Patrick Schmitz

Multiple aquatic invasions by an endemic, terrestrial Hawaiian moth radiation

Insects are the most diverse form of life on the planet, dominating both terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, yet no species has a life stage able to breath, feed, and develop either continually submerged or without access to water. Such truly amphibious insects are unrecorded. In mountain streams across the Hawaiian Islands, some caterpillars in the endemic moth genus Hyposmocoma are truly amphibious. These larvae can breathe and feed indefinitely both above and below the waters surface and can mature completely submerged or dry. Remarkably, a molecular phylogeny based on 2,243 bp from both nuclear (elongation factor 1α and carbomoylphosphate synthase) and mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I) genes representing 216 individuals and 89 species of Hyposmocoma reveals that this amphibious lifestyle is an example of parallel evolution and has arisen from strictly terrestrial clades at least three separate times in the genus starting more than 6 million years ago, before the current high islands existed. No other terrestrial genus of animals has sponsored so many independent aquatic invasions, and no other insects are able to remain active indefinitely above and below water. Why and how Hyposmocoma, an overwhelmingly terrestrial group, repeatedly evolved unprecedented aquatic species is unclear, although there are many other evolutionary anomalies across the Hawaiian archipelago. The uniqueness of the community assemblages of Hawaiis isolated biota is likely critical in generating such evolutionary novelty because this amphibious ecology is unknown anywhere else.

Ancient diversification of Hyposmocoma moths in Hawaii

Island biogeography is fundamental to understanding colonization, speciation and extinction. Remote volcanic archipelagoes represent ideal natural laboratories to study biogeography because they offer a discrete temporal and spatial context for colonization and speciation. The moth genus Hyposmocoma is one of very few lineages that diversified across the entire Hawaiian Archipelago, giving rise to over 400 species, including many restricted to the remote northwestern atolls and pinnacles, remnants of extinct volcanoes. Here, we report that Hyposmocoma is ~15 million years old, in contrast with previous studies of the Hawaiian biota, which have suggested that most lineages colonized the archipelago after the emergence of the current high islands (~5u2009Myr ago). We show that Hyposmocoma has dispersed from the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to the current high islands more than 20 times. The ecological requirements of extant groups of Hyposmocoma provide insights into vanished ecosystems on islands that have long since eroded.

Cryptic differentiation in the endemic micromoth Galagete darwini (Lepidoptera, Autostichidae) on Galapagos volcanoes

To gain insight into the early stages of speciation, we reconstructed a DNA-based phylogeny, using combined mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and II: 1008u200abp) and nuclear (elongation factor 1-α and wingless: 1062u200abp) markers of populations of the moth Galagete darwini endemic to the Galápagos, which belongs to an insular radiation similar in size to that of Darwins finches. Adults of G. darwini were collected in the arid lowlands of 11 of the Galápagos Islands (Baltra, Española, Fernandina, Floreana, Isabela, Pinta, Pinzón, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Santiago and Seymour) and the humid highlands of a subset of 5 of them (Fernandina, Floreana, Isabela, Santa Cruz and Santiago). The combined phylogeographic analysis surprisingly revealed that G. darwini populations at higher elevation on the western islands (Fernandina, Isabela and Santiago) represent a distinct lineage from the one in the low arid zones of these same islands. This is the first reported case in the archipelago of genetic cryptic differentiation correlated with elevation on the western Galápagos volcanoes.

Ecologically and Morphologically Remarkable New Cosmet Moth Species of the Genus Hyposmocoma (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae) Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with Reference to the Spectacular Diversity of Larval Cases

ABSTRACT Hyposmocoma is an endemic Hawaiian moth genus with >330 recognized species occupying a remarkable range of ecological habits and exhibiting a high degree of variation typical of adaptive radiations. Within this diverse genus, some species have evolved intriguing and globally rare lifestyles, such as predatory or aquatic caterpillars. There are still many undescribed species in the genus, and no current work succinctly covers the range of their diversity. We describe nine new species in an attempt to demonstrate some of the remarkable ecological and phenotypic diversity displayed by species in the genus in a concise format: Hyposmocoma carnivora sp. nov. from the island of Hawaii; Hyposmocoma eliai sp. nov. Hyposmocoma nohomaalewa sp. nov., and Hyposmocoma waikamoi sp. nov. from the island of Kauai; and Hyposmocoma papaiili sp. nov., Hyposmocoma pukoa sp. nov., Hyposmocoma pupumoehewa sp. nov., Hyposmocoma opuulaau sp. nov., and Hyposmocoma waikamoi sp. nov. from the island of Maui. Although the taxa presented here do not represent a monophyletic group with respect to the rest of Hyposmocoma, they represent some of the most striking aspects of Hyposmocoma diversity as a whole.

Autumn migration of Reed Buntings Emberiza schoeniclus in Switzerland

To elucidate the migration strategies of Reed Buntings Emberiza schoeniclus migrating through Central Europe, we analysed data from 595 Reed Buntings ringed at La Touvière, Rhône River, Geneva, Switzerland, during the autumn migration from September to November 2004. These data were used to investigate age, sex, biometrics and body condition in relation to timing of migration. The overall sex ratio and the ratio of first‐years to adult birds were 1:1 and 3:1, respectively, but there was a chronological sequence of young females, adult females, young males and adult males during the autumn. The mean bill depth varied during the study period with individuals migrating during October having deeper bills. The greater bill depth of males by comparison with other European studies suggests a more northeasterly origin of these birds, compatible with a leap‐frog migration.

Immature stages of Galagete protozona (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Autostichidae) from the Galapagos Islands: description and notes on biology

The morphology of the larva and pupa of Galagete protozona (Meyrick), an endemic of the Galapagos Islands, is described and illustrated. The immatures were observed feeding within droppings of the land iguana Conolophus subcristatus (Gray) (Iguanidae) on the island of Fernandina in 2005.