Background: The genus Theridion Walckenaer, 1805 comprises 577 species, distributed all over the world and it is common in habitat species, such as grasses, barks and deciduous layers.
New information: A new cobweb species, Theridion ganjiangyuan Zhou, sp. nov., is described from the Ganjiangyuan National Nature Reserve, in Jiangxi Province, China. A detailed description, diagnosis, illustrations and a distribution map of the new species are provided.
Background: Agricultural expansion, a leading driver of biodiversity loss, has widespread effects on ecosystem services, particularly in tropical regions. In West Africa, the impact of intensified agriculture on local biodiversity - especially predator and decomposer species like spiders and ants - is understudied. This study aims to provide a checklist of terrestrial spiders and ants associated with savannahs and mango orchards in northern Ghana thus creating a baseline for further ecological studies on the community composition of these groups.
New information: In this data paper, we publish the baseline checklist and morphological measurements of spiders (Araneae) and ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) associated with forest savannahs and mango orchards located in northern Ghana. In total, we collected 64 species (28 unidentified morphospecies) of spiders and 64 species (24 unidentified morphospecies) of ants. Of these, almost all spider species and nine ant species were new records for Ghana, while many of the morphospecies could potentially be species new to science. In addition, we publish standardised morphological measurements of each species for potential functional diversity studies in the future.
The article presents data on the distribution of four Najas species in Lithuania, starting from the first records at the beginning of the 19th century. The work is based on a review of specimens stored in Lithuanian herbaria, paying special attention to the localities indicated on the labels or mentioned in publications. Najas marina and Najas major were first presented in Lithuania as separate species, occurring in different waterbodies. The wide distribution of these species and in several locations observed abundance, indicating that they do not require protection. However, monitoring of future distribution changes would be recommended due to possible invasiveness. The first known locality of Najas minor was corrected, based on information in herbarium labels and literature sources. Based on the acquired data, strict protection is still required for the rare species, Najas minor and particularly Najas flexilis, as the known localities in Lithuania are the southernmost extent of its distribution range. With minor exceptions, the distribution of all recorded Najas species within Lithuania is restricted to waterbodies in the Baltic Uplands, extending from the south to the northeast of the country.
Dendrolimus houi Lajonquiere is a polyphagous defoliator with strong adaptability causing significant damage to hundreds of hectares of pine forest. The larvae primarily damage coniferous tree species. Given that the average female fecundity exceeds 300 eggs, population suppression prior to larval eclosion is critical to prevent massive infestations and minimise losses. The use of egg-parasitoids represents a biologically optimal control strategy, as they effectively attack non-migratory eggs and egg masses, while avoiding the drawbacks of chemical pesticides, such as resistance, residue and pest resurgence. Therefore, systematic field investigations are needed to identify and collect native dominant parasitoids of D. houi for subsequent mass rearing and release. This study reports six parasitoid wasp species emerging from D. houi eggs: Eupelmidae: Mesocomys menzeli (Ferrière), Mesocomys trabalae (Yao et Yang), Anastatus (Anastatus) gastropachae Ashmead, Anastatus (Anastatus) meilingensis Sheng and Yu; Scelionidae: Telenomus dendrolimi (Matsumura); and Trichogrammatidae: Trichogramma chilonis Ishii. We compared key biological characteristics, including parasitism rate, longevity, offspring quantity and sex ratio, across all eight species. Based on this analysis, T. dendrolimiwas identified as the dominant egg-parasitoid. This study fills a critical gap in the systematic investigation of D. houi egg-parasitoids in Fujian, China. Our findings provide a scientific basis for the mass rearing and field release of these parasitoids, thereby supporting the biological control of D. houi in Chinese forests.
Background: Biological invasions pose a major threat to the ecological stability of the Xiaoxing'an Mountains region, a significant temperate forest ecosystem in north-eastern China. Although effective management and risk assessment are urgently needed, substantial data gaps remain regarding the precise spatial distribution and quantitative abundance of invasive plant species in this area. This dataset aims to address this gap by systematically documenting species occurrences and abundance metrics.
New information: This dataset documents the results of the first systematic survey of invasive plants conducted in the Xiaoxing'an Mountains region of Heilongjiang Province, China, spanning 2022 to 2023. Constructed strictly according to the Darwin Core (DwC) standard, the sampling event dataset comprises 4408 unique sampling events and 4773 invasive plant occurrence records (covering 37 species). The most frequently recorded species were Erigeron canadensis (1723 records), followed by Trifolium repens (1157 records). Each record is provided with precise geographic coordinates and complete taxonomic identification and the majority of species records include percent coverage information, establishing a solid foundation for regional ecological risk assessment, species distribution modelling and long-term conservation management planning.
Rhizosphere microorganisms may play an important role in plant growth and environmental adaptation during eco-restoration engineering in the water-level-fluctuation zone (WLFZ) of large river-type reservoirs. The purpose of this study is to compare the rhizosphere microbial community features of Cynodon dactylon derived from the natural restoration area (NEE) and eco-restoration engineering area (YEE) in the WLFZ of Jinsha River-type reservoirs using high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. The dominant taxa were Proteobacteria and Ascomycota in C. dactylon rhizosphere from both NEE and YEE. The eco-restoration engineering improved the α-diversity of bacterial community, but reduced the diversity of fungal community. Eco-restoration engineering did not change the dominant pattern of aerobic respiration I (cytochrome c) [PWY-3781] and aerobic respiration II (cytochrome c, yeast) [PWY-7279] metabolic pathways in the rhizosphere microbial community. Many microbes (such as Alphaproteobacteria and Sphingomonadaceae) in YEE were identified as significantly enriched biomarkers, while the key biomarkers in the rhizosphere in NEE are relatively limited where Burkholderiaceae and Burkholderiales may be the key characteristic microbe. Our study provides a theoretical basis and potential clue for understanding the role of eco-restoration engineering in the re-assembly of rhizosphere microorganisms and supporting vegetation restoration in the WLFZ of large river-type reservoirs.
Background: Limno-terrestrial rotifers, particularly those of the order Bdelloidea, inhabit bryophytes, lichens, soils and other periodically moist terrestrial habitats. Despite their high abundance in all latitudinal zones, these rotifers remain poorly documented in biodiversity databases due to difficulties in preservation and morphological identification. As a result, the current knowledge of their global distribution is still highly fragmented and geographically biased, with the majority of species records concentrated in Europe (where the experts mostly collected material). Many regions like north-eastern Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australia remain under-represented in current knowledge on distribution of limno-terrestrial rotifers. Recent studies suggested that Bdelloidea exhibit distinct biogeographical patterns and potentially high levels of cryptic diversity and endemism, challenging the traditional view of the omnipresence of all microscopic taxa. Comprehensive, georeferenced occurrence data are essential to advance our understanding of bdelloid biodiversity and distribution, yet such data are still scarce in global platforms like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).
New information: The dataset provides new, georeferenced data on the occurrence of rotifer species inhabiting limno-terrestrial habitats worldwide. For the first time, occurrence records for 48 rotifer species (including nominal taxonomic 'subspecies') are published in GBIF.In particular, the dataset significantly expands the information on the distribution ranges of the bdelloid rotifers (order Bdelloidea) in GBIF. We contributed 5,651 new occurrence records of bdelloids rotifers, increasing the number of records in GBIF by 47.5% (or by 61.6% when considering only previously georeferenced records).Moreover, we add 394 new records to the faunas of 49 of 56 studied countries, in 17 of which limno-terrestrial rotifers were studied for the first time.Additionally, for 19 countries, records of bdelloid rotifers are now available in GBIF for the first time.
Background: In the Western Palaearctic, many species of Darwin wasps exhibit a form of diapause known as free-living adult diapause, similar to hibernation in certain beetle, bumblebee and butterfly species. This study provides a first comprehensive overview of all known hibernating species and aims to improve the current ecological knowledge.
New information: We reviewed 439 species, confirming free-living adult diapause in 340; 81 remain unverified and 18 are excluded, which have been incorrectly reported as hibernators in the past. The validated dataset includes 7443 records from 27567 specimens, spanning over 235 years of both published and unpublished observations. We report 29 species as hibernators for the first time. Amongst the records, 388 provide the first evidence of hibernation for a species in a given country, with 67 also representing the species' first national record. We highlight the value of field-based data and caution against relying solely on collection dates to study diapause. The observed variability in diapause strategies and hibernacula underscores the importance of nature management for biodiversity conservation, especially preservation of microhabitats.
Background: The subfamily Opiinae comprises more than 2,000 valid species worldwide. Members of this subfamily are koinobiont endoparasitoids, with parasitism generally culminating in the eventual death of the host. Several species of Opiinae have been utilised for biological control of agricultural pests. The genus Opius is the largest genus within Opiinae, with more than 1,000 valid species worldwide. It is divided into several subgenera, classification of which remains under active discussion. The genus Apodesmia was formerly regarded as a subgenus of Opius, but was elevated to genus level, based on differences in the form of the occipital carina.
New information: Opius youi Li & van Achterberg, 2013 is recorded for the first time from South Korea, representing the first record of the species outside China. Apodesmia incisula Fischer, 1963 is also newly recorded from South Korea, constituting the first record of the species outside Europe, where it was previously known from Germany and the Netherlands. For each species, detailed morphological descriptions are provided, accompanied by diagnostic characters illustrated with photographs of the relevant body structures. The barcode region of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) was also analysed for the species.
Background: During the identification and sorting of German Sciaridae as part of the GBOL III "Dark Taxa" project, it was noted that specimens identified as Bradysia polonica (Lengersdorf, 1929) displayed such morphological variation that they could potentially be split into at least two morphospecies. An integrative taxonomic approach, utilising molecular and morphological data, confirmed the presence of two species, with one species being identifiable as Bradysia spinidensa Hondru, 1968, a species previously synonymised under B. polonica.
New information: Using an integrative taxonomic approach combining molecular and morphological data, the observed morphological variation of Bradysia polonica (Lengersdorf, 1929) was investigated. The molecular data combined with the morphology of the gonostyli confirmed the presence of two species, with Bradysia spinidensa Hondru, 1968 being reinstated as a valid species.
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：