Dataset Information

The Butterflies of Barro Colorado Island, Panama: Local Extinction since the 1930s.

ABSTRACT: Few data are available about the regional or local extinction of tropical butterfly species. When confirmed, local extinction was often due to the loss of host-plant species. We used published lists and recent monitoring programs to evaluate changes in butterfly composition on Barro Colorado Island (BCI, Panama) between an old (1923-1943) and a recent (1993-2013) period. Although 601 butterfly species have been recorded from BCI during the 1923-2013 period, we estimate that 390 species are currently breeding on the island, including 34 cryptic species, currently only known by their DNA Barcode Index Number. Twenty-three butterfly species that were considered abundant during the old period could not be collected during the recent period, despite a much higher sampling effort in recent times. We consider these species locally extinct from BCI and they conservatively represent 6% of the estimated local pool of resident species. Extinct species represent distant phylogenetic branches and several families. The butterfly traits most likely to influence the probability of extinction were host growth form, wing size and host specificity, independently of the phylogenetic relationships among butterfly species. On BCI, most likely candidates for extinction were small hesperiids feeding on herbs (35% of extinct species). However, contrary to our working hypothesis, extinction of these species on BCI cannot be attributed to loss of host plants. In most cases these host plants remain extant, but they probably subsist at lower or more fragmented densities. Coupled with low dispersal power, this reduced availability of host plants has probably caused the local extinction of some butterfly species. Many more bird than butterfly species have been lost from BCI recently, confirming that small preserves may be far more effective at conserving invertebrates than vertebrates and, therefore, should not necessarily be neglected from a conservation viewpoint.

SUBMITTER: Basset Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4549329 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Butterflies of Barro Colorado Island, Panama: Local Extinction since the 1930s.

Basset Yves Y Barrios Héctor H Segar Simon S Srygley Robert B RB Aiello Annette A Warren Andrew D AD Delgado Francisco F Coronado James J Lezcano Jorge J Arizala Stephany S Rivera Marleny M Perez Filonila F Bobadilla Ricardo R Lopez Yacksecari Y Ramirez José Alejandro JA

PloS one 20150825 8

Few data are available about the regional or local extinction of tropical butterfly species. When confirmed, local extinction was often due to the loss of host-plant species. We used published lists and recent monitoring programs to evaluate changes in butterfly composition on Barro Colorado Island (BCI, Panama) between an old (1923-1943) and a recent (1993-2013) period. Although 601 butterfly species have been recorded from BCI during the 1923-2013 period, we estimate that 390 species are curre ...[more]

PMID: 26305111

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Project description:BackgroundSand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) in the genus Lutzomyia are the predominant vectors of the protozoan disease leishmaniasis in the New World. Within the watershed of the Panama Canal, the cutaneous form of leishmaniasis is a continuous health threat for residents, tourists and members of an international research community. Here we report the results of screening a tropical forest assemblage of sand fly species for infection by both Leishmania and a microbe that can potentially serve in vector population control, the cytoplasmically transmitted rickettsia, Wolbachia pipientis. Knowing accurately which Lutzomyia species are present, what their evolutionary relationships are, and how they are infected by strains of both Leishmania and Wolbachia is of critical value for building strategies to mitigate the impact of this disease in humans.Methodology and findingsWe collected, sorted and then used DNA sequences to determine the diversity and probable phylogenetic relationships of the Phlebotominae occurring in the understory of Barro Colorado Island in the Republic of Panama. Sequence from CO1, the DNA barcoding gene, supported 18 morphology-based species determinations while revealing the presence of two possible "cryptic" species, one (Lu. sp. nr vespertilionis) within the Vespertilionis group, the other (Lu. gomezi) within the Lutzomyia-cruciata series. Using ITS-1 and "minicircle" primers we detected Leishmania DNA in 43.3% of Lu. trapidoi, 26.3% of Lu. gomezi individuals and in 0% of the other 18 sand fly species. Identical ITS-1 sequence was obtained from the Leishmania infecting Lu. trapidoi and Lu. gomezi, sequence which was 93% similar to Leishmania (viannia) naiffi in GenBank, a species previously unknown in Panama, but recognized as a type of cutaneous leishmaniasis vectored broadly across northern and central South America. Distinct strains of the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia were detected in three of 20 sand fly species, including Lu. trapidoi, in which it frequently co-occurred with Leishmania.ConclusionsBoth morphological and molecular methods were used to examine an assemblage of 20 sand fly species occurring in the forests of the Panama Canal area. Two of these species, members of separate clades, were found to carry Leishmania at high frequency and hence are likely vectors of leishmaniasis to humans or other mammal species. A single Leishmania species, identified with high confidence as Le. naiffi, was carried by both species. That Le. naiffi is known to cause cutaneous lesions in South America but has hitherto not been reported or implicated in Panama opens the possibility that its range has recently expanded to include the Isthmus or that it occurs as a recent introduction. The occurrence of Leishmania and Wolbachia in Lu. trapidoi identifies one important vector of the disease as a potential target for gene introductions using Wolbachia population sweeps.

Dataset Information

The Butterflies of Barro Colorado Island, Panama: Local Extinction since the 1930s.

Publications

The Butterflies of Barro Colorado Island, Panama: Local Extinction since the 1930s.

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