Tamara Segovia-Jara

Habitat loss and deforestation are among the main drivers of biodiversity decline in tropical ecosystems, yet their effects on developmental stability remain poorly understood in many insect groups. Orchid bees (Apidae: Euglossini) have been proposed as potential bioindicators of environmental quality due to their close association with forested habitats and sensitivity to habitat disturbance. Here, we evaluated the relationship between forest cover, wing morphology, and developmental stability in the orchid bee Euglossa imperialis across five protected areas of Panama exhibiting different levels of deforestation. A total of 290 individuals were analyzed using geometric morphometrics and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of the forewing. Morphological variation was assessed through Principal Component and Canonical Variate Analyses, whereas developmental instability was quantified using Procrustes ANOVA and FA scores. Wing shape showed moderate differentiation among sites, with La Tronosa, the most deforested protected area, exhibiting the greatest morphological divergence. In contrast, FA displayed a clear association with habitat degradation. La Tronosa presented the highest levels of developmental instability, and generalized linear models revealed a significant positive relationship between deforestation and FA at both local and landscape scales, with landscape-level deforestation showing the strongest effect. Our results indicate that developmental instability is more sensitive than overall wing morphology for detecting the biological consequences of habitat alteration. These findings support the use of fluctuating asymmetry as an early indicator of environmental degradation and provide new evidence for the value of orchid bees as bioindicators in tropical ecosystems.

Giant kelp forests, Macrocystis pyrifera, dominate the coasts of southern Patagonia and are particularly abundant in the coastal ecosystems of Cape Froward, where they play a key role in biodiversity conservation and the provision of multiple ecosystem services, establishing themselves as one of the most resilient kelp forest ecosystems on the planet. This study constitutes one of the first spatiotemporal assessments of the diverse components inhabiting kelp forests in the Strait of Magellan (Cape Froward). In total, 238 taxa belonging to zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, fish, and understory of macroalgae inhabiting the understory were identified in these ecosystems, including species that are key to the coastal communities of the Magellan region. In general terms, the results show that the coastal ecosystems of Cape Froward support highly diverse, dynamic, and complex communities, with characteristics representative of ecological systems of regional and global significance. In this regard, the present study provides a solid scientific basis for promoting conservation measures for these ecosystems at the southern tip of Patagonia.