Predation on invasive land gastropods by a Neotropical land planarian

Terrestrial Slugs in Neotropical Agroecosystems

Slugs can be important agricultural pests in tropical regions. They are also intermediate hosts of parasitic nematodes, such as Angiostrongylus costaricensis and A. cantonensis, which can cause abdominal and cerebral angiostrongyliasis in humans. Management of slugs in conventional agriculture has relied heavily in the use of pellets containing metaldehyde. In this article, we review cases of slug problems and their management in neotropical agroecosystems.

Soil Biodiversity Integrates Solutions for a Sustainable Future

Soils are home to more than 25% of the earth’s total biodiversity and supports life on land and water, nutrient cycling and retention, food production, pollution remediation, and climate regulation. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that multiple sustainability goals can be simultaneously addressed when soil biota are put at the center of land management assessments; this is because the activity and interactions of soil organisms are intimately tied to multiple processes that ecosystems and society rely on. With soil biodiversity at the center of multiple globally relevant sustainability programs, we will be able to more efficiently and holistically achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Here we review scenarios where soil biota can clearly support global sustainability targets, global changes and pressures that threaten soil biodiversity, and actions to conserve soil biodiversity and advance sustainability goals. This synthesis shows how the latest empirical evidence from soil biological research can shape tangible actions around the world for a sustainable future.

Diversity out of simplicity: interaction behavior of land planarians with co-occurring invertebrates

Land planarians have a simple anatomy and simple behavioral repertoire in relation to most bilaterian animals, which makes them adequate for the study of biological processes. In this study, we investigate the behavior of land planarians during interaction events with other invertebrates found in the same environment. We observed 16 different behavioral units, including seven different capture behaviors and three different prey ingestion behaviors. The capture behavior varied from very simple, such as simply covering the prey with the body, to more complex ones, including two forms of tube formation that are described for the first time. In general, the capture behaviors were similar among different predators but different for different prey. Similarly, prey ingestion type was more related to prey type than to predator species, with small soft prey being swallowed without fragmentation, large prey being crushed, and prey with a hard skeleton being perforated. Considering that land planarians face limitations due to their lack of efficient ways to retain water, thus being highly dependent on a moist environment, the set of behaviors shown by them in this study was considerably rich, especially concerning strategies to capture prey.

Observations on food preference of Neotropical land planarians (Platyhelminthes), with emphasis on Obama anthropophila, and their phylogenetic diversification

The food preference of Obama anthropophila Amaral, Leal-Zanchet & Carbayo, 2015, a species that seems to be spreading across Brazil’s human-modified environments, was investigated. Extensive experiments led to the conclusion that the generalized diet of this species may have facilitated its dispersal. The analysis of 132 feeding records of 44 geoplaninid species revealed a tendency for closely related species to feed on individuals from similar taxonomic groups, suggesting that in this group behavioral evolution is more conserved than phylogenetic diversification.