Arthropods of a semi-natural grassland in an urban environment: the John F. Kennedy International Airport,New York

Semi-natural grassland habitat fragments, such as those found on airports, might be important for arthropod conservation and biodiversity in urban ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe the arthropod communities present within the grasslands on the John F. Kennedy International Airport and (2) assess spatial and temporal variation in those arthropod communities. We collected arthropods using a vacuum sampler during 2003 and using sweep-net collection methods during 2003 and 2004. During 2003, a total of 1,467 arthropods, representing 17 orders and 68 families were found in vacuum samples. A total of 3,784 arthropods, representing 12 orders and 94 families were collected in sweep-net samples during 2003. In 2004, a total of 3,281 arthropods, representing 12 orders and 85 families were collected in sweep-net samples. Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Diptera were the most abundant taxa, accounting for 47, 18, and 14% of all arthropods captured, respectively. We found evidence of spatial and temporal variation in arthropod abundance, in particular as noted by fluctuations in Orthoptera: Acrididae and Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha. Hemipteran family diversity was also influenced by habitat type. Grassland habitats on airfields, although influenced by anthropogenic factors (e.g., mowing), have the potential to provide abundant and diverse arthropod communities and might serve as a refugium for such species within urban ecosystems.     

Adapting light trap to catch household insects in central Cameroon: a pilot study

Various trapping methods and techniques developed for entomological studies are inefficient in attracting all arthropod groups. A new simple light trap, the basin light trap (BLT), to collect arthropod fauna around household in central Cameroon was thus designed. Its performance is evaluated by comparing collected data with those obtained by the Centre for Disease Control light trap (CDC) commonly used in mosquito studies. BLT were activated between 6 and 10 pm and CDC between 5 pm and 8 am. A total of 36,804 arthropods specimens were collected and sorted into 115 families within 20 orders and three phyla (Myriapoda, Arachnida and Hexapoda). BLT attracted more individuals (22,250 vs 14,554), families (106 vs 65) and significantly more families per night (33.0 ± 15.9 vs 21.0 ± 8.5) than CDC. Some families were collected by only one specific trap type while others overlapped between the two traps. Prosopistomatidae (Ephemeroptera) was the most abundant family collected by BLT. In contrast, Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) was the most abundant taxon trapped by CDC. These results indicate that collecting methods such as BLT complement available trapping methods in evaluating arthropod fauna in and around households.     

Improving representativeness of genebank collections through species distribution models, gap analysis and ecogeographical maps

An efficient germplasm collecting method was evaluated using six Lupinus species and the Spanish Lupinus collection as a study case. This method includes the application of geographic information systems, ecogeographical land characterization maps, species distribution models and gap analysis to identify prioritized collecting sites. To evaluate the efficiency of this collecting method, field collecting expeditions were carried out focusing on prioritized sites and the results of these collections were analyzed. Prioritized sites were identified using spatial and ecogeographical gaps, and potential species richness maps. The spatial gaps corresponded to populations non-included in the collection but recorded by other information sources while ecogeographical gaps corresponded to spatial gaps that were located in ecogeographical categories (obtained from the ecogeographical map) that were scarcely represented in the collection. A potential Lupinus species richness map was obtained by adding the information of single maps of Lupinus species distribution models. Subsequently, prioritized sites were obtained in ecogeographical gaps with high potential species richness values. Collecting expeditions were made in Spain in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Results showed that using the efficient germplasm collecting methodology was highly positive not only from a quantitative viewpoint (between 7.8 and 11% increase) but also in qualitative terms, focusing collection efforts in ecogeographical categories with low or null representation in the Spanish Lupinus collection (41% of the new accessions). Phenotypic differences related to adaptation to environment were observed in the field between the populations that grow in low or null represented categories and those that grow in highly represented categories.     

A comparison of vacuum sampling versus sweep-netting for arthropod biodiversity measurements in California coastal sage scrub

The recent growth of conservation biology has demanded that faster and more effective measures of biodiversity be utilized. Arthropods, due to high levels of diversity and their relative ease of capture, are often the subject of such surveys. The vacuum sampler, used quite often in the context of agricultural arthropod surveys, has never been adequately evaluated or compared to more traditional collection techniques in relatively complex ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the vacuum sampler was more or less effective than a sweep-net in measuring arthropod biodiversity in California coastal sage scrub. The results show that significantly more individuals were collected by the vacuum sampler per unit effort for three out of six orders of arthropods examined. In addition, the vacuum sampler collected a significantly greater number of arthropod species than the sweep-net technique for two out of the six orders sampled. There were no significant differences in the number of species collected for the remaining four orders. We feel these findings are important for arthropod biodiversity studies utilized for conservation efforts as the vacuum sampler can attain a level of efficiency and sensitivity (with regard to species detection) that sweep-net techniques cannot. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

An inventory of the foliar,soil, and dung arthropod communities in pastures of the southeastern United States

Grassland systems constitute a significant portion of the land area in the United States and as a result harbors significant arthropod biodiversity. During this time of biodiversity loss around the world, bioinventories of ecologically important habitats serve as important indicators for the effectiveness of conservation efforts. We conducted a bioinventory of the foliar, soil, and dung arthropod communities in 10 cattle pastures located in the southeastern United States during the 2018 grazing season. In sum, 126,251 arthropod specimens were collected. From the foliar community, 13 arthropod orders were observed, with the greatest species richness found in Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Hemiptera. The soil‐dwelling arthropod community contained 18 orders. The three orders comprising the highest species richness were Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera. Lastly, 12 arthropod orders were collected from cattle dung, with the greatest species richness found in Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera. Herbivores were the most abundant functional guild found in the foliar community, and predators were most abundant in the soil and dung communities. Arthropod pests constituted a small portion of the pasture arthropod communities, with 1.01%, 0.34%, and 0.46% pests found in the foliar, soil, and dung communities, respectively. While bioinventories demand considerable time, energy, and resources to accomplish, the information from these inventories has many uses for conservation efforts, land management recommendations, and the direction of climate change science.     

板蓝根田节肢动物群落的结构与多样性研究

为了解河南省板蓝根田节肢动物群落的结构组成及物种多样性,该研究采用5点随机取样,通过网捕法和目测法调查并记录了板蓝根植株及地面上的节肢动物种类和数量。结果表明:河南省板蓝根田节肢动物群落物种丰富,共采集到2 613头,隶属于2纲10目39科61种。其中,植食性种类和捕食性种类均为24种(各占39.34%),寄生性种类4种(占6.56%),中性种类9种(占14.75%)。蜘蛛的种类占群落总种数的比例最高(为21.31%),表明田间的蜘蛛种类最丰富。鳞翅目物种的个体数量远大于其他的目,占群落个体数的43.78%。菜青虫和小菜蛾的相对丰盛度最高,分别为0.184 8和0.162 6,说明二者是河南省板蓝根田的优势害虫。捕食性集团的均匀度指数最高,寄生性集团的优势度指数最高,其中小菜蛾幼虫的寄生性天敌菜蛾盘绒茧蜂的数量最大。     

Taking eDNA underground: Factors affecting eDNA detection of subterranean fauna in groundwater

Stygofauna are aquatic fauna that have evolved to live underground. The impacts of anthropogenic climate change, extraction and pollution on groundwater pose major threats to groundwater health, prompting the need for efficient and reliable means to detect and monitor stygofaunal communities. Conventional survey techniques for these species rely on morphological identification and can be biased, labour-intensive and often indeterminate to lower taxonomic levels. By contrast, environmental DNA (eDNA)-based methods have the potential to dramatically improve on existing stygofaunal survey methods in a large range of habitats and for all life stages, reducing the need for the destructive manual collection of often critically endangered species or for specialized taxonomic expertise. We compared eDNA and haul-net samples collected in 2020 and 2021 from 19 groundwater bores and a cave on Barrow Island, northwest Western Australia, and assessed how sampling factors influenced the quality of eDNA detection of stygofauna. The two detection methods were complementary; eDNA metabarcoding was able to detect soft-bodied taxa and fish often missed by nets, but only detected seven of the nine stygofaunal crustacean orders identified from haul-net specimens. Our results also indicated that eDNA metabarcoding could detect 54%–100% of stygofauna from shallow-water samples and 82%–90% from sediment samples. However, there was significant variation in stygofaunal diversity between sample years and sampling types. The findings of this study demonstrate that haul-net sampling has a tendency to underestimate stygofaunal diversity and that eDNA metabarcoding of groundwater can substantially improve the efficiency of stygofaunal surveys.     

Acquisition of Cry1Ac Protein by Non-Target Arthropods in Bt Soybean Fields

Soybean tissue and arthropods were collected in Bt soybean fields in China at different times during the growing season to investigate the exposure of arthropods to the plant-produced Cry1Ac toxin and the transmission of the toxin within the food web. Samples from 52 arthropod species/taxa belonging to 42 families in 10 orders were analysed for their Cry1Ac content using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among the 22 species/taxa for which three samples were analysed, toxin concentration was highest in the grasshopper Atractomorpha sinensis and represented about 50% of the concentration in soybean leaves. Other species/taxa did not contain detectable toxin or contained a concentration that was between 1 and 10% of that detected in leaves. These Cry1Ac-positive arthropods included a number of mesophyll-feeding Hemiptera, a cicadellid, a curculionid beetle and, among the predators, a thomisid spider and an unidentified predatory bug belonging to the Anthocoridae. Within an arthropod species/taxon, the Cry1Ac content sometimes varied between life stages (nymphs/larvae vs. adults) and sampling dates (before, during, and after flowering). Our study is the first to provide information on Cry1Ac-expression levels in soybean plants and Cry1Ac concentrations in non-target arthropods in Chinese soybean fields. The data will be useful for assessing the risk of non-target arthropod exposure to Cry1Ac in soybean.     

广东鼎湖山自然保护区生物主模式标本内容分析

为了解鼎湖山物种分类学研究的历史,采用内容分析法对采自广东鼎湖山自然保护区的生物主模式标本信息进行了分析。结果表明,鼎湖山自然保护区的生物主模式标本共含202种生物(亚种或变种),分属3界10门20纲54目104科146属,其中植物界63种、动物界68种、菌物界71种。有194份标本(另8份无采集人信息)涉及77位采集人(或其团队),有67家机构的147人参与新种命名, 67种期刊的140条文献参与新种发表, 38个国内外机构保存了200种的标本,物种在30%的科、目、采集人、第1命名人、期刊和存放地各分配了约70%的数量,呈现类似"二八定律"所述的不平衡现象。1978至1997年是标本采集并命名的高峰期,标本采集率为55.45%、标本命名率为58.91%;植物标本的采集和命名早于动物和真菌。鼎湖山物种的橱柜时间(标本采集到命名间隔的时间)平均为7.56 a,且植物的长于动物和菌物。鼎湖山主模式标本生物的物种密度比邻近保护区的要高。     

Mrakia curviuscula sp. Nov.--a new species of psychrophilic yeasts from forest substrates

Seven strains with similar characteristics from the laboratory collection of yeasts isolated from forest substrates collected in the central part of European Russia corresponded to none of the known yeast species. Based on the study of their life cycle, physiological characteristics, and the nucleotide composition of DNA and taking into account the data of PCR analysis with universal primers, the strains were ascribed to a new psychrophilic yeast species, Mrakia curviuscula sp. nov.     

Comparison of benthic macroinvertebrate communities by two methods: Kick- and U-net sampling

The assessment of benthic invertebrate community condition is an integral component of freshwater biomonitoring and water quality determination. Several sampling devices have been developed to collect benthic macroinvertebrates, including qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative methods. In this study, we compared several benthic macroinvertebrate metrics and community assemblage measures calculated from data obtained from two sampling methods, namely the Kick- and U-net sampling devices. We reasoned that if the two methods produced similar values for benthic metrics and community composition, then samples collected by these methods should be able to be combined to build larger data sets for use in regional bioassessment analyses. No statistical differences between Kick- and U-net methods were found among standard benthic macroinvertebrate metrics, except for Kick-nets collecting more Chironomidae. Invertebrate assemblages were very similar between collection methods, although slightly greater taxonomic richness was found in U-net samples. Bray–Curtis similarity was typically >75% between methods within a stream, while classification strength-sampling-method comparability, an approach for analyzing differences in similarity between groups, indicated invertebrate assemblage similarity between collection methods was virtually identical at approximately 100%. Since these two methods produce similar results, we conclude that benthic macroinvertebrate data collected by these methods can be combined for data analysis and bioassessments with the caveat that mesh size of the sample nets is similar. In addition, if the primary study objective is to assess macroinvertebrate biodiversity, then the U-net sampling device may be more appropriate, despite the slightly greater time needed to complete field sample collection, as it tended to collect a greater diversity of species.     

黄顶菊凋落物分解对节肢动物群落结构的影响

选择黄顶菊(Flaveria bidentis)入侵的林地、农田、荒地、沟渠等4种生境作为调查样地, 比较黄顶菊与本地植物凋落物的分解速率及凋落物分解对节肢动物群落结构的影响。于2014年10月凋落物高峰期在各样地内分别搜集黄顶菊与本地植物的凋落物, 每种凋落物称取20 g装入尼龙网分解袋中, 放入各生境。2015年的每个月将不同生境不同处理凋落袋各取回10袋, 用Tullgren法分离节肢动物。 4种生境共捕获17,466头, 隶属8纲18目, 4种生境的优势类群皆为蜱螨目和啮目。其中, 林地、农田、荒地、沟渠4种生境处理组中节肢动物数量分别为1,698头, 1,838头, 2,631头, 3,413头, 分别比对照组高18%, 53%, 22%, 11%。多数月份黄顶菊凋落物中的节肢动物丰富度及多样性指数高于同生境对照组, 并且在黄顶菊生长盛期差异显著; 黄顶菊凋落物的分解速率高于对照植物分解速率, 且各月份凋落物分解速率动态与节肢动物数量变化动态呈显著相关。黄顶菊凋落物对节肢动物的影响与人为干扰程度有关, 这种影响在人为干扰较小的荒地与沟渠生境中更为明显。综上所述, 黄顶菊凋落物的分解改变了节肢动物群落结构, 并引起节肢动物多样性的升高。     

Toward an optimal sampling protocol for Hemiptera on understorey plants

There are no standardised sampling protocols for inventorying Hemiptera from understorey or canopy plants. This paper proposes an optimal protocol for the understorey, after evaluating the efficiency of seven methods to maximise the richness of Hemiptera collected from plants with minimal field and laboratory time. The methods evaluated were beating, chemical knockdown, sweeping, branch clipping, hand collecting, vacuum sampling and sticky trapping. These techniques were tested at two spatial scales: 1 ha sites and individual plants. In addition, because efficiency may differ with vegetation structure, sampling of sites was conducted in three disparate understorey habitats, and sampling of individual plants was conducted across 33 plant species. No single method sampled the majority of hemipteran species in the understorey. Chemical knockdown, vacuum sampling and beating yielded speciose samples (61, 61 and 30 species, respectively, representing 53, 53 and 26% of total species collected). The four remaining methods provided species-poor samples (<18 species or <16% of total species collected). These methods also had biases towards particular taxa (e.g., branch clipping and hand collecting targeted sessile Hemiptera, and sticky trapping were dominated by five species of Psyllidae). The most time-efficient methods were beating, sweeping and hand collecting (200 minutes of field and laboratory time yielded >7 species for each technique). By comparison, vacuum sampling, sticky trapping, branch clipping and chemical knockdown yielded <5 species for the same period. Chemical knockdown had further disadvantages; high financial cost and potential spray drift. The most effective methods for a standardised sampling protocol to inventory Hemiptera from the understorey are beating and vacuum sampling. If used in combination, these methods optimise the catch of understorey hemipteran species, as their samples have high complementarity.     

Environmental DNA metabarcoding of wild flowers reveals diverse communities of terrestrial arthropods

Terrestrial arthropods comprise the most species‐rich communities on Earth, and grassland flowers provide resources for hundreds of thousands of arthropod species. Diverse grassland ecosystems worldwide are threatened by various types of environmental change, which has led to decline in arthropod diversity. At the same time, monitoring grassland arthropod diversity is time‐consuming and strictly dependent on declining taxonomic expertise. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of complex samples has demonstrated that information on species compositions can be efficiently and non‐invasively obtained. Here, we test the potential of wild flowers as a novel source of arthropod eDNA. We performed eDNA metabarcoding of flowers from several different plant species using two sets of generic primers, targeting the mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA and COI. Our results show that terrestrial arthropod species leave traces of DNA on the flowers that they interact with. We obtained eDNA from at least 135 arthropod species in 67 families and 14 orders, together representing diverse ecological groups including pollinators, parasitoids, gall inducers, predators, and phytophagous species. Arthropod communities clustered together according to plant species. Our data also indicate that this experiment was not exhaustive, and that an even higher arthropod richness could be obtained using this eDNA approach. Overall, our results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain information on diverse communities of insects and other terrestrial arthropods from eDNA metabarcoding of wild flowers. This novel source of eDNA represents a vast potential for addressing fundamental research questions in ecology, obtaining data on cryptic and unknown species of plant‐associated arthropods, as well as applied research on pest management or conservation of endangered species such as wild pollinators.     

Incidence of Wolbachia in aquatic insects

Wolbachia is a genus of intracellular bacteria typically found within the reproductive systems of insects that manipulates those systems of their hosts. While current estimates of Wolbachia incidence suggest that it infects approximately half of all arthropod species, these estimates are based almost entirely on terrestrial insects. No systematic survey of Wolbachia in aquatic insects has been performed. To estimate Wolbachia incidence among aquatic insect species, we combined field‐collected samples from the Missouri River (251 samples from 58 species) with a global database from previously published surveys. The final database contained 5,598 samples of 2,687 total species (228 aquatic and 2,459 terrestrial). We estimate that 52% (95% CrIs: 44%–60%) of aquatic insect species carry Wolbachia, compared to 60% (58%–63%) of terrestrial insects. Among aquatic insects, infected orders included Odonata, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, and Plecoptera. Incidence was highest within aquatic Diptera and Hemiptera (69%), Odonata (50%), and Coleoptera (53%), and was lowest within Ephemeroptera (13%). These results indicate that Wolbachia is common among aquatic insects, but incidence varies widely across orders and is especially uncertain in those orders with low sample sizes such as Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera.     

贵州波多洞和甲良洞内部分环境因子与动物群落结构的相关性

在2002-2005年的2月和7月多次赴荔波波多洞和甲良洞对肉眼能见到的软体动物、节肢动物和脊索动物进行了观察和采集。在波多洞共获标本1045号,隶属3门6纲13目27科45种或类群,在甲良洞共获标本469号,隶属3门6纲9目24科52种或类群。根据上述两洞内各光带中动物种类和数量组成,可划分为6个动物群落。经群落多样性分析,物种丰富度、群落多样性、最大多样性、均匀度、优势度和相似性指数最高的分别是群落D（8.3223）、D（3.4677）、D（3.8286）、D（0.9057）、C（0.0404）和D-E（0.6611）。环境因子与群落多样性的相关分析结果显示：土壤中有机质的含量与物种数、物种丰富度、群落多样性和群落最大多样性指数都呈极显著正相关（相关系数分别为0.908、0.913、0.826和0.818）,与群落均匀度指数呈显著正相关（相关系数为0.674）;空气中CO2的含量与物种数、物种丰富度、群落多样性、群落最大多样性和均匀度指数都呈负相关（相关系数分别为-0.324、-0.552、-0.573、-0.345和-0.742）。这些结果暗示土壤有机质的含量和空气中CO2的含量是影响洞穴动物群落变化的重要因子。     

eDNA metabarcoding of avocado flowers: ‘Hass’ it got potential to survey arthropods in food production systems?

In the face of global biodiversity declines, surveys of beneficial and antagonistic arthropod diversity as well as the ecological services that they provide are increasingly important in both natural and agro-ecosystems. Conventional survey methods used to monitor these communities often require extensive taxonomic expertise and are time-intensive, potentially limiting their application in industries such as agriculture, where arthropods often play a critical role in productivity (e.g. pollinators, pests and predators). Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of a novel substrate, crop flowers, may offer an accurate and high throughput alternative to aid in the detection of these managed and unmanaged taxa. Here, we compared the arthropod communities detected with eDNA metabarcoding of flowers, from an agricultural species (Persea americana—‘Hass’ avocado), with two conventional survey techniques: digital video recording (DVR) devices and pan traps. In total, 80 eDNA flower samples, 96 h of DVRs and 48 pan trap samples were collected. Across the three methods, 49 arthropod families were identified, of which 12 were unique to the eDNA dataset. Environmental DNA metabarcoding from flowers revealed potential arthropod pollinators, as well as plant pests and parasites. Alpha diversity levels did not differ across the three survey methods although taxonomic composition varied significantly, with only 12% of arthropod families found to be common across all three methods. eDNA metabarcoding of flowers has the potential to revolutionize the way arthropod communities are monitored in natural and agro-ecosystems, potentially detecting the response of pollinators and pests to climate change, diseases, habitat loss and other disturbances.     

Species identification of small fish in Xixuan Island coastal waters of Zhoushan using DNA barcoding

This study aimed to assess the fish species composition in Xixuan Island coastal waters and confirm the applicability of DNA barcoding in fish identification. Fish samples were caught with a gill net in December 2016 and in January, February, April, May and June 2017, and the fish species in these samples were analyzed and identified via both traditional morphological methods and DNA barcoding (mitochondrial 12S rRNA). The sample contained 1,357 individuals, the majority of which were Tridentiger barbatus (829 individuals). A total of 154 individuals were selected for DNA barcode analysis, and 147 sequences were obtained. A total of 35 species, which belonged to six orders and 16 families, were accurately identified. One species was identified to the genus level (Repomucenus), and only one was identified to the family level (Moridae). Most of the species belonged to Gobiidae (12 species). With the exception of those in Moridae, the identified species were commonly detected on the Zhejiang coast. The average Kimura two-parameter (K2P) distances within species, genera, families, and order and between orders were 0.15%, 4.44%, 14.96%, 20.37%, and 26.20%, respectively. The intraspecific K2P distance was markedly greater than the interspecific distance. The A + T content (55.41%) was higher than the G + C content (44.58%). Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that individuals belonging to the same species were clustered together and could be clearly distinguished. Mitochondrial 12S rRNA can be effectively used for juvenile and adult fish identification and has good application prospects in fish species identification. The investigation and species identification of small fish collected monthly from Xixuan Island coastal waters are conducive to understanding the distribution characteristics and species composition of fish in the Zhoushan coastal area.     

The community structures of the coniferous and deciduous dead wood‐dwelling arthropods in Korea

We examined the structure of the arthropod community among deciduous and coniferous dead woods along the process of wood decay. We collected dead wood‐dwelling arthropods from April 2010 to October 2011 by using a vacuum aspirator and an electric chain saw in three areas (Mt. Woonak, Mt. Wolchul, Mt. Jingang) in Korea. We identified them to species levels and classified them into functional groups. We collected 8792 arthropods (5 classes, 20 orders, 58 families, and 93 species). The species richness and abundance of arthropods increased with the progress of decay in dead woods. The evenness index seemed to be shown at a lower value at late decay stage than at early‐ and mid‐decay stages. The diversity index (H′) in conifers was lower than that in deciduous dead woods at the early decay stage but this situation was reversed at the late decay stage. Arthropod communities of functional groups, except the xylophagous insects, did not differ in the variables, but the proportion of xylophagous insects increased as the decay stages progressed. The abundance of arthropods and xylophagous was statistically significantly different. The patterns generated by non‐metric multidimensional scaling in the overall arthropod community composition revealed that the species composition between study areas were significantly different. We confirmed that dead woods play very important roles as arthropods' habitats. Thus, we suggest that the role of dead woods should be emphasized in the management of forest ecosystems.