Julio Miguel Luzón-Ortega

Intraspecific and interspecific variation in drumming signals in the genus Capnioneura (Plecoptera: Capniidae)

The male drumming calls of four species of the genus Capnioneura, and for the first time, the female answer signal from one species of this genus are described. Only the male call of C. mitis from a southern Iberian Peninsula is known. In the current study, the male calls of three additional C. mitis populations from two different mountain drainages and the male calls of C. gelesae, C. libera and C. petitpierreae are described and analysed. The calls were near-ancestral and percussive signals with variable numbers of beats and approximately constant, monophasic beat intervals. The mean interbeat intervals were species specific, ranging from 250 to 1500 ms. The C. mitis female answer interbeat intervals were similar to the call but composed of 3–4 beats. Intraspecific and interspecific variation is discussed and these results support the hypothesis that stonefly drumming plays an important role as a reproductive isolating mechanism.

The Drumming of Isoperla pallida Aubert and Guadalgenus franzi (Aubert) (Plecoptera, Perlodidae), and Review and Evolutionary Considerations of Southern Iberian Peninsula Perlodidae

Abstract The drumming calls of two perlodid species from Southern Spain (Sierra Morena, Jaén) are analyzed and described. Nineteen calls from one male of Guadalgenus franzi were recorded, showing a simple call pattern composed of two beats with an average duration between them of 184.32 msec (range: 165–227). This is the simplest call pattern yet discovered in the Plecoptera. The female of this species also presented a simple call consisting of only one beat. The male of Isoperla pallida showed an ancestral call pattern, more simple than the other Iberian Isoperla species (I. grammatica, I. nevada or I. curtata, all of them with multiphasic drumming calls or I. bipartita with a notably different model consisting of rubbing). Calls from six different males (the female did not drum) consisted of an average of 65.94 beats (range: 25–83) with a duration average of 1462.69 msec (range: 548–1835), regularly repeated with intervals with a duration average of 22.27 msec (range: 17–30). With this study, the vibrational calls of all the Perlodid species from the Southern Iberian Peninsula, except Perlodes microcephalus and Besdolus bicolor, are known. Moreover, it presents the first record and description of the call of the monospecific genus Guadalgenus. An evolutionary approach to the vibrational communication diversification in the perlodids of the Southern Iberian Peninsula is presented, showing a complexity graduation from the more simple drumming calls (shown by Hemimelaena flaviventris and G. franzi) to the rubbing call of I. bipartita and intermediate drumming calls of other Isoperla species, consistent with the drumming evolution paradigm of Stewart (2001).

Macroinvertebrate colonization of two different tree species leaf packs (native vs. introduced) in a Mediterranean stream

Allochthonous leaf litter from riparian vegetation represents the main energy source in small lotic systems, where canopy limits autochthonous primary production. In this study, leaf packs of two tree species (the native Salix neotrichia and the introduced Populus x canadensis) were positioned in the Fardes Stream (southern Spain) to analyze the macroinvertebrate colonization. On two dates, leaf packs were removed, and colonizing macroinvertebrates were collected and identified; at the same time, Surber samples were collected to characterize the riverbed macroinvertebrate coenosis. Leaf packs attracted rich and varied communities of benthic macroinvertebrates, with an increase of the abundance of most taxa over time. No significant differences were found between the colonizing communities of the two leaf types. Some macroinvertebrate species showed a preference for leaf packs, probably due to trophic or hydrologic factors. Considering functional feeding groups, increases in shredders and scrapers and decreases in predators and filterers were detected over time, while collector-gatherers almost did not change in abundance.

Protandry and Its Relationship with Adult Size in Some Spanish Stoneflies Species (Plecoptera)

Abstract Protandry in 11 stonefly (Plecoptera) species (representing five families) from Sierra Nevada (Spain) has been studied (recorded and quantified) over their flight period. All species exhibited a positive protandry coefficient (range, 0.07–0.33), indicating that no species shows proteroginy. Protandry was less pronounced in species having extended flight periods, brief flight periods, or highly concentrated flight maximums. The degree of protandry did not correlated with the degree of sexual dimorphism in size, contradicting the theoretical prediction of increased dimorphism with increased protandry.

First record of the drumming signals of stoneflies Capnopsis Morton, 1896 and Protonemura Kempny, 1898 genera (Plecoptera, Capniidae and Nemouridae)

The male drumming signal of Capnopsis schilleri is studied for the first time. It is a monophasic call composed of 4–8 beats with a decreasing frequency. In the present paper, the drumming signals of some Protonemura species are also recorded and described for the first time both in males (Protonemura alcazaba, Protonemura meyeri and Protonemura navacerrada) and females (P. meyeri, P. navacerrada and Protonemura pyrenaica). The male call is very homogeneous in all the studied species and they consist of a repetition of 2–11 sequences of 6–31 beats, with an inter‐beat interval ranging from 0.034 to 0.088 s. The females have monophasic long signals consisting of a repetition of 5 to 109 beats with an inter‐beat interval of 0.061 to 0.159 s. It is extraordinary that females produced signals when males were absent, and so the female signal can be also considered as a call and not only an answer, as usually pointed out in stoneflies.

First record of male drumming call of the genus Capnioneura Ris, 1905 (Plecoptera, Capniidae)

The male call of Capnioneura mitis, produced by drumming, is recorded and analyzed for the first time. It also represents the first known signal for the genus. It consists of a highly variable number of beats (2–32) with inter‐beat duration approximately constant along the call, but inter‐beat duration is temperature dependent. Thus, at 13°C the mean inter‐beat duration is 1.397 s (SD = 0.050) while at 21°C it is 1.139 s (SD = 0.093). The call pattern exhibited by this species, as those of the majority of previously studied Capniidae species, can be catalogued as an ancestral or near‐ancestral percussive monophasic signal.

The Mating Call of Isoperla bipartita Aubert, 1962 (Plecoptera, Perlodidae)

The mating call of Isoperla bipartita is described. The male call is composed of 3–10 groups, each of 1–4 rubs. The times between rubs average 89.52 msec (between first and second), 43.52 msec (between second and third) and 35.28 msec (between third and fourth). The time between two groups averages 180.75 msec and varies from 142 to 290 msec. The female answer is composed of a beat and rub repeated at 479.09 msec intervals on average and interspersed between the male call groups between 94 and 184 msec (mean = 118.11 msec) after the last rub of the male group. The I. bipartita call can be considered as a ‘complex and modified pattern’ because the male produces calls of 1–4 rubs by group and the female answers overlapping the male call by percussion-rubbing-produced signals. Moreover, it is different from other studied Iberian Isoperla calls, being probably a species-specific behavioural pattern.

The Male Drumming Call of Rhabdiopteryx thienemanni Illies (Plecoptera: Taeniopterygidae; Brachypterainae)

Studies in recent decades have revealed that the group Arctoperlaria (Plecoptera) has developed the most diverse and complex system of vibrational communication known in insects (Stewart, 2001). Within this group, the family Taeniopterygidae includes almost 150 species distributed in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions (Fochetti and Tierno de Figueroa, 2008), but only the vibrational calls of seven species belonging to two genera, Taeniopteryx Pictet, 1842 and Oemopteryx Klapálek, 1902 (e.g. Rupprecht, 1982; Stewart and Zeigler, 1984; Stewart et al., 1991), have been recorded (Stewart and Sandberg, 2006). These latter authors pointed out that all of the seven species present a percussion (drumming) male call, ancestral to slightly derived (change of beat number and/ or intervals). Nevertheless, the several species of Taenionema Banks, 1905 and Doddsia Needham & Claassen, 1925 that have been tested suggest the possibility that some Taeniopterygidae do not drum (Stewart and Sandberg, 2006). The genus Rhabdiopteryx Klapálek, 1902 has a West Palearctic distribution and includes eleven species (Krno, 2004; Vinçon and Murányi, 2009). One of them, R. thienemanni lilies, 1957 is distributed in the Iberian Peninsula and southern France, and the male drumming call is described for the first time in the present work.

Spatial distribution on river banks of Isoperla nevada (Plecoptera, Perlodidae), Chloroperla nevada (Plecoptera, Chloroperlidae) and Sericostoma cf. vittatum (Trichoptera, Sericostomatidae)

Abstract The models of spatial distribution on river banks of adults of two species of Plecoptera and one of Trichoptera were studied. Isoperla nevada showed a contagious distribution, Chloroperla nevada an aleatory one, and Sericostoma cf. vittatum a clear tendency to be distributed in pairs. Data of the mean density of individuals per square are given for the three species. The existence of possible aggregation sites or of mate‐guarding behaviour are discussed for the different species.

Life cycles and nymphal feeding of Isoperla morenica Tierno de Figueroa and Luzón-Ortega, 2011 and Brachyptera vera cordubensis Berthélemy and Baena, 1984 (Plecoptera: Perlodidae and Taeniopterygidae) in a Mediterranean stream (Spain)

ABSTRACT Some aspects of the biology of two endemic Iberian stonefly species, Isoperla morenica Tierno de Figueroa and Luzón-Ortega, 2011 and Brachyptera vera cordubensis Berthélemy and Baena, 1984, were studied in a temporary stream from Sierra Morena (Southern Spain). Isoperla morenica shows a univoltine fast seasonal life cycle, with nymphs growing from November to April. After oviposition, eggs remain in a dormant state in the riverbed until the following autumn when the river water flows again. Nymphal diet is mainly composed of detritus in small individuals (they behave as gatherer–collectors) but when larger, they become predators. Brachyptera vera cordubensis also shows a univoltine fast seasonal life cycle, from November to March. Nymphs behave mainly as gatherer–collector and no significant ontogenetic changes in diet were detected. Male and female nymphs do not show differences in feeding in this species. Data obtained were compared with the previously known information on both species in another stream from the same mountain range as well as for other related species, and some differences in both aspects, mainly on feeding habits, could be detected.