Intra- and interspecific diversity in a tropical plant clade alter herbivory and ecosystem resilience

Declines in biodiversity generated by anthropogenic stressors at both species and population levels can alter emergent processes instrumental to ecosystem function and resilience. As such, understanding the role of biodiversity in ecosystem function and its response to climate perturbation is increasingly important, especially in tropical systems where responses to changes in biodiversity are less predictable and more challenging to assess experimentally. Using large-scale transplant experiments conducted at five neotropical sites, we documented the impacts of changes in intraspecific and interspecific plant richness in the genus Piper on insect herbivory, insect richness, and ecosystem resilience to perturbations in water availability. We found that reductions of both intraspecific and interspecific Piper diversity had measurable and site-specific effects on herbivory, herbivorous insect richness, and plant mortality. The responses of these ecosystem-relevant processes to reduced intraspecific Piper richness were often similar in magnitude to the effects of reduced interspecific richness. Increased water availability reduced herbivory by 4.2% overall, and the response of herbivorous insect richness and herbivory to water availability were altered by both intra- and interspecific richness in a site-dependent manner. Our results underscore the role of intraspecific and interspecific richness as foundations of ecosystem function and the importance of community and location-specific contingencies in controlling function in complex tropical systems.

Four new species of the Aleiodes compressor Herrich-Schäffer species-group (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rogadinae) from South America

Cuatro especies nuevas del grupo de especies Aleiodes compressor (Herrich-Schäffer) de la Región Neotropical son descritas e ilustradas: Aleiodes segakiato sp. nov. y A. lamasi sp. nov. de Perú, A. macro sp. nov. de Argentina y A. palmito sp. nov. de México. Con la incorporación de las especies nuevas, el grupo de especies compressor tiene diez especies conocidas, dos de ellas son del viejo mundo, dos de la Región Neártica y seis de la Región Neotropical. Además de la descripción de las especies nuevas, se presenta una clave de especies y se reporta el nuevo registro de distribución de A. mantiqueirensis Shimbori, Shaw y Pendeado-Dias en Ecuador.

Three new species of Sesioctonus Viereck (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae) from Peru

Three new species of Sesioctonus (Braconidae: Agathidinae) are described and illustrated, i.e., Sesioctonus huggerti, Sesioctonus wayquecha, and Sesioctonus bina. Two new Peruvian species records for Sesioctonus are reported: Sesioctonus longinoi and Sesioctonus diazi. A revised key to all known species of Sesioctonus is presented.