (amphipods, fishes, amphibians, butterflies and flowering plants) revealed that endemic fish evolved only in lakes, are highly sympatric, and mainly of Holocene age, consistent with adaptive radiation. Endemic amphipods are ancient, suggesting preglacial radiation with limited range expansion and local Pleistocene survival, perhaps facilitated by a groundwater-dwelling lifestyle. Terrestrial endemics are mostly of Pleistocene age and are thus more consistent with the glacial species pump. The lack of evidence for Holocene adaptive radiation in the terrestrial biome is consistent with faster recolonization through range expansion of these taxa after glacial retreats. More stable and less seasonal ecological conditions in lakes during the Holocene may also have contributed to Holocene speciation in lakes. The high proportion of young, endemic species makes the Alpine biota vulnerable to climate change, but the mechanisms and consequences of species loss will likely differ between biomes because of their distinct evolutionary histories.