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Hartop E, Lee L, Srivathsan A, Jones M, Peña-Aguilera P, Ovaskainen O, Roslin T, Meier R. Resolving biology's dark matter: species richness, spatiotemporal distribution, and community composition of a dark taxon. BMC Biol 2024; 22:215. [PMID: 39334308 PMCID: PMC11438253 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-024-02010-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 09/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Zoology's dark matter comprises hyperdiverse, poorly known taxa that are numerically dominant but largely unstudied, even in temperate regions where charismatic taxa are well understood. Dark taxa are everywhere, but high diversity, abundance, and small size have historically stymied their study. We demonstrate how entomological dark matter can be elucidated using high-throughput DNA barcoding ("megabarcoding"). We reveal the high abundance and diversity of scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) in Sweden using 31,800 specimens from 37 sites across four seasonal periods. We investigate the number of scuttle fly species in Sweden and the environmental factors driving community changes across time and space. RESULTS Swedish scuttle fly diversity is much higher than previously known, with 549 putative specie) detected, compared to 374 previously recorded species. Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities reveals that scuttle fly communities are highly structured by latitude and strongly driven by climatic factors. Large dissimilarities between sites and seasons are driven by turnover rather than nestedness. Climate change is predicted to significantly affect the 47% of species that show significant responses to mean annual temperature. Results were robust regardless of whether haplotype diversity or species-proxies were used as response variables. Additionally, species-level models of common taxa adequately predict overall species richness. CONCLUSIONS Understanding the bulk of the diversity around us is imperative during an era of biodiversity change. We show that dark insect taxa can be efficiently characterised and surveyed with megabarcoding. Undersampling of rare taxa and choice of operational taxonomic units do not alter the main ecological inferences, making it an opportune time to tackle zoology's dark matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Hartop
- Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NO-7491, Norway.
- Zoology Department, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden.
| | - Leshon Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117558, Singapore
- National University of Singapore, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, 2 Conservatory Dr, Singapore, 117377, Singapore
| | - Amrita Srivathsan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117558, Singapore
- Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Museum Für Naturkunde, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
| | - Mirkka Jones
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, HILIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
| | - Pablo Peña-Aguilera
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Ulls Väg 18B, Uppsala, 75651, Sweden
| | - Otso Ovaskainen
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland
| | - Tomas Roslin
- Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Ulls Väg 18B, Uppsala, 75651, Sweden
| | - Rudolf Meier
- Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Museum Für Naturkunde, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany.
- Institute for Biology, Humboldt University of Berlin, Unter Den Linden 6, Berlin, 10117, Germany.
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Curti JN, Barton M, Flores RG, Lechner M, Lipman A, Montgomery GA, Park AY, Rochel K, Tingley MW. Using unstructured crowd-sourced data to evaluate urban tolerance of terrestrial native animal species within a California Mega-City. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0295476. [PMID: 38809860 PMCID: PMC11135677 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
In response to biodiversity loss and biotic community homogenization in urbanized landscapes, there are increasing efforts to conserve and increase biodiversity within urban areas. Accordingly, around the world, previously extirpated species are (re)colonizing and otherwise infiltrating urban landscapes, while other species are disappearing from these landscapes. Tracking the occurrence of traditionally urban intolerant species and loss of traditionally urban tolerant species should be a management goal of urban areas, but we generally lack tools to study this phenomenon. To address this gap, we first used species' occurrences from iNaturalist, a large collaborative dataset of species observations, to calculate an urban association index (UAI) for 967 native animal species that occur in the city of Los Angeles. On average, the occurrence of native species was negatively associated with our composite measure of urban intensity, with the exception of snails and slugs, which instead occur more frequently in areas of increased urban intensity. Next, we assessed 8,348 0.25 x 0.25 mile grids across the City of Los Angeles to determine the average grid-level UAI scores (i.e., a summary of the UAIs present in a grid cell, which we term Community Urban Tolerance Index or CUTI). We found that areas of higher urban intensity host more urban tolerant species, but also that taxonomic groups differ in their aggregate tolerance of urban areas, and that spatial patterns of tolerance vary between groups. The framework established here has been designed to be iteratively reevaluated by city managers of Los Angeles in order to track the progress of initiatives to preserve and encourage urban biodiversity, but can be rescaled to sample different regions within the city or different cities altogether to provide a valuable tool for city managers globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph N. Curti
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Michelle Barton
- LA Sanitation and Environment, Los Angeles City, CA, United States of America
| | - Rhay G. Flores
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Maren Lechner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Alison Lipman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Graham A. Montgomery
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Albert Y. Park
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Kirstin Rochel
- LA Sanitation and Environment, Los Angeles City, CA, United States of America
| | - Morgan W. Tingley
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
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3
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Lewthwaite JMM, Baiotto TM, Brown BV, Cheung YY, Baker AJ, Lehnen C, McGlynn TP, Shirey V, Gonzalez L, Hartop E, Kerr PH, Wood E, Guzman LM. Drivers of arthropod biodiversity in an urban ecosystem. Sci Rep 2024; 14:390. [PMID: 38172148 PMCID: PMC10764344 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50675-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Our world is becoming increasingly urbanized with a growing human population concentrated around cities. The expansion of urban areas has important consequences for biodiversity, yet the abiotic drivers of biodiversity in urban ecosystems have not been well characterized for the most diverse group of animals on the planet, arthropods. Given their great diversity, comparatively small home ranges, and ability to disperse, arthropods make an excellent model for studying which factors can most accurately predict urban biodiversity. We assessed the effects of (i) topography (distance to natural areas and to ocean) (ii) abiotic factors (mean annual temperature and diurnal range), and (iii) anthropogenic drivers (land value and amount of impervious surface) on the occurrence of six arthropod groups represented in Malaise trap collections run by the BioSCAN project across the Greater Los Angeles Area. We found striking heterogeneity in responses to all factors both within and between taxonomic groups. Diurnal temperature range had a consistently negative effect on occupancy but this effect was only significant in Phoridae. Anthropogenic drivers had mixed though mostly insignificant effects, as some groups and species were most diverse in highly urbanized areas, while other groups showed suppressed diversity. Only Phoridae was significantly affected by land value, where most species were more likely to occur in areas with lower land value. Los Angeles can support high regional arthropod diversity, but spatial community composition is highly dependent on the taxonomic group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayme M M Lewthwaite
- Marine and Environmental Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA
| | - Teagan M Baiotto
- Marine and Environmental Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA
| | - Brian V Brown
- Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, 90007, USA
| | - Yan Yin Cheung
- Marine and Environmental Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA
| | - Austin J Baker
- Marine and Environmental Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA
- Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, 90007, USA
| | - Charles Lehnen
- Marine and Environmental Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA
- Human Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA
| | - Terrence P McGlynn
- Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, 90007, USA
- Department of Biology, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, 90747, USA
| | - Vaughn Shirey
- Marine and Environmental Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 20057, USA
| | - Lisa Gonzalez
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, 90007, USA
| | - Emily Hartop
- Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter H Kerr
- California State Collection of Arthropods, CDFA Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, Sacramento, CA, 95832, USA
| | - Eric Wood
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, 90032, USA
| | - Laura Melissa Guzman
- Marine and Environmental Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90089, USA.
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Chimeno C, Schmidt S, Hamid H, Narakusumo RP, Peggie D, Balke M, Cancian de Araujo B. DNA barcoding data release for the Phoridae (Insecta, Diptera) of the Halimun-Salak National Park (Java, Indonesia). Biodivers Data J 2023; 11:e104942. [PMID: 37448693 PMCID: PMC10336553 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.11.e104942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Launched in 2015, the large-scale initiative Indonesian Biodiversity Discovery and Information System (IndoBioSys) is a multidisciplinary German-Indonesian collaboration with the main goal of establishing a standardised framework for species discovery and all associated steps. One aspect of the project includes the application of DNA barcoding for species identification and biodiversity assessments. In this framework, we conducted a large-scale assessment of the insect fauna of the Mount Halimun-Salak National Park which is one of the largest tropical rain-forest ecosystems left in West Java. In this study, we present the results of processing 5,034 specimens of Phoridae (scuttle flies) via DNA barcoding. Despite limited sequencing success, we obtained more than 500 clusters using different algorithms (RESL, ASAP, SpeciesIdentifier). Moreover, Chao statistics indicated that we drastically undersampled all trap sites, implying that the true diversity of Phoridae is, in fact, much higher. With this data release, we hope to shed some light on the hidden diversity of this megadiverse group of flies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Chimeno
- SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung München, München, GermanySNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung MünchenMünchenGermany
| | - Stefan Schmidt
- SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung München, München, GermanySNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung MünchenMünchenGermany
| | - Hasmiandy Hamid
- Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Andalas, Padang, IndonesiaDepartment of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas AndalasPadangIndonesia
| | - Raden Pramesa Narakusumo
- Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong, IndonesiaMuseum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)CibinongIndonesia
| | - Djunijanti Peggie
- Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong, IndonesiaMuseum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)CibinongIndonesia
| | - Michael Balke
- SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung München, München, GermanySNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung MünchenMünchenGermany
| | - Bruno Cancian de Araujo
- SNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung München, München, GermanySNSB-Zoologische Staatssammlung MünchenMünchenGermany
- LaBI-UFES, Laboratório de Biodiversidade de Insetos, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, BrazilLaBI-UFES, Laboratório de Biodiversidade de Insetos, Universidade Federal do Espírito SantoVitóriaBrazil
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5
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Namaki-Khameneh R, Khaghaninia S, L. Disney RH, Maleki-Ravasan N. The scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) of Iran with the description of Mahabadphora aesthesphora as a new genus and species. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257899. [PMID: 34644330 PMCID: PMC8513852 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) are mega-diverse and often synanthropic insects that play superb roles in various ecosystems. Identification of this group of insects is challenging due to their small size, morphological identification difficulties, niche diversity, and lack of taxonomic keys. To pave the way, an in-depth investigation was directed toward the scuttle flies in Iran using morphological and molecular data. A dichotomous key was also developed to identify the genus and species of the phorids reported in the country. The faunistic findings revealed the presence of about 22,000 (13,903 male and 8,097 female) phorid materials organized into 11 genera. Megaselia species (n = 13768), made up about 99% of the specimens studied. Moreover, 71 morphologically defined species belonging to nine genera were molecularly characterized using COI, 28S rRNA, and Arginine kinase datasets. Excluding four Megaselia Rondani, 1856 species, our results specified that morphologically delimited species were in agreement with the molecular analyses inferred from the COI/28S rRNA and COI/Arginine kinase sequences with genetic distances and phylogenetic trees. According to the results of the present study and previously published data, the Phoridae recorded for Iran are a total of 97 species that are ordered in 13 genera and three subfamilies, including Chonocephalinae, Metopininae and Phorinae. By comparing the known world phorid genera, a new monotypic genus of scuttle flies, Mahabadphora aesthesphora gen. nov., sp. nov., was identified based on its morphological and molecular characteristics and included in an updated key. Our results could comprehensively determine the taxonomic status of scuttle flies in Iran, scrutinize their phylogenetic structures and facilitate their identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roya Namaki-Khameneh
- Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Plant Protection, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Samad Khaghaninia
- Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Plant Protection, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
| | - R. Henry L. Disney
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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6
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Bennett R, Copley C, Copley D. Cybaeus (Araneae: Cybaeidae) in the Nearctic: the devius and tardatus species groups of the Californian clade. Zootaxa 2021; 5026:451-479. [PMID: 34810921 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5026.4.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Species of North American Cybaeus L. Koch (Araneae: RTA clade: Cybaeidae) are moist-forest spiders classified in Holarctic and Californian clades. Here, in the fourth paper in a planned series reviewing the six Californian clade species groups, we review the species of the devius and tardatus groups. We recognize five species in the devius group (Cybaeus bilectus Bennett spec. nov., C. bryoncavus Bennett spec. nov., C. devius Chamberlin Ivie, C. echo Bennett spec. nov., and C. wilsonia Bennett spec. nov.) and four in the tardatus group (C. orarius Bennett spec. nov., C. piazzai Bennett spec. nov., C. tardatus Chamberlin, and C. topanga Bennett spec. nov.). All of these species are rarely encountered and have restricted distributions either in the central and southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California, U.S.A (devius group) or the southern coast of western California (tardatus group). Some of these species are likely endangered or already extinct; most have not been seen in many decades and none have been collected more recently than 1995. Descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps, and identification keys are provided as well as a discussion of conservation issues of relevance to the group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robb Bennett
- Department of Entomology, Natural History Section, Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 9W2. .
| | - Claudia Copley
- Department of Entomology, Natural History Section, Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 9W2. .
| | - Darren Copley
- Department of Entomology, Natural History Section, Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 9W2. .
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7
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Mata L, Andersen AN, Morán-Ordóñez A, Hahs AK, Backstrom A, Ives CD, Bickel D, Duncan D, Palma E, Thomas F, Cranney K, Walker K, Shears I, Semeraro L, Malipatil M, Moir ML, Plein M, Porch N, Vesk PA, Smith TR, Lynch Y. Indigenous plants promote insect biodiversity in urban greenspaces. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 31:e02309. [PMID: 33605502 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The contribution of urban greenspaces to support biodiversity and provide benefits for people is increasingly recognized. However, ongoing management practices favor vegetation oversimplification, often limiting greenspaces to lawns and tree canopy rather than multi-layered vegetation that includes under- and midstorey, and the use of nonnative species. These practices hinder the potential of greenspaces to sustain indigenous biodiversity, particularly for taxa like insects that rely on plants for food and habitat. Yet, little is known about which plant species may maximize positive outcomes for taxonomically and functionally diverse insect communities in greenspaces. Additionally, while cities are expected to experience high rates of introductions, quantitative assessments of the relative occupancy of indigenous vs. introduced insect species in greenspace are rare, hindering understanding of how management may promote indigenous biodiversity while limiting the establishment of introduced insects. Using a hierarchically replicated study design across 15 public parks, we recorded occurrence data from 552 insect species on 133 plant species, differing in planting design element (lawn, midstorey, and tree canopy), midstorey growth form (forbs, lilioids, graminoids, and shrubs) and origin (nonnative, native, and indigenous), to assess (1) the relative contributions of indigenous and introduced insect species and (2) which plant species sustained the highest number of indigenous insects. We found that the insect community was overwhelmingly composed of indigenous rather than introduced species. Our findings further highlight the core role of multi-layered vegetation in sustaining high insect biodiversity in urban areas, with indigenous midstorey and canopy representing key elements to maintain rich and functionally diverse indigenous insect communities. Intriguingly, graminoids supported the highest indigenous insect richness across all studied growth forms by plant origin groups. Our work highlights the opportunity presented by indigenous understory and midstorey plants, particularly indigenous graminoids, in our study area to promote indigenous insect biodiversity in urban greenspaces. Our study provides a blueprint and stimulus for architects, engineers, developers, designers, and planners to incorporate into their practice plant species palettes that foster a larger presence of indigenous over regionally native or nonnative plant species, while incorporating a broader mixture of midstorey growth forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Mata
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
- Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
| | - Alan N Andersen
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, 0909, Australia
| | | | - Amy K Hahs
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Anna Backstrom
- Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
| | | | - Daniel Bickel
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia
| | - David Duncan
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Estibaliz Palma
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Freya Thomas
- Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
| | - Kate Cranney
- The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, Queensland, 4102, Australia
| | - Ken Walker
- Science Department, Museum Victoria, Carlton, Victoria, 3053, Australia
| | - Ian Shears
- City of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
| | - Linda Semeraro
- Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, Agriculture Victoria Research, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia
| | - Mallik Malipatil
- Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, Agriculture Victoria Research, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia
- School of Applied Systems Biology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 3083, Australia
| | - Melinda L Moir
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Michaela Plein
- Administration de la Nature et des Forêts, Diekirch, 9233, Luxembourg
| | - Nick Porch
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, 3216, Australia
| | - Peter A Vesk
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Tessa R Smith
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia
| | - Yvonne Lynch
- City of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
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8
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Battán-Horenstein M, Mulieri PR, Gleiser RM. Evaluation of environmental and local factors on urban sarcosaprophagous Diptera: a case study with Sarcophagidae. MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 35:158-168. [PMID: 32986249 DOI: 10.1111/mve.12481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The urbanization process affects the structure of insect communities, favouring biotic homogenization processes by promoting adequate conditions for the establishment of synanthropic species. Considering the scarce knowledge about the ecology of Neotropical sarcophagids, we compared the flesh fly community from two different urban zones in two contrasting seasons and examined the response of the Sarcophagidae assemblage to landscape and microhabitat variables. Adult flies were collected in 13 sites with two traps (total number of traps 26) baited with 200 g of hydrated bone meal. A total of 2312 adult sarcophagids were collected belonging to 27 species; Oxysarcodexia paulistanensis (Mattos, 1919) represented >48% of the total sample. The local factor of insolation explained both the abundance and species richness of sarcophagids, collections being higher and richer in traps exposed to sunlight compared with traps placed in the shade regardless of the season. Richness was also affected by the environment, being higher in traps exposed in suburban rather than urban sites. The combination of these factors (sub-urban environment and availability of open areas) could explain the Sarcophagidae assemblage. The average number of sarcophagid species collected was related to the season, providing a good opportunity to assess the temporal variability of this family in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Battán-Horenstein
- Centro de Relevamiento y Evaluación de Recursos Agrícolas y Naturales, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV, UNC-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - P R Mulieri
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia' (MACN), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - R M Gleiser
- Centro de Relevamiento y Evaluación de Recursos Agrícolas y Naturales, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV, UNC-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
- Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
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9
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Pernat N, Kampen H, Jeschke JM, Werner D. Buzzing Homes: Using Citizen Science Data to Explore the Effects of Urbanization on Indoor Mosquito Communities. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12050374. [PMID: 33919337 PMCID: PMC8143366 DOI: 10.3390/insects12050374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Urbanization has been associated with a loss of overall biodiversity and a simultaneous increase in the abundance of a few species that thrive in urban habitats, such as highly adaptable mosquito vectors. To better understand how mosquito communities differ between levels of urbanization, we analyzed mosquito samples from inside private homes submitted to the citizen science project 'Mückenatlas'. Applying two urbanization indicators based on soil sealing and human population density, we compared species composition and diversity at, and preferences towards, different urbanization levels. Species composition between groups of lowest and highest levels of urbanization differed significantly, which was presumably caused by reduced species richness and the dominance of synanthropic mosquito species in urban areas. The genus Anopheles was frequently submitted from areas with a low degree of urbanization, Aedes with a moderate degree, and Culex and Culiseta with a high degree of urbanization. Making use of citizen science data, this first study of indoor mosquito diversity in Germany demonstrated a simplification of communities with increasing urbanization. The dominance of vector-competent species in urban areas poses a potential risk of epidemics of mosquito-borne diseases that can only be contained by a permanent monitoring of mosquitoes and by acquiring a deeper knowledge about how anthropogenic activities affect vector ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Pernat
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany;
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1–3, 14195 Berlin, Germany;
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Königin-Luise-Str. 2–4, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- Correspondence:
| | - Helge Kampen
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany;
| | - Jonathan M. Jeschke
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1–3, 14195 Berlin, Germany;
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Königin-Luise-Str. 2–4, 14195 Berlin, Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Doreen Werner
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany;
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Königin-Luise-Str. 2–4, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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10
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Badano D, Zhang Q, Fratini M, Maugeri L, Bukreeva I, Longo E, Wilde F, Yeates DK, Cerretti P. Discovery of Lebambromyia in Myanmar Cretaceous Amber: Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Implications (Insecta, Diptera, Phoroidea). INSECTS 2021; 12:354. [PMID: 33923404 PMCID: PMC8074229 DOI: 10.3390/insects12040354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Lebambromyia sacculifera sp. nov. is described from Late Cretaceous amber from Myanmar, integrating traditional observation techniques and X-ray phase contrast microtomography. Lebambromyia sacculifera is the second species of Lebambromyia after L. acrai Grimaldi and Cumming, described from Lebanese amber (Early Cretaceous), and the first record of this taxon from Myanmar amber, considerably extending the temporal and geographic range of this genus. The new specimen bears a previously undetected set of phylogenetically relevant characters such as a postpedicel sacculus and a prominent clypeus, which are shared with Ironomyiidae and Eumuscomorpha. Our cladistic analyses confirmed that Lebambromyia represented a distinct monophyletic lineage related to Platypezidae and Ironomyiidae, though its affinities are strongly influenced by the interpretation and coding of the enigmatic set of features characterizing these fossil flies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Badano
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Museum of Zoology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Valerio Massimo 6, 00162 Rome, Italy
| | - Qingqing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China;
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Michela Fratini
- CNR-Nanotec (Rome Unit) c/o Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (L.M.); (I.B.)
| | - Laura Maugeri
- CNR-Nanotec (Rome Unit) c/o Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (L.M.); (I.B.)
| | - Inna Bukreeva
- CNR-Nanotec (Rome Unit) c/o Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.F.); (L.M.); (I.B.)
- P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr., 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena Longo
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Materials Physics, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany; (E.L.); (F.W.)
| | - Fabian Wilde
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Materials Physics, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany; (E.L.); (F.W.)
| | - David K. Yeates
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Facilities and Collections, Black Mountain, Clunies Ross Street, Acton, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
| | - Pierfilippo Cerretti
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Museum of Zoology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Valerio Massimo 6, 00162 Rome, Italy
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Facilities and Collections, Black Mountain, Clunies Ross Street, Acton, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia;
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11
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Shultz AJ, Adams BJ, Bell KC, Ludt WB, Pauly GB, Vendetti JE. Natural history collections are critical resources for contemporary and future studies of urban evolution. Evol Appl 2021; 14:233-247. [PMID: 33519967 PMCID: PMC7819571 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Urban environments are among the fastest changing habitats on the planet, and this change has evolutionary implications for the organisms inhabiting them. Herein, we demonstrate that natural history collections are critical resources for urban evolution studies. The specimens housed in these collections provide great potential for diverse types of urban evolution research, and strategic deposition of specimens and other materials from contemporary studies will determine the resources and research questions available to future urban evolutionary biologists. As natural history collections are windows into the past, they provide a crucial historical timescale for urban evolution research. While the importance of museum collections for research is generally appreciated, their utility in the study of urban evolution has not been explicitly evaluated. Here, we: (a) demonstrate that museum collections can greatly enhance urban evolution studies, (b) review patterns of specimen use and deposition in the urban evolution literature, (c) analyze how urban versus rural and native versus nonnative vertebrate species are being deposited in museum collections, and (d) make recommendations to researchers, museum professionals, scientific journal editors, funding agencies, permitting agencies, and professional societies to improve archiving policies. Our analyses of recent urban evolution studies reveal that museum specimens can be used for diverse research questions, but they are used infrequently. Further, although nearly all studies we analyzed generated resources that could be deposited in natural history collections (e.g., collected specimens), a minority (12%) of studies actually did so. Depositing such resources in collections is crucial to allow the scientific community to verify, replicate, and/or re-visit prior research. Therefore, to ensure that adequate museum resources are available for future urban evolutionary biology research, the research community-from practicing biologists to funding agencies and professional societies-must make adjustments that prioritize the collection and deposition of urban specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison J. Shultz
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Ornithology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Benjamin J. Adams
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Entomology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Department of Biological SciencesGeorge Washington UniversityWashingtonDCUSA
| | - Kayce C. Bell
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Mammalogy DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - William B. Ludt
- Ichthyology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Gregory B. Pauly
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Herpetology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
| | - Jann E. Vendetti
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
- Malacology DepartmentNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCAUSA
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12
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Adams BJ, Li E, Bahlai CA, Meineke EK, McGlynn TP, Brown BV. Local- and landscape-scale variables shape insect diversity in an urban biodiversity hot spot. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 30:e02089. [PMID: 32017294 PMCID: PMC7317463 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Local community structure is shaped by processes acting at local and landscape scales. The relative importance of drivers operating across different spatial scales is difficult to test without observations across regional or latitudinal gradients. Cities exhibit strong but predictable environmental gradients overlaying a mosaic of highly variable but repeated habitat types within a constrained area. Thus, cities present a unique opportunity to explore how both local and landscape factors influence local biotic communities. We used insect communities to examine the interactions among local environmental variables (such as temperature and relative humidity), local habitat characteristics (such as plant community composition), and broad-scale patterns of urbanization (including biophysical, human-built, and socioeconomic variables) on local insect abundance, species richness, and species composition in Los Angeles, a hot, dry, near-desert city. After accounting for seasonal trends, insect species richness and abundance were highest in drier and hotter sites, but the magnitude of local environmental effects varied with the degree of urbanization. In contrast, insect species composition was best predicted by broad-scale urbanization trends, with the more native communities occurring in less urbanized sites and more cosmopolitan insects occurring in highly urbanized sites. However, insect species richness and abundance were >30% higher and insect composition was similar across sites that hosted either native or drought-tolerant plants, regardless of the degree of urbanization. These results demonstrate that urban insect biodiversity is a product of interacting mechanisms working at both local and landscape scales. However, local-scale changes to urban habitats, such as cultivating plants that are adapted to the natural environment nearest the city, can positively impact urban biodiversity regardless of location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin J. Adams
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCalifornia90007USA
| | - Enjie Li
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCalifornia90007USA
| | | | - Emily K. Meineke
- Department of Entomology and NematologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCalifornia95616USA
| | - Terrence P. McGlynn
- Department of BiologyCalifornia State UniversityDominguez HillsCarsonCalifornia90747USA
- Department of EntomologyNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCalifornia90007USA
| | - Brian V. Brown
- Urban Nature Research CenterNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCalifornia90007USA
- Department of EntomologyNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyLos AngelesCalifornia90007USA
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13
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Brown BV, Vendetti JE. Megaselia steptoeae (Diptera: Phoridae): specialists on smashed snails. Biodivers Data J 2020; 8:e50943. [PMID: 32269480 PMCID: PMC7125241 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.8.e50943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Phorid flies are amongst the most biologically diverse and species-rich groups of insects. Ways of life range from parasitism, herbivory, fungivory, to scavenging. Although the lifestyles of most species are unknown, many are parasitoids, especially of social insects. Some species of ant-parasitoids are attracted to injured hosts for feeding purposes to develop eggs, as well as for oviposition, requiring each female to find two injured hosts. New information Females of the phorid fly Megaseliasteptoeae Hartop et al. (Diptera: Phoridae) were found to be quickly attracted to crushed glass snails of the species Oxychilusdraparnaudi (Beck) (Gastropoda: Oxychilidae). Most females were without mature eggs and apparently were attracted for feeding purposes only; other injured molluscs offered at the same time were not attractive. One female laid eggs in captivity and offspring were reared to the pupal stage. The lifestyle of this species is similar to that of parasitoids of injured ants, which also require separate hosts of the same species for feeding and oviposition. We conclude that injured hosts must be common in the environment to attract these host-specific scavengers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian V Brown
- Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, United States of America Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles United States of America
| | - Jann E Vendetti
- Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, United States of America Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles United States of America
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14
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Srivathsan A, Hartop E, Puniamoorthy J, Lee WT, Kutty SN, Kurina O, Meier R. Rapid, large-scale species discovery in hyperdiverse taxa using 1D MinION sequencing. BMC Biol 2019; 17:96. [PMID: 31783752 PMCID: PMC6884855 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-019-0706-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND More than 80% of all animal species remain unknown to science. Most of these species live in the tropics and belong to animal taxa that combine small body size with high specimen abundance and large species richness. For such clades, using morphology for species discovery is slow because large numbers of specimens must be sorted based on detailed microscopic investigations. Fortunately, species discovery could be greatly accelerated if DNA sequences could be used for sorting specimens to species. Morphological verification of such "molecular operational taxonomic units" (mOTUs) could then be based on dissection of a small subset of specimens. However, this approach requires cost-effective and low-tech DNA barcoding techniques because well-equipped, well-funded molecular laboratories are not readily available in many biodiverse countries. RESULTS We here document how MinION sequencing can be used for large-scale species discovery in a specimen- and species-rich taxon like the hyperdiverse fly family Phoridae (Diptera). We sequenced 7059 specimens collected in a single Malaise trap in Kibale National Park, Uganda, over the short period of 8 weeks. We discovered > 650 species which exceeds the number of phorid species currently described for the entire Afrotropical region. The barcodes were obtained using an improved low-cost MinION pipeline that increased the barcoding capacity sevenfold from 500 to 3500 barcodes per flowcell. This was achieved by adopting 1D sequencing, resequencing weak amplicons on a used flowcell, and improving demultiplexing. Comparison with Illumina data revealed that the MinION barcodes were very accurate (99.99% accuracy, 0.46% Ns) and thus yielded very similar species units (match ratio 0.991). Morphological examination of 100 mOTUs also confirmed good congruence with morphology (93% of mOTUs; > 99% of specimens) and revealed that 90% of the putative species belong to the neglected, megadiverse genus Megaselia. We demonstrate for one Megaselia species how the molecular data can guide the description of a new species (Megaselia sepsioides sp. nov.). CONCLUSIONS We document that one field site in Africa can be home to an estimated 1000 species of phorids and speculate that the Afrotropical diversity could exceed 200,000 species. We furthermore conclude that low-cost MinION sequencers are very suitable for reliable, rapid, and large-scale species discovery in hyperdiverse taxa. MinION sequencing could quickly reveal the extent of the unknown diversity and is especially suitable for biodiverse countries with limited access to capital-intensive sequencing facilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amrita Srivathsan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Emily Hartop
- Zoology Department, Stockholms Universitet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Station Linné, Öland, Sweden
| | - Jayanthi Puniamoorthy
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Wan Ting Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Sujatha Narayanan Kutty
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore
- Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Olavi Kurina
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5D, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Rudolf Meier
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore.
- Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
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15
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McGlynn TP, Meineke EK, Bahlai CA, Li E, Hartop EA, Adams BJ, Brown BV. Temperature accounts for the biodiversity of a hyperdiverse group of insects in urban Los Angeles. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191818. [PMID: 31575368 PMCID: PMC6790764 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The urban heat island effect is a worldwide phenomenon that has been linked to species distributions and abundances in cities. However, effects of urban heat on biotic communities are nearly impossible to disentangle from effects of land cover in most cases because hotter urban sites also have less vegetation and more impervious surfaces than cooler sites within cities. We sampled phorid flies, one of the largest, most biologically diverse families of true flies (Insecta: Diptera: Phoridae), at 30 sites distributed within the central Los Angeles Basin, where we found that temperature and the density of urban land cover are decoupled. Abundance, richness, and community composition of phorids inside urban Los Angeles were most parsimoniously accounted for by mean air temperature in the week preceding sampling. Sites with intermediate mean temperatures had more phorid fly individuals and higher richness. Communities were more even at urban sites with lower minimum temperatures and sites located further away from natural areas, suggesting that communities separated from natural source populations may be more homogenized. Species composition was best explained by minimum temperature. Inasmuch as warmer areas within cities can predict future effects of climate change, phorid fly communities are likely to shift nonlinearly under future climates in more natural areas. Exhaustive surveys of biotic communities within cities, such as the one we describe here, can provide baselines for determining the effects of urban and global climate warming as they intensify.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terrence P McGlynn
- Department of Biology, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA 90747, USA.,Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - Emily K Meineke
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Christie A Bahlai
- Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
| | - Enjie Li
- Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - Emily A Hartop
- Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA.,Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Benjamin J Adams
- Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - Brian V Brown
- Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
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16
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Brown BV, Wong MA, Hartop E. A new white-spotted Megaselia Rondani (Diptera: Phoridae) from western North America. Biodivers Data J 2019; 7:e34310. [PMID: 31097915 PMCID: PMC6491411 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.7.e34310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The phorid fly genus Megaselia Rondani is a large, poorly-known taxon whose species are found worldwide. New information A new species of Megaselia Rondani, M.simunorum, is described from both urban and rural sites in southern California. With a large area of white colour on the posterior part of the abdominal dorsum, it closely resembles the much more common species M.sulphurizona, but M.simunorum has distinctly thicker ventral setae on the abdomen and a differently-shaped white spot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian V Brown
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles, California United States of America
| | - Maria A Wong
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles, California United States of America
| | - Emily Hartop
- Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Stockholm Sweden.,Stockholms Universitet, Stockholm, Sweden Stockholms Universitet Stockholm Sweden.,Station Linné, Färjestaden, Sweden Station Linné Färjestaden Sweden.,Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles, California United States of America
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17
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Mlynarek JJ, Grégoire Taillefer A, Wheeler TA. Saproxylic Diptera assemblages in a temperate deciduous forest: implications for community assembly. PeerJ 2018; 6:e6027. [PMID: 30533313 PMCID: PMC6284445 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Saproxylic insects, those associated directly or indirectly with decaying wood for all or part of their life cycle, compose a large proportion of forest organisms. Flies (Diptera) are often the most abundant and species-rich group of insects in forest microhabitats, yet most work to date on saproxylic insect diversity and ecology has focused on beetles (Coleoptera). We compared saproxylic Diptera assemblages reared from two tree species (sugar maple and American beech) at two stages of decay (early/young and advanced/old) for a total of 20 logs in an eastern Canadian Nearctic old-growth forest. We found that communities are distinct within both species type and decay stage of wood. Early decay stage wood is more variable in community composition than later decay stage; however, as the age of the decaying wood increases, the abundance of Diptera increases significantly. Most indicator species are discernible in later decay stage and wood type. We venture to suggest that stochastic and deterministic processes may play a role in driving Diptera communities in temperate deciduous forests. To retain the highest saproxylic Diptera diversity in a forest, a variety of decaying wood types at different stages of decomposition is necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia J Mlynarek
- Harrow Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Harrow, ON, Canada.,Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | - Amélie Grégoire Taillefer
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada.,BioÉco Environnement, Pincourt, QC, Canada
| | - Terry A Wheeler
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada
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18
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Prudic KL, Oliver JC, Brown BV, Long EC. Comparisons of Citizen Science Data-Gathering Approaches to Evaluate Urban Butterfly Diversity. INSECTS 2018; 9:insects9040186. [PMID: 30563191 PMCID: PMC6316785 DOI: 10.3390/insects9040186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
By 2030, ten percent of earth's landmass will be occupied by cities. Urban environments can be home to many plants and animals, but surveying and estimating biodiversity in these spaces is complicated by a heterogeneous built environment where access and landscaping are highly variable due to human activity. Citizen science approaches may be the best way to assess urban biodiversity, but little is known about their relative effectiveness and efficiency. Here, we compare three techniques for acquiring data on butterfly (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) species richness: trained volunteer Pollard walks, Malaise trapping with expert identification, and crowd-sourced iNaturalist observations. A total of 30 butterfly species were observed; 27 (90%) were recorded by Pollard walk observers, 18 (60%) were found in Malaise traps, and 22 (73%) were reported by iNaturalist observers. Pollard walks reported the highest butterfly species richness, followed by iNaturalist and then Malaise traps during the four-month time period. Pollard walks also had significantly higher species diversity than Malaise traps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen L Prudic
- Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
| | - Jeffrey C Oliver
- Office of Digital Innovation and Stewardship, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
| | - Brian V Brown
- Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA.
| | - Elizabeth C Long
- Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA.
- Daniel Smiley Research Center, Mohonk Preserve, New York, NY 12561, USA.
- La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles 90095, CA, USA.
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19
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Brown BV, Hartop EA. Mystery mushroom malingerers: Megaselia marquezi Hartop et al. 2015 (Diptera: Phoridae). Biodivers Data J 2017:e15052. [PMID: 28989296 PMCID: PMC5611464 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.5.e15052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A mysterious female phorid fly, known for many years to be associated with fungal sporophores ("mushrooms") is identified as Megaseliamarquezi Hartop et al. 2015. Male and female flies were collected emerging from the fungus Psathyrellacandolleana (Fr.) Maire, and females were observed swarming over the sporophores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian V Brown
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, United States of America
| | - Emily A Hartop
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, United States of America
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