CONTENT - International Society of Zoological Sciences

S18 ICZ2008 - Abstracts
S18 - Interdisciplinary approaches in ecology: from individuals to populations and communities
Red List project in France: an example with freshwater
crustaceans
Yoann Allanic 1 , Patrick Haffner 1 , Florient Kirchner 2 , Danielle
Defaye 3 and Pierre Noël 3
1 Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Service du Patrimoine
naturel, DEGB, USM 0308, CP 53, 57 rue Cuvier, F-75231 Paris
cedex 05 France
2 Comité français de l’UICN (Union Internationale pour la
Conservation de la Nature), 26 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, F-
75005 Paris France
3 Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, DMPA / BOME -UMR n°
5178, CP 53, 57 rue Cuvier, F-75231 Paris cedex 05 France
The IUCN Red List is a tool providing information on the global
conservation status of plant and animal species in the world.
Based on a set of criteria and quantitative thresholds, the
methodology used to evaluate species extinction risk has been
developed through an extensive consultation process with the
scientific community. Since 1963, the Red List helps Governments,
NGOs and multilateral agencies to establish conservation priorities
and make biodiversity-related decisions. In 2003, guidelines have
been published to apply the methodology to countries or any subglobal
entity. To fulfil its engagement as part of the Convention on
Biological Diversity and to reach its target to halt biodiversity loss
by 2010, France adopted in 2004 a national strategy for
biodiversity and launched in 2007, the Red List project. It aims to
measure species extinction risk and progress towards the 2010
target. It is coordinated by the IUCN French Committee and the
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, and based on a partnership
with all key organisations for species conservation. After the first
chapters on vertebrates to be published in 2008, the conservation
status of invertebrate species has to be evaluated. We choose to
illustrate the project with freshwater crustaceans, whose evaluation
according to IUCN criteria will provide the first overview in France
of the level of threat on these species. More than 4,200 crustacean
species are known in France, of which about 1,270 live in
freshwaters. The Red List project will allow to document and
evaluate the situation of about 700 of these species.
Interplay between trail recruitment and allee effects: the case
of Tetranychus urticae
Aina Astudillo Fernandez and Jean Louis Deneubourg
CP231, Campus la plaine, Boulevard du triomphe, 1050, Brussels,
Belgium
Trail laying behaviour leading to recruitment is frequent among
animals. This behaviour can result in collective migrations to
unknown destinations. The interest of migrating collectively to an
unsure destination is not obvious for subsocial species. We
hypothesize that natural! selection of this type of migration is
closely related to the existence of Allee effects on population
growth. Through mathematical modelling (differential equations
and stochastic simulations) we study how collective migration can
influence the dynamics of a network of populations, when Allee
effects are at stake. We focus our work on the two-spotted spider
mite, a phytophagous pest of recognised agricultural importance.
This sub-social mite systematically spins silk trails as it moves,
which attracts its followers. Moreover, evidence suggests that its
population dynamics are subject to Allee effects. Its aggregative
behaviour under collectively spun webs is responsible for an
enhanced survival in groups, which can result in a positive
dependence between population size and population growth.
Experimental data on migration and population dynamics of
Tetranychus urticae is thus used to parametrise the models. Our
results suggest that passive recruitment is only advantageous for
species presenting some kind of Allee effect. Thereby we evidence
a possible correlation between the selection of trail laying
behaviour and the presence of Allee effects.
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Movement Ecology of fire salamanders: Integration of
ecological and genetic data and implications for conservation
Shirli Bar-David 1 , Nir Peleg 2 , Ori Segev 2 , Naomi Hill 2 , Alan R.
Templeton 3 and Leon Blaustein 3
1
Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes
for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University, Sde Boqer Campus,
84990, Israel
2
Institute of Evolution, Faculty of Sciences, University of Haifa,
31905, Israel
3
Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
63130-4899 USA
Dispersal may be particularly important for the regional persistence
of amphibian species that are structured as metapopulations and
experience local extinctions. The conventional wisdom is that the
fire salamander (Salamandra infraimmaculata), an endangered
species in Israel, has strong pond fidelity – i.e. returns each year to
the same site to breed – and low dispersal ability. This would
result in a number of isolated populations rather than a linked
metapopulation. We explored movements of fire salamander
among breeding sites on Mt. Carmel, northern Israel, and the
implications for population structure and persistence. During five
breeding seasons (November-March) capture-recapture surveys
were conducted around several breeding sites, and along unpaved
roads connecting them. DNA samples taken from captured
individuals were used for a genetic survey with microsatellite loci.
Most of the recaptures were at the same site as the initial capture.
However, several salamanders were recaptured at least one
kilometer away from the first site. These movement distances are
considerably larger than documented in the literature and indicated
potential connectivity between breeding sites. These findings are
also supported by the genetic analysis: assignment tests indicated
potential migrants between breeding sites. We examined the
potential implications of habitat fragmentation, i.e. isolation of a
breeding site, on population persistence. The high probability of
local extinction found by the analysis highlights the severe
consequences of fragmentation. We conclude that in order to
maintain a viable population of fire salamander in Mt. Carmel, local
conservation units should include several breeding sites and
landscape connectivity between them.
Brooding and reproductive success in the hybrid sparrow
Passer domesticus x P. hispaniolensis Linné, 1758 (Aves,
Ploceidae), in Boudouaou
Nassima Behidj-Benyounes 1 and Salaheddine Doumandji 2
1
Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de
Boumerdès, 35000 Algeria
2
Laboratoire d’Ornithologie, Département de Zoologie Agricole et
Forestière, Institut National Agronomique, El-Harrach, 16200,
Algeria
The hybrid sparrow is considered a pest bird species in Algeria.
Several studies have been performed on this avian species and
more particularly on its behaviour.
In the present study, a study of the nesting of this bird has been
carried out. We have followed the number of clutches and the fate
of the eggs of the hybrid sparrow at Boudouaou (Algeria) during
the course of 2 consecutive years, 2005 and 2006.
The results show that the hybrid sparrow is a species which
produces 4 egg clutches per year. The average percentage
success per clutch varies from clutch to clutch and from year to
year for the same brood period.