Geographic variation in sexual signals can strongly affect discrimination and recognition abilities among reproductive individuals from divergent populations, resulting in sexual isolation and speciation. Studies suggest that reproductive isolation and speciation in lizard systems may be mediated by chemical signals, male mate preferences and male-male interactions but not by female mate preferences. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques and behavioral experiments, we found that chemical divergence in femoral gland secretions of male Aspidoscelis lineattissimus influences behavioral discrimination among four distinct populations. Males and females recognized and responded more toward lizard scents from their own population. In addition, some female populations were able to discriminate between territories scent marked by males from different populations. We suggest that chemical and behavioral differences between populations may influence partial premating isolation, which can be mediated by inter and intrasexual interactions.

ConservaciónRecuperación de la diversidad florística en plantaciones de cítricos abandonadas en el sur de Veracruz, México:implicaciones para la conservación Recovery of floristic diversity in abandoned citrus plantations in southern Veracruz, ResumenLa región de Uxpanapa, en el sur de Veracruz, es uno de los principales centros de diversidad vegetal de México y en donde las actividades humanas han ocasionado la desaparición de cerca del 80% de la vegetación original. Actualmente, las plantaciones de cítricos son un componente evidente del paisaje de la zona. Sin embargo, debido a su baja rentabilidad, muchas plantaciones han sido abandonadas, convirtiéndose en áreas de vegetación secundaria. Para analizar la dinámica de regeneración en estos sistemas, se caracterizó la composición, diversidad y recambio de especies vegetales en una cronosecuencia de naranjales abandonados. Se consideraron además las estrategias de establecimiento, formas de vida y estrategias de dispersión de las especies vegetales. Se muestrearon 0.1 ha en cada una de 6 plantaciones con diferentes tiempos de abandono (3, 8, 17, 26, 36 y 48 meses). En cada transecto se distinguieron 2 grupos de plantas: adultas y brinzales. En total se registraron 191 especies (57 familias y 122 géneros). La riqueza florística se incrementó con el tiempo de abandono. Los árboles con dispersión zoocora dominaron en todas las parcelas. Las características de los naranjales abandonados son atractivas para dispersores vertebrados y su cercanía a fuentes de propágulos favorece un proceso de regeneración acelerado. AbstractThe Uxpanapa region at south of Veracruz, is one of the centers of plant diversity in Mexico, where the transformation by human activities have caused the disappearance of about 80% of the original vegetation. Currently, citrus plantations are a common component of the landscape, however, due to low profitability, many plantations have been abandoned, turning into areas of secondary vegetation. The composition, diversity and turnover of plant species in a chronosequence of abandoned orange groves was characterized, also considering establishment strategies, life forms and species dispersal strategies. We sampled 0.1 ha in 6 plantations with different time of abandonment (3, 8, 17, 26, 36 and 48 months), for a total of 0.6 ha sampled. In each transect, 2 contingents were considered: adult and regenerating plants. A total of 191 species were recorded (57 families and 122 genera). The floristic diversity increased as the time of abandonment increased. Plants with zoocoric dispersion and trees dominated in all stages of abandonment. The characteristics of the abandoned citrus plantations are attractive for vertebrate dispersers and their proximity to sources of propagules allow an accelerated regeneration process.

Nicaragua, located in southern Mesoamerica between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, has acted as a land bridge for flora and fauna migrating between North and South America during the last 3 million years. Because of Nicaragua’s location and history, it is rich in terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. To study this biodiversity and preserve it for the future, Nicaragua’s Molecular Biology Center at the University of Central America (CBM-UCA) created the Genomic Biorepository Project. The Project collects and catalogs coastal marine biodiversity in the Estero Real and Padre Ramos estuaries, located in Nicaragua’s northern Pacific region.The biorepository holds more than three thousand tissue and genomic specimens, comprising 1,049 samples (714 specimens from Estero Padre Ramos and 335 from Estero Real) belonging to 100 species and 54 families, genomic extracts in triplicates for every sample collected and environmental sandy sediments representing 60 different sites. Changes in the biological composition of the region were documentedas compared to previous sampling. Of the 1,049 samples obtained from the two estuaries, 30 new residents were recorded in Estero Real, and 19 in Estero Padre Ramos. The Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene was sequenced for a number of species, including 19 fish species, and published to public databases (BOLD SYSTEMS). The records contained in the genomic biorepository here described lay the foundation for the most complete marine biodiversity database in Nicaragua and is made available to national and international specialists, facilitating knowledge of Nicaraguan biodiversity.