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Dive into the research topics where Mark R Shaw is active.

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Featured researches published by Mark R Shaw.


Ecological Entomology | 2008

Escape from natural enemies during climate-driven range expansion: a case study

Rosa Menéndez; Adela González-Megías; Owen T. Lewis; Mark R Shaw; Chris D. Thomas

Abstract 1. A major, and largely unexplored, uncertainty in projecting the impact of climate change on biodiversity is the consequence of altered interspecific interactions, for example between parasitoids and their hosts. The present study investigated parasitism in the Brown Argus butterfly, Aricia agestis; a species that has expanded northward in Britain during the last 30  years in association with climate warming.


PLOS ONE | 2012

Wolbachia and DNA barcoding insects: Patterns, potential, and problems

M. Alex Smith; Claudia Bertrand; Kate Crosby; Eldon S. Eveleigh; Jose Fernandez-Triana; Brian L. Fisher; Jason Gibbs; Mehrdad Hajibabaei; Winnie Hallwachs; Katharine R. Hind; Jan Hrcek; Da Wei Huang; Milan Janda; Daniel H. Janzen; Yanwei Li; Scott E. Miller; Laurence Packer; Donald L. J. Quicke; Sujeevan Ratnasingham; Josephine J. Rodriguez; Rodolphe Rougerie; Mark R Shaw; Cory S. Sheffield; Julie K. Stahlhut; Dirk Steinke; James B. Whitfield; Monty Wood; Xin Zhou

Wolbachia is a genus of bacterial endosymbionts that impacts the breeding systems of their hosts. Wolbachia can confuse the patterns of mitochondrial variation, including DNA barcodes, because it influences the pathways through which mitochondria are inherited. We examined the extent to which these endosymbionts are detected in routine DNA barcoding, assessed their impact upon the insect sequence divergence and identification accuracy, and considered the variation present in Wolbachia COI. Using both standard PCR assays (Wolbachia surface coding protein – wsp), and bacterial COI fragments we found evidence of Wolbachia in insect total genomic extracts created for DNA barcoding library construction. When >2 million insect COI trace files were examined on the Barcode of Life Datasystem (BOLD) Wolbachia COI was present in 0.16% of the cases. It is possible to generate Wolbachia COI using standard insect primers; however, that amplicon was never confused with the COI of the host. Wolbachia alleles recovered were predominantly Supergroup A and were broadly distributed geographically and phylogenetically. We conclude that the presence of the Wolbachia DNA in total genomic extracts made from insects is unlikely to compromise the accuracy of the DNA barcode library; in fact, the ability to query this DNA library (the database and the extracts) for endosymbionts is one of the ancillary benefits of such a large scale endeavor – for which we provide several examples. It is our conclusion that regular assays for Wolbachia presence and type can, and should, be adopted by large scale insect barcoding initiatives. While COI is one of the five multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) genes used for categorizing Wolbachia, there is limited overlap with the eukaryotic DNA barcode region.


Journal of Insect Conservation | 2001

The neglect of parasitic Hymenoptera in insect conservation strategies: The British fauna as a prime example

Mark R Shaw; Michael E. Hochberg

Parasitic Hymenoptera, the major group of insects having the parasitoid life style, are extremely species rich and of wide significance in terrestrial ecosystems. Although the nature of their role with respect to species richness and stability in their host communities is unclear, the evidence that parasitoids can have a profound impact on host populations is incontestable. Because parasitic Hymenoptera are typically very specialised and occupy a high trophic level, species in this group are likely to be particularly vulnerable to local or even global extinction. That their particular conservation needs and extinction risks are rarely considered stems largely from our ignorance of them, both taxonomically and biologically. In Britain, parasitic Hymenoptera comprise about 25% (or perhaps significantly more) of the total insect fauna. The view is advanced that neglect consequent on the continuing poor knowledge of parasitic Hymenoptera in such an otherwise well-studied fauna is a serious conservation problem, undermining the rationality of various current conservation initiatives and analyses. Recommendations to redress this are made.


Molecular Ecology Resources | 2013

DNA barcoding and the taxonomy of Microgastrinae wasps (Hymenoptera, Braconidae): Impacts after 8 years and nearly 20 000 sequences

M. Alex Smith; Jose Fernandez-Triana; Eldon S. Eveleigh; J. Gómez; C. Guclu; Winnie Hallwachs; Paul D. N. Hebert; Jan Hrcek; J. T. Huber; Daniel H. Janzen; Peter G. Mason; Scott E. Miller; Donald L. J. Quicke; Josephine J. Rodriguez; Rodolphe Rougerie; Mark R Shaw; Gergely Várkonyi; D. Ward; James B. Whitfield; Alejandro Zaldívar-Riverón

Microgastrine wasps are among the most species‐rich and numerous parasitoids of caterpillars (Lepidoptera). They are often host‐specific and thus are extensively used in biological control efforts and figure prominently in trophic webs. However, their extraordinary diversity coupled with the occurrence of many cryptic species produces a significant taxonomic impediment. We present and release the results of 8 years (2004–2011) of DNA barcoding microgastrine wasps. Currently they are the best represented group of parasitoid Hymenoptera in the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), a massive barcode storage and analysis data management site for the International Barcoding of Life (iBOL) program. There are records from more than 20 000 specimens from 75 countries, including 50 genera (90% of the known total) and more than 1700 species (as indicated by Barcode Index Numbers and 2% MOTU). We briefly discuss the importance of this DNA data set and its collateral information for future research in: (1) discovery of cryptic species and description of new taxa; (2) estimating species numbers in biodiversity inventories; (3) clarification of generic boundaries; (4) biological control programmes; (5) molecular studies of host‐parasitoid biology and ecology; (6) evaluation of shifts in species distribution and phenology; and (7) fostering collaboration at national, regional and world levels. The integration of DNA barcoding with traditional morphology‐based taxonomy, host records, and other data has substantially improved the accuracy of microgastrine wasp identifications and will significantly accelerate further studies on this group of parasitoids.


Ecological Entomology | 1990

Influences of host feeding-niche and foodplant type on generalist and specialist parasitoids

Bradford A. Hawkins; R R Askew; Mark R Shaw

Abstract. 1. We classified the parasitoids of 185 British herbivorous insect species as being koinobionts (which should tend to be specialists) or idiobionts (potential generalists) to examine the influences of host feeding‐niche and foodplant type on the numbers of parasitoid species attacking individual host species.


The American Naturalist | 1992

Relations among assemblage size, host specialization and climatic variability in North American parasitoid communities

Bradford A. Hawkins; Mark R Shaw; R R Askew

We classified the parasitoids attacking 628 species of North American herbivorous insects as idiobionts (those that permanently disable their hosts during attack) or koinobionts (those that permit continued host development following parasitization). Using these physiological attributes of parasitoids as estimators of host range, we tested three hypotheses that might explain why average parasitoid assemblage size decreases toward the tropics in complexes associated with exophytically feeding herbivores, whereas it does not in complexes associated with endophytic hosts. We found that the geographical patterns for generalist (i.e., idiobiont) and specialist (i.e., koinobiont) hymenopterous parasitoids and Diptera do not support a host-predation hypothesis or a parasitoid-predation hypothesis and are only partly in accord with the resource-fragmentation hypothesis. We conclude that a modified expression of the resource-fragmentation hypothesis can account for some of the geographical patterns of parasitoid assemblage size, but other forces, as yet unidentified, are also operating.


Journal of Insect Conservation | 2006

Habitat Considerations for Parasitic Wasps (Hymenoptera)

Mark R Shaw

Parasitic wasps operate at a high trophic level and, because of their biology, tend to be highly specialised, sometimes having very narrow host ranges with at least local monophagy a frequent outcome. These features, in addition to our poor state of autecological knowledge, render them particularly vulnerable in conservation terms and suggest that their habitat needs should be analysed differently from those of most other insects. The basic life history of parasitic wasps and some of the ways in which they interact with host populations and in communities are outlined. Then, against a background of very limited autecological data, and therefore somewhat speculatively, habitat parameters that seem likely to be of importance to parasitoids are discussed, largely by reference to the host relations and ecology of ichneumonoid parasitoids of Lepidoptera in N. W. Europe. Some considerations of environmental change are included.


Molecular Ecology Resources | 2012

Utility of the DNA barcoding gene fragment for parasitic wasp phylogeny (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea): data release and new measure of taxonomic congruence

Donald L. J. Quicke; M. Alex Smith; Daniel H. Janzen; Winnie Hallwachs; Jose Fernandez-Triana; Nina Laurenne; Alejandro Zaldívar-Riverón; Mark R Shaw; Gavin R. Broad; Seraina Klopfstein; Scott R. Shaw; Jan Hrcek; Paul D. N. Hebert; Scott E. Miller; Josephine J. Rodriguez; James B. Whitfield; Michael J. Sharkey; Barbara J. Sharanowski; Reijo Jussila; Ian D. Gauld; Douglas Chesters; Alfried P. Vogler

The enormous cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence database being assembled from the various DNA barcoding projects as well as from independent phylogenetic studies constitutes an almost unprecedented amount of data for molecular systematics, in addition to its role in species identification and discovery. As part of a study of the potential of this gene fragment to improve the accuracy of phylogenetic reconstructions, and in particular, exploring the effects of dense taxon sampling, we have assembled a data set for the hyperdiverse, cosmopolitan parasitic wasp superfamily Ichneumonoidea, including the release of 1793 unpublished sequences. Of approximately 84 currently recognized Ichneumonoidea subfamilies, 2500 genera and 41 000 described species, barcoding 5′‐COI data were assembled for 4168 putative species‐level terminals (many undescribed), representing 671 genera and all but ten of the currently recognized subfamilies. After the removal of identical and near‐identical sequences, the 4174 initial sequences were reduced to 3278. We show that when subjected to phylogenetic analysis using both maximum likelihood and parsimony, there is a broad correlation between taxonomic congruence and number of included sequences. We additionally present a new measure of taxonomic congruence based upon the Simpson diversity index, the Simpson dominance index, which gives greater weight to morphologically recognized taxonomic groups (subfamilies) recovered with most representatives in one or a few contiguous groups or subclusters.


PLOS ONE | 2014

Garden and Landscape-Scale Correlates of Moths of Differing Conservation Status: Significant Effects of Urbanization and Habitat Diversity

Adam J. Bates; Jon P. Sadler; Dave Grundy; Norman Lowe; George E. Davis; David Baker; Malcolm Bridge; Roger Freestone; David K. Gardner; Christopher C. Gibson; Robin Hemming; Stephen Howarth; Steve Orridge; Mark R Shaw; Tom Tams; Heather M. Young

Moths are abundant and ubiquitous in vegetated terrestrial environments and are pollinators, important herbivores of wild plants, and food for birds, bats and rodents. In recent years, many once abundant and widespread species have shown sharp declines that have been cited by some as indicative of a widespread insect biodiversity crisis. Likely causes of these declines include agricultural intensification, light pollution, climate change, and urbanization; however, the real underlying cause(s) is still open to conjecture. We used data collected from the citizen science Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) to explore the spatial association between the abundance of 195 widespread British species of moth, and garden habitat and landscape features, to see if spatial habitat and landscape associations varied for species of differing conservation status. We found that associations with habitat and landscape composition were species-specific, but that there were consistent trends in species richness and total moth abundance. Gardens with more diverse and extensive microhabitats were associated with higher species richness and moth abundance; gardens near to the coast were associated with higher richness and moth abundance; and gardens in more urbanized locations were associated with lower species richness and moth abundance. The same trends were also found for species classified as increasing, declining and vulnerable under IUCN (World Conservation Union) criteria. However, vulnerable species were more strongly negatively affected by urbanization than increasing species. Two hypotheses are proposed to explain this observation: (1) that the underlying factors causing declines in vulnerable species (e.g., possibilities include fragmentation, habitat deterioration, agrochemical pollution) across Britain are the same in urban areas, but that these deleterious effects are more intense in urban areas; and/or (2) that urban areas can act as ecological traps for some vulnerable species of moth, the light drawing them in from the surrounding landscape into sub-optimal urban habitats.


Journal of Natural History | 1983

Insects and spiders on snowfields in the Cairngorms, Scotland

N P Ashmole; J M Nelson; Mark R Shaw; A Garside

Summary An account is given of seven collections of insects and spiders made in summer 1979 on snowfields above 1100m elevation in the Cairngorm mountains, Scotland. In one comprehensive collection 278 recently deposited animals representing 35 species were obtained in 25 m2; the other collections were selective. A high proportion of the roughly 700 specimens obtained have been identified. They represent at least 130 species, including 12 species of Araneae and 34 species each of Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera. Only 10 species are known to be restricted to ‘montane’ environments and it is concluded that the composition of fallout on mountain snowfields, both in Britain and elsewhere, reflects mainly the nature of the vegetation, and thus of the insect communities, in upwind areas at lower elevations. The discussion concerns the significance of fallout as a resource for high altitude communities and as a manifestation of long-distance migration and potential gene flow among populations of terrestrial ...

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R R Askew

University of Manchester

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Constantí Stefanescu

Spanish National Research Council

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Miharu Mori

Imperial College London

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