Search

Women underrepresentation in science has frequently been associated with women being less productive than men (i.e. the gender productivity gap), which may be explained by women having lower success rates, producing science of lower impact and/or suffering gender bias. By performing global meta-analyses, we show that there is a gender productivity gap mostly supported by a larger scientific production ascribed to men. However, women and men show similar success rates when the researchers´ work is directly evaluated (i.e. publishing articles). Men´s success rate is higher only in productivity proxies involving peer recognition (e.g. evaluation committees, academic positions). Men´s articles showed a tendency to have higher global impact but only if studies include self-citations. We detected gender bias against women in research fields where women are underrepresented (i.e. those different from Psychology). Historical numerical unbalance, socio-psychological aspects and cultural factors may influence differences in success rate, science impact and gender bias. Thus, the maintenance of a women-unfriendly academic and non-academic environment may perpetuate the gender productivity gap. New policies to build a more egalitarian and heterogeneous scientific community and society are needed to close the gender gap in science. Fil: Astegiano, Julia. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Sebastián-González, Esther. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Universidad de Miguel Hernández; España Fil: Castanho, Camila De Toledo. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; Brasil

A recommendation of: Corina Logan, Luisa Bergeron, Carolyn Rowney, Kelsey McCune, Dieter Lukas Is behavioral flexibility related to foraging and social behavior in a rapidly expanding species? http://corinalogan.com/Preregistrations/g_flexforaging.html

Worldwide demand for food will increase dramatically in the future as global human population grows. Increasing efficiency of crop production is unlikely to be sufficient to meet the demand, presenting a long-term threat to humanity’s ‘well-being’. Knowledge of the system-level behaviour of agroecosystems, however, remains surprisingly limited, reflecting the agricultural focus on particular species. This is starting to change towards an ecosystem and network-based approach, following the recent revolution in thinking about resource use and sustainability in our other global food production industry: commercial fisheries. Agroecosystems appear to retain plasticity of ecological processes that might be manipulated for productivity and sustainability. Network structure and dynamics have substantial impacts on ecosystem performance, but evidence from agroecosystems lags behind network theory. Here, we provide an introduction to network theory and application in agroecosystems, identify network metrics for management and environmental change, and, finally, we highlight gaps in our current knowledge and key research themes. These themes include: is the structure of agroecological networks affected by sampling; how do ecosystem services ‘emerge’ empirically from ecological organization, function and network properties; how do spatial and temporal scale and resolution influence system performance; and, can network agroecology be used to design systems that maximize ecosystem services?

Twenty-five biotically pollinated plants of the Chaco Serrano Forest (Córdoba, Argentina) were studied in order to analyze whether ‘flower functionality’ is related to the relationship between pollen size and pistil length. Because flower functionality may act on the respective mean values of pollen size and pistil length rather than on intraspecific variation in these traits, we expected (1) a high positive correlation between pollen size and pistil length in a set of sympatric species, independent of their degree of pollination specialization or generalization; and (2) no interspecific correlation between the coefficients of variation (CVs) of those traits. On the other hand, on the assumption that pollinators are influencing the variation in floral traits (e.g. in pistil length) we expected lower mean phenotypic variation of pollen size and pistil length in pollination-specialist plants than in pollination-generalist ones. A positive correlation between pollen size and pistil length was found for the set of species, but not between the CVs of these traits. This trend was maintained when pollination-specialist plants were analyzed separately, but no statistical significance was obtained for the correlation in pollination-generalist plants. Contrary to our expectations, pollination-specialist plants did not show less mean intraspecific variation in floral traits than pollination-generalist plants. Therefore, the relationship between pollen size and pistil length among species suggests that the pollination system may be of less importance as a selective force than flower functionality. Fil: Fernández, Verónica Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Galetto, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Astegiano, Julia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina

Flowering phenology may play a critical role in plant coexistence, allowing not only a temporal partitioning of resources but also conditioning the relationship between seed mass and number in these species. We analyzed how flowering phenology was related to seed mass and number, and how these seed traits were related in five coexisting Gymnocalycium (Cactaceae) species in two consecutive flowering seasons. The flowering phenology of each species was characterized in terms of timing (onset and peak), duration, and flowering synchronicity. Although species showed differences in duration and synchronicity, the earliest flowering species tend to have higher reproductive success than species flowering later. However, we did not find a clear relationship between the flowering time and seed traits. A trade-off between seed mass and number in these species was highlighted, as species with higher seed mass were those producing a lower number of seeds per fruit and individual, whereas species with lower s...

CNPq - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico Insect-flower interactions may encompass a continuum of interactions including from mutualisms to antagonisms. These interactions between flowering plants and their visitors are considered an important driver in the evolutionary history of both groups, as they may exert simultaneous selective pressures in actions such as foraging for food or mating which are repeated several times during insect life cycle, and that can ultimately affect plant reproductive success. Flowering plants make investments in floral advertisement and rewards to increase their attractiveness to pollinators, thus triggering visits by non-pollinator agents such as florivores, nectar and/or pollen robbers and thieves. This study aimed to unveil the intensity, trends and variation of natural florivory by insects along an elevation gradient, and its relationship with floral attributes and flower advertisement in the campo rupestre hotspot, in southeastern Brazil. We recorded a total of 207 plant species and 25% (51 out of 207) of the species showed damages by floral antagonists. In the plant community, 26% of the total flowering individuals recorded had signs of damages by floral antagonists and 7% of the flowers had petals removed by insects. Beetles, especially Chrysomelidae and Curculionidae, were the most abundant insects consuming the flowers, followed by ants and bees. Overall plant species with lower floral display, large flower size, and longer flowering period are more attacked by floral antagonists. Furthermore, the greater proportion of attack was found in flowers with pollen as reward, distributed in solitary pollination units, with asymmetric corollas and diurnal anthesis. Damages exerted by insect florivores varied in space (elevation) and time (months) with flower attack increasing with elevation and in moths with less flowers available in the community. Finally, we found greater damages by antagonists, and that increased with elevation, in nectar-rewarded flowers, actinomorphic corollas and more than two groups of flower visitors. Floral damages exerted by insects represent a phenomenon as frequent and complex as leaf herbivory, and the space-time synchrony between flowering plants and their insect visitors is crucial to guarantee plant reproduction and permanence over time, especially in tropical, speciose environments and under severe anthropic pressures. A dinâmica de interação entre plantas com flores e insetos pode abranger um contínuo que inclui mutualismos, antagonismos e as relações possíveis entre eles. Essas interações são consideradas um importante motor na história evolutiva de ambos os grupos, pois exercem pressões seletivas simultâneas em ações repetitivas durante o ciclo de vida do inseto e que podem, em última instância, afetar o sucesso reprodutivo da planta. As plantas com flores fazem investimentos em atração floral e recompensas para aumentar sua atratividade aos polinizadores. Porém, também desencadeiam visitas de agentes não polinizadores como florivoros, ladrões de néctar e/ou pólen ou pilhadores. Nesse sentido, este estudo teve como objetivo entender as tendências e a variação da florivoria natural exercida por insetos florívoros ao longo da elevação e sua relação com atributos florais e atração a polinizadores no campo rupestre, um hotspot de biodiversidade dentro do bioma Cerrado, Brasil. Verificamos que 26% das plantas com flores apresentaram sinais de florivoria e 7% das flores apresentaram remoção de pétalas por insetos na comunidade de plantas. Besouros, principalmente das famílias Chrysomelidae e Curculionidae, foram os insetos que mais se alimentam de flores, seguidos por formigas e abelhas. Em geral, as espécies de plantas com menor número de flores, flores grandes e tempo de floração mais longo são mais atacadas por insetos florívoros. Além disso, as flores com maior proporção de ataque por florívoros apresentam pólen como recompensa, estão organizadas em unidades solitárias de polinização, com corolas assimétricas e antese diurna. O ataque às flores aumenta com a elevação e é maior nos meses com menos flores disponíveis na comunidade. Finalmente, descobrimos que a florivoria exercida por insetos aumenta com a elevação em flores com morfologias menos restritivas, e é maior quando a recompensa é néctar, a simetria actinomórfica e quando a espécie é visitada por mais de dois grupos de visitantes florais. A florivoria exercida por insetos representa um fenômeno tão frequente e complexo quanto à herbivoria foliar, e a sincronia espaço-temporal entre as plantas com flores e seus insetos visitantes é crucial para garantir sua reprodução e permanência ao longo do tempo, especialmente em ambientes tropicais, biodiversos e sob severas pressões antrópicas.

A interação entre plantas e seus visitantes florais forma uma rede de interação complexa. Essa rede de interação possui propriedades emergentes que caracterizam a estrutura da rede. A composição, a riqueza e o papel das espécies nas redes de interação podem variar espaço-temporalmente e levar a alteração na estrutura das redes. A estrutura também pode variar de acordo com o grau de dependência entre os pares de espécies. É esperado que interações com elevado grau de dependência mútua variem menos no tempo e no espaço. A interação entre as plantas produtoras de óleo floral e as abelhas coletoras de óleo é de alta dependência mútua, já que as abelhas necessitam do óleo para alimentar as larvas e construir ninhos e são polinizadores mais importantes dessas plantas. O alimento larval destas abelhas é composto por pólen, óleo e néctar. A quantidade de alimento disponível para as larvas pode influenciar o tamanho dos adultos quando emergirem. As espécies de abelhas coletoras de óleo são solitárias, ou seja, não existe contato entre as gerações. Assim uma abelha recém-emergida deve ser capaz de encontrar as fontes de óleo, seguindo algum sinal de atração, que poderia ser através de odores voláteis. No presente trabalho analisamos se a estrutura da rede de interação formada pelas plantas produtoras de óleo floral e seus visitantes coletores de óleo varia espacialmente e temporalmente. Para a análise temporal coletamos dados da interação por dois anos em Itirapina, São Paulo. No estudo de variação espacial comparamos as redes de interação em cinco áreas de cerrado no interior de São Paulo. Em ambos os estudos usamos métricas de redes complexas. Além disso, estudamos a relação entre tamanho de célula de cria e quantidade de alimento disponível para as larvas e tamanho das abelhas adultas ao emergirem, para uma espécie de abelha coletora de óleo: Tetrapedia diversipes. Para isso medimos abelhas e suas células de cria e relacionamos estas medidas. Também manipulamos a quantidade de alimento disponível para as larvas e medimos os adultos emergidos. Por fim, procuramos odores voláteis em Byrsonima intermedia. Coletamos odores voláteis com a técnica de dynamic headspace. Analisamos as coletas com GCMS. A estrutura da rede de interação entre as plantas produtoras de óleo floral e as abelhas coletoras de óleo variou espaço-temporalmente. A análise temporal mostrou que o grau de especialização da rede foi fortemente alterado entre os anos de estudo e que a abundância foi um fator importante para explicar a ocorrência das interações. As espécies que tiveram suas abundâncias alteradas entre os anos também tiveram alteração no número de interações. Na análise espacial observamos que as interações e as espécies compartilhadas entre os locais de estudo foram aquelas com maior grau de interação (generalista). Além das interações e espécies generalistas se manterem nas cinco localidades, as espécies generalistas sustentam as espécies localmente raras. Byrsonima intermedia foi considerada uma espécie super-generalista nas cinco redes analisadas e 77% das interações compartilhadas envolveram esta espécie. A morfometria dos indivíduos de Tetrapedia diversipes estudados foi positivamente correlacionada com o volume da célula de cria e a quantidade de alimento. Quando relacionamos o volume das células de cria com as medidas corpóreas das abelhas verificamos que as abelhas maiores emergiram em células maiores. No entanto essa relação foi fraca. Após o experimento de manipulação de alimento verificamos que as abelhas emergidas de células sem manipulação foram maiores que as abelhas que tiveram o alimento retirado, e que entre as abelhas manipuladas aquelas que receberam mais alimento foram maiores. Nós não encontramos odores voláteis em flores de Byrsonima intermedia. The plant pollinator interaction forms a complex network. These networks have emergent properties that characterize the structure of network. The number, identity and species role of the network may vary spatio-temporally and lead to changes in the structure of the networks. Moreover, the structure may vary according to the dependence degree of the interacting pairs. It is expected that interactions with a high mutual dependence degree are more stable. The interaction between oil producing plants and oil collecting bees is highly mutual dependence, since bees need oil to feed the larvae and are pollinators of these plants. The larval diet consists of pollen and oil/nectar. The amount of food available to the larvae may influence the adults size. The oil collecting bees are solitary, i.e., there is no contact between generations. Thus, a naive emerged bee should be able to find the oil plants, using some attractive cues that could be volatile odor. In this work we want to answer if the network structure of the interaction between oil producing plants and oil collecting bees varies spatially and temporally. For the temporal analysis we carried out field work for two years at Itirapina, São Paulo. In the study of spatial variation we compare interaction networks in five areas of cerrado. In both studies we use metrics of complex networks. Furthermore, we studied the relation between size of adult bees (Tetrapedia diversipes) and brood cell sizes and the amount of food available for the larvae. We measured the bees and their brood cells and relate it. Also we manipulated the amount of food available for the larvae and we took measures of the adults. Finally, we search for volatile odors in Byrsonima intermedia. We collect volatile odors with the technique of dynamic headspace. We analyzed the samples with GCMS. The network structure of interaction between oil producing plants and oil collecting bees varied spatio-temporally. The temporal analysis showed that the specialization degree of the network changed between the years and that the abundance has a key role to explain the occurrence of interactions. Species that had changed their abundances between years were also changed in the number of interactions. Spatial analysis found out that the interactions and species ubiquitous among the study sites were those that had the greatest interaction degree (generalist specie). Moreover, generalist species maintain the locally rare species. Byrsonima intermedia was regarded a super-generalist specie in the five networks analyzed and 77% of ubiquitous interactions involved this species. The morphometry of Tetrapedia diversipes individuals was positively correlated with the volume of the brood cells and the amount of food. When relating the volume of brood cells with measures of bees we found that larger bees emerged in larger cells. However this relationship was weak. The experiment of handling food showed that bees emerged from control cells were larger than bees that had the food removed, and between the manipulated bees those who received more food became bigger. We did not detect volatile odors in flowers Byrsonima intermedia.