Interdisciplinary approaches to advancing anti-racist pedagogies in ecology,evolution, and conservation biology

Racism permeates ecology, evolution, and conservation biology (EECB). Meaningfully advancing equity, inclusion, and belonging requires an interdisciplinary anti-racist pedagogical approach to educate our community in how racism shaped our field. Here, we apply this framework, highlight disparities and interdisciplinary practices across institutions globally, and emphasize that self-reflection is paramount before implementing anti-racist interventions.     

The longevity of Leptopsylla segnis fleas (Siphonaptera: Leptopsyllidae)

In experiments, the mean life duration of fleas Leptopsylla segnis on white mice (abundance of fleas within natural limits, up to 10 fleas per mouse) was 22.7 days in females and 18.8 day in males. Maximum life duration was 51 and 37 days respectively. In cases, when the initial numbers of fleas were 20 and 28-34 fleas, the duration of life was decreased. The maximum limit decreased greater than the mean duration of life. A survival dynamics of fleas depended upon the flea number. It was found out, that in cases of high abundance of fleas in the beginning of experiments, the mortality rate of males was lower than in females. During the stay on a host the fleas lost gradually an ability to endure a starvation. Possible mechanisms of the regulation of flea abundance are discussed.     

Bird fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera): taxonomic diversity, biogeographical distribution

If Mammals are the primary hosts of Siphonaptera, 6% of them have changed their trophic appetency for Birds. What are the reasons, what are the adaptations to be adopted by Fleas, what are the families or species groups of fleas concerned, and at last what are the host-families? As to this last question, it is clear that deviation was ecological but not phyletical.     

Three new fleas from Sulawesi, Indonesia (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae & Ceratophyllidae)

Gryphopsylla maxomydis n. sp. (Pygiopsyllidae), Medwayella rubrisciurae n. sp. (Pygiopsyllidae) and Macrostylophora theresae n. sp. (Ceratophyllidae) are described from endemic rodents in Sulawesi. Gryphopsylla maxomydis was collected from the murids Maxomys musschenbroekii and Paruromys dominator in Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah). However, M. musschenbroekii appears to be the true host of this flea because it has spiny pelage and G. maxomydis shows morphological adaptations for parasitizing spiny hosts including a remarkable "beak-like" structure on the head. This adatation is similar to a beak-like structure on the head of Gryphopsyllo hopkinsi (Traub) which parasitizes the spiny murid Maxomys whiteheadi in Borneo (Sabah). Medwayella rubrisciurae was collected from the large tree squirrel Rubrisciurus rubriventer in Central Sulawesi and this represents the first report of this flea genus in Sulawesi. Macrostylophora theresce was recorded from the murids Bunomys fratrorum, P. dominator and Rattus xanthurus in North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara); most other members of this flea genus parasitize squirrels in the Oriental and Palaearctic zoogeographical regions.     

Systematics and evolution of the genus Paraceroglyphus and related taxa (Acari: Acaridae) associated with fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera)

Collections of fleas from terrestrial Sciuridae from New Mexico and Montana yielded 2 species of acarid mites: Acarus monopsyllus from Ceratophyllus ciliatus and Paraceroglyphus cynomydis n. sp. from 4 species of Oropsylla. The genera Acarus, Paraceroglyphus, and Trichopsyllopus form a clade distinct from other genera of flea-associated mites, with Paraceroglyphus the sister group of the other 2 genera. Paraceroglyphus cynomydis is the sister group of a clade comprising P. xenopsylla and possibly P. californicus, with P. meles as the nearest outgroup.     

The relevance of time series in molecular ecology and conservation biology

The genetic structure of a species is shaped by the interaction of contemporary and historical factors. Analyses of individuals from the same population sampled at different points in time can help to disentangle the effects of current and historical forces and facilitate the understanding of the forces driving the differentiation of populations. The use of such time series allows for the exploration of changes at the population and intraspecific levels over time. Material from museum collections plays a key role in understanding and evaluating observed population structures, especially if large numbers of individuals have been sampled from the same locations at multiple time points. In these cases, changes in population structure can be assessed empirically. The development of new molecular markers relying on short DNA fragments (such as microsatellites or single nucleotide polymorphisms) allows for the analysis of long‐preserved and partially degraded samples. Recently developed techniques to construct genome libraries with a reduced complexity and next generation sequencing and their associated analysis pipelines have the potential to facilitate marker development and genotyping in non‐model species. In this review, we discuss the problems with sampling and available marker systems for historical specimens and demonstrate that temporal comparative studies are crucial for the estimation of important population genetic parameters and to measure empirically the effects of recent habitat alteration. While many of these analyses can be performed with samples taken at a single point in time, the measurements are more robust if multiple points in time are studied. Furthermore, examining the effects of habitat alteration, population declines, and population bottlenecks is only possible if samples before and after the respective events are included.     

From forest fires to fisheries management: Anthropology,conservation biology,and historical ecology

Human‐environmental relationships have long been of interest to a variety of scientists, including ecologists, biologists, anthropologists, and many others. 1 , 2 In anthropology, this interest was especially prevalent among cultural ecologists of the 1970s and earlier, who tended to explain culture as the result of techno‐environmental constraints. 3 More recently researchers have used historical ecology, an approach that focuses on the long‐term dialectical relationship between humans and their environments, as well as long‐term prehuman ecological datasets. 4 - 7 An important contribution of anthropology to historical ecology is that anthropological datasets dealing with ethnohistory, traditional ecological knowledge, and human skeletal analysis, as well as archeological datasets on faunal and floral remains, artifacts, geochemistry, and stratigraphic analysis, provide a deep time perspective (across decades, centuries, and millennia) on the evolution of ecosystems and the place of people in those larger systems. Historical ecological data also have an applied component that can provide important information on the relative abundances of flora and fauna, changes in biogeography, alternations in food webs, landscape evolution, and much more.     

A molecular phylogeny of fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera): origins and host associations

Siphonaptera (fleas) is a highly specialized order of holometabolous insects comprising ～2500 species placed in 16 families. Despite a long history of extensive work on flea classification and biology, phylogenetic relationships among fleas are virtually unknown. We present the first formal analysis of flea relationships based on a molecular matrix of four loci (18S ribosomal DNA, 28S ribosomal DNA, Cytochrome Oxidase II, and Elongation Factor 1‐alpha) for 128 flea taxa from around the world representing 16 families, 25 subfamilies, 26 tribes, and 83 flea genera with eight outgroups. Trees were reconstructed using direct optimization and maximum likelihood techniques. Our analysis supports Tungidae as the most basal flea lineage, sister group to the remainder of the extant fleas. Pygiopsyllomorpha is monophyletic, as are the constituent families Lycopsyllidae, Pygiopsyllidae, and Stivaliidae, with a sister group relationship between the latter two families. Macropsyllidae is resolved as sister group to Coptopsyllidae with moderate nodal support. Stephanociricidae is monophyletic, as are the two constituent subfamilies Stephanocircinae and Craneopsyllinae. Vermipsyllidae is placed as sister group to Jordanopsylla. Rhopalopsyllidae is monophyletic as are the two constituent subfamilies Rhopalopsyllinae and Parapsyllinae. Hystrichopsyllidae is paraphyletic with Hystrichopsyllini placed as sister to some species of Anomiopsyllini and Ctenopariini placed as sister to Carterettini. Ctenophthalmidae is grossly paraphyletic with the family broken into seven lineages dispersed on the tree. Most notably, Anomiopsyllini is paraphyletic. Pulicidae and Chimaeropsyllidae are both monophyletic and these families are sister groups. Ceratophyllomorpha is monophyletic and includes Ischnopsyllidae, Ceratophyllidae, and Leptopsyllidae. Leptopsyllidae is paraphyletic as are its constituent subfamilies Amphipsyllinae and Leptopsyllinae and the tribes Amphipsyllini and Leptopsyllini. Ischnopsyllidae is monophyletic. Ceratophyllidae is monophyletic, with a monophyletic Dactypsyllinae nested within Ceratophyllinae, rendering the latter group paraphyletic. Mapping of general host associations on our topology reveals an early association with mammals with four independent shifts to birds. © The Willi Hennig Society 2008.     

The plague in Vietnam: history and inventory of collected fleas (insecta, Siphonaptera) in the inhabited zones

Ten flea species are reported in anthropic zones of Vietnam. Xenopsylla vexabilis is also here included because of it has been involved in others plague's countries. Lentistivalius klossi is the only selvatic flea known as parasite of synanthropic rats. L. klossi bispiniformis (Li and Wang, 1958), first describe from Chinese specimens, is here synonymized (syn. nov.) with the nominal subspecies.     

A festschrift for Jeremy B.C. Jackson and his integration of paleobiology, ecology, evolution, and conservation biology

This collection of papers is dedicated to the career and achievements of Dr. Jeremy B.C. Jackson, and is written by a sample of his students, post-docs, and colleagues over his career. Jackson is an influential leader in cross-disciplinary research integrating ecology and paleontology. His contributions are broad in scope, and range in topic from the ecological and evolutionary consequences of the formation of the Central American Isthmus to the long-term impacts of human activities on the oceans. Two areas of particular interest have been the evolutionary ecology of coral reef organisms and the tempo and mode of speciation in the sea. Papers in the collection examine: colonial marine animals (Buss and Rice, Lidgard et al.), marrying genes and fossils (Budd et al., Marko and Hart, Palumbi et al., Jagadeeshan and O’Dea), the geography, tempo, and mode of evolution (Bromfield and Pandolfi, Norris and Hull, Vermeij, Erwin and Tweedt), and marine ecosystem health (Sandin and Sala).     

Taenia tapeworms: their biology,evolution and socioeconomic significance

A biological context for understanding human pathogens and parasites emanates from evolutionary studies among tapeworms of the genus Taenia. Human taeniasis and cysticercosis represent archaic associations and remain significant challenges for socioeconomic development, public health and food safety, and a continuing threat to animal production on a global basis.