Dataset Information

Ecological niche modeling for conservation planning of an endemic snail in the verge of becoming a pest in cardamom plantations in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.

ABSTRACT: Conservation managers and policy makers are often confronted with a challenging dilemma of devising suitable strategies to maintain agricultural productivity while conserving endemic species that at the early stages of becoming pests of agricultural crops. Identification of environmental factors conducive to species range expansion for forecasting species distribution patterns will play a central role in devising management strategies to minimize the conflict between the agricultural productivity and biodiversity conservation. Here, we present results of a study that predicts the distribution of Indrella ampulla, a snail endemic to the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, which is becoming a pest in cardamom (Ellettaria cardamomum) plantations. We determined the distribution patterns and niche overlap between I. ampulla and Ellettaria cardamomum using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) niche modeling techniques under current and future (2020-2080) climatic scenarios. The results showed that climatic (precipitation of coldest quarter and isothermality) and soil (cation exchange capacity of soil [CEC]) parameters are major factors that determine the distribution of I. ampulla in Western Ghats. The model predicted cardamom cultivation areas in southern Western Ghats are highly sensitive to invasion of I. ampulla under both present and future climatic conditions. While the land area in the central Western Ghats is predicted to become unsuitable for I. ampulla and Ellettaria cardamomum in future, we found 71% of the Western Ghats land area is suitable for Ellettaria cardamomum cultivation and 45% suitable for I. ampulla, with an overlap of 35% between two species. The resulting distribution maps are invaluable for policy makers and conservation managers to design and implement management strategies minimizing the conflicts to sustain agricultural productivity while maintaining biodiversity in the region.

SUBMITTER: Sen S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5058523 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ecological niche modeling for conservation planning of an endemic snail in the verge of becoming a pest in cardamom plantations in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.

Sen Sandeep S Shivaprakash Kadukothanahally Nagaraju KN Aravind Neelavara A NA Ravikanth Gudasalamani G Dayanandan Selvadurai S

Ecology and evolution 20160818 18

Conservation managers and policy makers are often confronted with a challenging dilemma of devising suitable strategies to maintain agricultural productivity while conserving endemic species that at the early stages of becoming pests of agricultural crops. Identification of environmental factors conducive to species range expansion for forecasting species distribution patterns will play a central role in devising management strategies to minimize the conflict between the agricultural productivit ...[more]

PMID: 27777725

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Project description:The minute (adult size 1.3-4.8 mm) land snail species of the family Diplommatinidae in the Fiji archipelago are revised based on historical material and modern (1998-99) collections targeting limestone outcrops on the largest island, Viti Levu, and several smaller islands in the Lau group. The forty-two species (including 30 new species) belong to the genera Moussonia Semper, 1865, Palaina Semper, 1865 and Diancta Martens, 1867, which are briefly characterized and keyed. The diagnostic structure of the inner lamellar system of each species is illustrated. All species except one are endemic to Fiji. In Viti Levu, the 12 localities surveyed each had 1-13 (average 5) species of Diplommatinidae; ten species were each found at a single site only. In the Lau islands, five islands were visited, with 1-4 species per island; four species are known from single islands. The number of historically known species not recollected in 1998-99 (7 species), the number of single-site occurrences (14 species), and the numerous islands - including limestone islands - that have not been surveyed at all, indicate that the 42 species of Diplommatinidae currently known from Fiji represent perhaps only half of the Fiji diplommatinid fauna. Such numbers approach the diplommatinid diversity of Palau (39 described and more than 60 undescribed species), and surpasses by far the diversity of other South Pacific archipelagos of comparable land area (New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Samoa). Nomenclatural acts: Lectotypes designated: Diplommatinafuscula, Diplommatinafusculavar.vitiana, Diplommatinagodeffroyana, Diplommatinagodeffroyanavar.latecostata, Diplommatinatuberosa, Diplommatinamartensivar.macrostoma, all Mousson, 1870. Neotypes designated: Diplommatinasubregularis, Diplommatinaascendens, Diplommatinaquadrata, all Mousson, 1870. New species: Dianctaaurea sp. n., Dianctaaurita sp. n., Dianctabasiplana sp. n., Dianctacontroversa sp. n., Dianctadensecostulata sp. n., Dianctadextra sp. n., Dianctadilatata sp. n., Dianctadistorta sp. n., Dianctapulchella sp. n., Dianctarotunda sp. n., Dianctasubquadrata sp. n., Dianctatrilamellata sp. n., Moussoniaacuta sp. n., Moussoniabarkeri sp. n., Moussoniabrodieae sp. n., Moussonialongipalatalis sp. n., Moussoniaminutissima sp. n., Moussoniaobesa sp. n., Moussoniapolita sp. n., Moussoniauncinata sp. n., Moussoniavitianoides sp. n., Palainaalberti sp. n., Palainaflammulata sp. n., Palainaglabella sp. n., Palainakitteli sp. n., Palainalabeosa sp. n., Palainaparietalis sp. n., Palainasulcata sp. n., Palainatruncata sp. n., Palainatuberosissima sp. n.

Project description:BackgroundHigh taxonomic level endemism in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot has been typically attributed to the subcontinent's geological history of long-term isolation. Subsequent out of -- and into India dispersal of species after accretion to the Eurasian mainland is therefore often seen as a biogeographic factor that 'diluted' the composition of previously isolated Indian biota. However, few molecular studies have focussed on into-India dispersal as a possible source of endemism on the subcontinent. Using c. 6000 base pairs of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, we investigated the evolutionary history and biogeography of true toads (Bufonidae), a group that colonized the Indian Subcontinent after the Indo-Asia collision.ResultsContrary to previous studies, Old World toads were recovered as a nested clade within New World Bufonidae, indicating a single colonization event. Species currently classified as Ansonia and Pedostibes were both recovered as being non-monophyletic, providing evidence for the independent origin of torrential and arboreal ecomorphs on the Indian subcontinent and in South-East Asia. Our analyses also revealed a previously unrecognized adaptive radiation of toads containing a variety of larval and adult ecomorphs. Molecular dating estimates and biogeographic analyses indicate that the early diversification of this clade happened in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene.ConclusionPaleoclimate reconstructions have shown that the Early Neogene of India was marked by major environmental changes, with the transition from a zonal- to the current monsoon-dominated climate. After arrival in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka hotspot, toads diversified in situ, with only one lineage able to successfully disperse out of these mountains. Consequently, higher taxonomic level endemism on the Indian Subcontinent is not only the result of Cretaceous isolation, but also of invasion, isolation and radiation of new elements after accretion to the Eurasian mainland.

Project description:This study is the first on the genetics of invasive populations of one of the most widely spread land mollusc species known in the world, the "Brown Snail" Cornu aspersum aspersum. Deliberately or accidentally imported, the species has become recently a notorious pest outside its native Mediterranean range. We compared the spatial structure and genetic variability of invasive (America, Oceania, South Africa) versus native populations using five microsatellite loci and mitochondrial (Cyt b and 16S rRNA) genes as a first step towards (i) the detection of potential source populations, and (ii) a better understanding of mechanisms governing evolutionary changes involved in the invasion process. Results based on multivariate analysis (Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components), Bayesian statistical inference (Clustering, Approximate Bayesian Computation) and demographic tests allowed a construction of the introduction pathways of the species over recent centuries. While emigrants originated from only one of the two native lineages, the West one, the most likely scenario involved several introduction events and "source switching" comprising (i) an early stage (around 1660) of simultaneous introductions from Europe (France, Spain) towards Oceania (New Zealand) and California, (ii) from the early 18(th) century, a second colonization wave from bridgehead populations successfully established in California, (iii) genetic admixture in invasive areas where highly divergent populations came into contact as in New Zealand. Although these man-made pathways are consistent with historical data, introduction time estimates suggest that the two putative waves of invasion would have occurred long before the first field observations recorded, both in America and in Oceania. A prolonged lag period as the use of an incorrect generation time could explain such 100-150 years discrepancy. Lastly, the contrasting patterns of neutral genetic signal left in invasive populations are discussed in light of possible ways of facing novel environments (standing genetic variation versus new mutation).

Dataset Information

Ecological niche modeling for conservation planning of an endemic snail in the verge of becoming a pest in cardamom plantations in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.

Publications

Ecological niche modeling for conservation planning of an endemic snail in the verge of becoming a pest in cardamom plantations in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.

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