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Six species of bopyrids were detected from the examination of hermit crabs collected along the Atlantic coasts of Mexico and deposited in the Colección Nacional de Crustáceos housed at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Asymmetrione tuxtlaensis sp. nov., the third species of the genus from the west Atlantic, is described. The occurrence of Asymmetrione desultor, Pseudostegias atlantica and Stegias clibanarii are recorded for the first time from the Mexican Atlantic coasts and the distribution range of the last two species is extended. Both a new host and three new localities for Mexico are reported for Anathelges hyptius and Bopyrissa wolffi, respectively. Distribution and reproductive data are provided for all six species examined. A key to genera and species of bopyrid isopods that parasitize hermit crabs in the Mexican Atlantic is provided.
The demography of the alpine pioneer species Saxifraga aizoides was investigated along a successional gradient at the Rotmoos glacier foreland (2,330–2,450 m a.s.l., Obergurgl, Ötztal, Austria) from recently deglaciated areas to advanced successional stages. A basic hypothesis of our study was that fecundity might play an essential role for population growth rate on the youngest site and become of minor importance at advanced successional stages. A matrix modelling approach was performed to calculate the main demographic parameters on 6, 33, and 81 year old moraines. Our results partly confirmed the prediction of the larger role of fecundity on the youngest sites. Here, seedling mortality was lower compared to the older sites, and the reproductive success was significantly higher. All in all, Saxifraga aizoides mainly follows a "persistence strategy" from the beginning, characterized by the fact that large individuals did not undergo mortality at the recently deglaciated site. However, in the long term a population decline will occur due to plant age and changes of environmental conditions along the successional gradient.