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Fusco T, Fattorini S, Fortini L, Ruzzier E, Di Giulio A. Ground spiders (Chelicerata, Araneae) of an urban green space: intensive sampling in a protected area of Rome (Italy) reveals a high diversity and new records to the Italian territory. Biodivers Data J 2024; 12:e122896. [PMID: 38883208 PMCID: PMC11179096 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.12.e122896] [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: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Urbanisation is a rapidly growing global phenomenon leading to habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation. However, urban areas can offer opportunities for conservation, particularly through the presence of green spaces which can even provide important habitats for imperilled species. Spiders, which play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning, include many species that can successfully exploit urban environments. Placed in the middle of the Mediterranean global biodiversity hotspot, Italy possesses an exceptionally rich spider fauna, yet comprehensive data on urban spider communities are still limited. More information on urban spiders in Italy would be extremely beneficial to support conservation efforts, especially in central and southern Italy, where knowledge on the spider fauna is largely incomplete. New information The current study focused on the spider diversity of a large protected area (Appia Antica Regional Park) in urban Rome, Italy. A total of 120 spider species belonging to 83 genera and 28 families were identified, with 70 species being new records to the Province of Rome, 39 to the Latium Region and two (Pelecopsisdigitulus Bosmans & Abrous, 1992 and Palliduphantesarenicola (Denis, 1964)) to Italy.Forty-one species were recorded during autumn/winter sampling and 107 in spring/summer. The spider fauna recorded from the study area included about 37% of the total spider fauna known from the Province of Rome, 28% of that of the Latium Region and 7% of the entire Italian territory. The most represented families in terms of species richness were Gnaphosidae and Linyphiidae, which accounted for more than 40% of the sampled fauna. Lycosidae were the most abundant family (29% of captured individuals), followed by Zodariidae (16% of captured individuals), Linyphiidae (13% of captured individuals) and Gnaphosidae (7.5% of captured individuals). From a biogeographical point of view, most of the collected species belonged to chorotypes that extend for large areas across Europe and the Mediterranean. The research highlights the role of urban green spaces as refuges for spiders and the importance of arachnological research in urban areas as sources of information on spider biodiversity at larger scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Fusco
- Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446, Rome, Italy Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446 Rome Italy
| | - Simone Fattorini
- Università dell'Aquila, Dipartimento di Medicina clinica, sanità pubblica, scienze della vita e dell'ambiente, L'Aquila, Italy Università dell'Aquila, Dipartimento di Medicina clinica, sanità pubblica, scienze della vita e dell'ambiente L'Aquila Italy
| | - Lorenzo Fortini
- Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446, Rome, Italy Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446 Rome Italy
| | - Enrico Ruzzier
- Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446, Rome, Italy Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446 Rome Italy
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center Palermo Italy
| | - Andrea Di Giulio
- Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446, Rome, Italy Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Viale G. Marconi 446 Rome Italy
- NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center Palermo Italy
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Sharmin M, Tjoelker MG, Esperon-Rodriguez M, Katlav A, Gilpin AM, Rymer PD, Power SA. Urban greening with shrubs can supercharge invertebrate abundance and diversity. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8735. [PMID: 38627432 PMCID: PMC11021404 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58909-8] [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: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
In urban areas, diverse and complex habitats for biodiversity are often lacking. This lack of diversity not only compromises essential ecological processes, such as pollination and nutrient cycling, but also diminishes the resilience of urban ecosystems to pests and diseases. To enhance urban biodiversity, a possible solution is to integrate shrubs alongside trees, thereby increasing the overall amount of vegetation, structural complexity and the associated resource diversity. Here, using a common garden experiment involving a variety of trees and shrubs planted alone and in combination, we evaluate how canopy-associated invertebrate assemblages are influenced by vegetation type. In particular, we test whether the presence of shrubs, alone or with trees, results in increased abundance and taxonomic richness of invertebrates, compared to trees on their own. We found that the overall abundance of invertebrates, and that of specific functional groups (e.g., herbivores, pollinators, detritivores), was higher on shrubs, compared to trees, and when trees and shrubs were planted in combination (relative to trees on their own). Our results suggest that planting shrub and tree species with wide and dense crowns can increase the associated abundance and taxonomic and functional group richness of invertebrate communities. Overall, our findings indicate that urban planning would benefit from incorporating shrubs alongside urban trees to maximise invertebrate abundance, diversity and function in urban landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmuda Sharmin
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, Bangladesh.
| | - Mark G Tjoelker
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Alihan Katlav
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Amy-Marie Gilpin
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Paul D Rymer
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Sally A Power
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
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Zhang G, Gao M, Chen Y, Wang Y, Gan T, Zhu F, Liu H. The First Complete Mitochondrial Genome of the Genus Litostrophus: Insights into the Rearrangement and Evolution of Mitochondrial Genomes in Diplopoda. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:254. [PMID: 38397243 PMCID: PMC10888367 DOI: 10.3390/genes15020254] [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: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
This study presents the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Litostrophus scaber, which is the first mitogenome of the genus Litostrophus. The mitogenome is a circular molecule with a length of 15,081 bp. The proportion of adenine and thymine (A + T) was 69.25%. The gene ND4L used TGA as the initiation codon, while the other PCGs utilized ATN (A, T, G, C) as the initiation codons. More than half of the PCGs used T as an incomplete termination codon. The transcription direction of the L. scaber mitogenome matched Spirobolus bungii, in contrast to most millipedes. Novel rearrangements were found in the L. scaber mitogenome: trnQ -trnC and trnL1- trnP underwent short-distance translocations and the gene block rrnS-rrnL-ND1 moved to a position between ND4 and ND5, resulting in the formation of a novel gene order. The phylogenetic analysis showed that L. scaber is most closely related to S. bungii, followed by Narceus magnum. These findings enhance our understanding of the rearrangement and evolution of Diplopoda mitogenomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaoji Zhang
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; (G.Z.); (M.G.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (F.Z.)
| | - Ming Gao
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; (G.Z.); (M.G.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (F.Z.)
| | - Yukun Chen
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; (G.Z.); (M.G.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (F.Z.)
| | - Yinuo Wang
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; (G.Z.); (M.G.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (F.Z.)
| | - Tianyi Gan
- College of Plant Health and Medicine, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China;
| | - Fuyuan Zhu
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; (G.Z.); (M.G.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (F.Z.)
| | - Hongyi Liu
- Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Subtropical Forest Biodiversity Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China; (G.Z.); (M.G.); (Y.C.); (Y.W.); (F.Z.)
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Vélová L, Véle A, Peltanová A, Šafářová L, Menendéz R, Horák J. High‐, medium‐, and low‐dispersal animal taxa communities in fragmented urban grasslands. Ecosphere 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Vélová
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic
| | - Adam Véle
- Forestry & Game Management Research Institute Jíloviště Czech Republic
| | - Alena Peltanová
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Šafářová
- East Bohemian Museum in Pardubice Pardubice Czech Republic
| | - Rosa Menendéz
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster UK
| | - Jakub Horák
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science University of Hradec Králové Hradec Králové Czech Republic
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Cifuentes J, Gilgado JD, Bobbitt I. The woodlice of Switzerland (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea), with 6 new records from heated greenhouses. REV SUISSE ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.35929/rsz.0081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Julio Cifuentes
- Departamento de Biología (Zoología), Facultadde Ciencias, Universidad Autónomade Madrid, E-28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
| | - José D. Gilgado
- Section of Conservation Biology, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ian Bobbitt
- Section of Conservation Biology, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
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Nkoh PBT, Mbenoun Masse PS, Tonga C, Tsila HG, Kekeunou S, Makon SD, Soh WT, Tcheugoué R, Lehman LG, Akono PN. Diversity and spatio‐temporal distribution of the myriapodofauna in four habitat types along an urban‐rural gradient in Douala (Littoral, Cameroon). Afr J Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.13069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Calvin Tonga
- Laboratory of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science University of Douala Douala Cameroon
| | - Henri Gabriel Tsila
- Biology and Applied Ecology Research Unit, Faculty of Science University of Dschang Dschang Cameroon
| | - Sevilor Kekeunou
- Laboratory of Zoology, Faculty of Science University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé Cameroon
| | - Samuel Didier Makon
- Laboratory of Zoology, Faculty of Science University of Yaoundé I Yaoundé Cameroon
| | - Willy Teukam Soh
- Laboratory of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science University of Douala Douala Cameroon
| | - Roland Tcheugoué
- Laboratory of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science University of Douala Douala Cameroon
| | | | - Patrick Ntonga Akono
- Laboratory of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science University of Douala Douala Cameroon
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Gilgado JD, Cabanillas D, Bobbitt I. Millipedes and centipedes (Myriapoda: Diplopoda, Chilopoda) in Swiss heated greenhouses, with seven species new for Switzerland. REV SUISSE ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.35929/rsz.0063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- José D. Gilgado
- Section of Conservation Biology, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - David Cabanillas
- Biological Pest Control and Ecosystem Services Laboratory, Instituto Murciano de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Medioambiental. C/Mayor s/n, La Alberca, 30150 Murcia, Spain
| | - Ian Bobbitt
- Section of Conservation Biology, University of Basel, St. Johanns-Vorstadt 10, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
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Braschler B, Gilgado JD, Rusterholz H, Buchholz S, Zwahlen V, Baur B. Functional diversity and habitat preferences of native grassland plants and ground-dwelling invertebrates in private gardens along an urbanization gradient. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:17043-17059. [PMID: 34938491 PMCID: PMC8668791 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Urbanization is occurring around the globe, changing environmental conditions and influencing biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Urban domestic gardens represent a small-grained mosaic of diverse habitats for numerous species. The challenging conditions in urban gardens support species possessing certain traits, and exclude other species. Functional diversity is therefore often altered in urban gardens. By using a multi-taxa approach focused on native grassland plants and ground-dwelling invertebrates with overall low mobility (snails, slugs, spiders, millipedes, woodlice, ants, rove beetles), we examined the effects of urbanization (distance to city center, percentage of sealed area) and garden characteristics on functional dispersion, functional evenness, habitat preferences and body size. We conducted a field survey in 35 domestic gardens along a rural-urban gradient in Basel, Switzerland. The various groups showed different responses to urbanization. Functional dispersion of native grassland plants decreased with increasing distance to the city center, while functional dispersion of ants decreased with increasing percentage of sealed area. Functional evenness of ants increased with increasing distance to the city center and that of rove beetles decreased with increasing percentage of sealed area. Contrary to our expectation, in rove beetles, the proportion of generalists decreased with increasing percentage of sealed area in the surroundings, and the proportion of species preferring dry conditions increased with increasing distance to the city center. Body size of species increased with distance to city center for slugs, spiders, millipedes, ants, and rove beetles. Local garden characteristics had few effects on functional diversity and habitat preferences of the groups examined. Our study supports the importance of using multi-taxa approaches when examining effects of environmental change on biodiversity. Considering only a single group may result in misleading findings for overall biodiversity. The ground-dwelling invertebrates investigated may be affected in different ways from the more often-studied flying pollinators or birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brigitte Braschler
- Section of Conservation BiologyDepartment of Environmental SciencesUniversity of BaselBaselSwitzerland
| | - José D. Gilgado
- Section of Conservation BiologyDepartment of Environmental SciencesUniversity of BaselBaselSwitzerland
| | - Hans‐Peter Rusterholz
- Section of Conservation BiologyDepartment of Environmental SciencesUniversity of BaselBaselSwitzerland
| | - Sascha Buchholz
- Department of EcologyTechnische Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
- Berlin‐Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB)BerlinGermany
| | - Valerie Zwahlen
- Section of Conservation BiologyDepartment of Environmental SciencesUniversity of BaselBaselSwitzerland
| | - Bruno Baur
- Section of Conservation BiologyDepartment of Environmental SciencesUniversity of BaselBaselSwitzerland
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Seidenath D, Holzinger A, Kemnitz K, Langhof N, Lücker D, Opel T, Otti O, Feldhaar H. Individual vs. Combined Short-Term Effects of Soil Pollutants on Colony Founding in a Common Ant Species. FRONTIERS IN INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 1:761881. [PMID: 38468894 PMCID: PMC10926528 DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2021.761881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Insects are integral to terrestrial life and provide essential ecosystem functions such as pollination and nutrient cycling. Due to massive declines in insect biomass, abundance, or species richness in recent years, the focus has turned to find their causes. Anthropogenic pollution is among the main drivers of insect declines. Research addressing the effects of pollutants concentrates on aquatic insects and pollinators, despite the apparent risk of contaminated soils. Pollutants accumulating in the soil might pose a significant threat because concentrations tend to be high and different pollutants are present simultaneously. Here, we exposed queens of the black garden ant Lasius niger at the colony founding stage to different concentrations and combinations of pollutants (brake dust, soot, microplastic particles and fibers, manure) to determine dose-dependent effects and interactions between stressors. As proxies for colony founding success, we measured queen survival, the development time of the different life stages, the brood weight, and the number of offspring. Over the course of the experiment queen mortality was very low and similar across treatments. Only high manure concentrations affected the colony founding success. Eggs from queens exposed to high manure concentrations took longer to hatch, which resulted in a delayed emergence of workers. Also, fewer pupae and workers were raised by those queens. Brake dust, soot and plastic particles did not visibly affect colony founding success, neither as single nor as multiple stressors. The application of manure, however, affected colony founding in L. niger negatively underlining the issue of excessive manure application to our environment. Even though anthropogenic soil pollutants seem to have little short-term effects on ant colony founding, studies will have to elucidate potential long-term effects as a colony grows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitri Seidenath
- Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Anja Holzinger
- Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Klara Kemnitz
- Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Nico Langhof
- Department of Ceramic Materials Engineering, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Darleen Lücker
- Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Thorsten Opel
- Department of Ceramic Materials Engineering, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Oliver Otti
- Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Heike Feldhaar
- Animal Population Ecology, Animal Ecology I, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
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