scholarly journals Optimising Capture Methods for the Evaluation of Parasitoid Wasp Diversity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Edward Saunders

Parasitoid wasps are mega-diverse, ecologically dominant, but poorly studied components of global biodiversity. Despite their intensive application within pest management as biocontrol agents, little is known about native species. To understand their basic biology they must be collected in sampling programs. However, invertebrate surveys are increasingly subject to funding and time constraints that often preclude complete faunal inventories. In order to maximise the efficiency and reduce the cost of their collection, the application of optimal sampling techniques within a Rapid Biodiversity Assessment framework is proposed. Two sites in the Waitakere Ranges were sampled three times over the summer. An intensive sampling effort of 840 Malaise-trap-days over a three month period was used to determine the relationship between sampling effort and observed species richness. Rarefaction techniques and non-parametric estimators were used to predict true species richness and to evaluate the completeness of sampling. Results show that an intensive Malaise-trapping regime over the summer can capture two-thirds of parasitoid wasp species present. Sampling recommendations are provided to guide optimal usage of Malaise traps for both ecological studies and faunal inventories. Modern taxonomic methods are reviewed and a new species of parasitoid wasp is described, representing the first New Zealand species from the genus Lusius (Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae). Morphological measurements confirm the new species represents a significant range expansion for the genus. Greater collaboration between ecologists and taxonomists is encouraged, in order to make more efficient use of resources, data, and expertise unique to each discipline. This is the first study to investigate the relationship between sampling effort and parasitoid wasp diversity in New Zealand. It shows that very high sampling effort fails to catch all species present. Parasitoid wasps are known to be keystone species that show promise as indicators of environmental quality and as surrogates for the diversity of other taxa. The development of optimal sampling strategies will therefore provide an important foundation for their future study.

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Saunders ◽  
Darren F. Ward

Parasitoid wasps are a mega-diverse, ecologically dominant, but poorly studied component of global biodiversity. In order to maximise the efficiency and reduce the cost of their collection, the application of optimal sampling techniques is necessary. Two sites in Auckland, New Zealand were sampled intensively to determine the relationship between sampling effort and observed species richness of parasitoid wasps from the family Ichneumonidae. Twenty traps were deployed at each site at three different times over the austral summer period, resulting in a total sampling effort of 840 Malaise-trap-days. Rarefaction techniques and non-parametric estimators were used to predict species richness and to evaluate the variation and completeness of sampling. Despite an intensive Malaise-trapping regime over the summer period, no asymptote of species richness was reached. At best, sampling captured two-thirds of parasitoid wasp species present. The estimated total number of species present depended on the month of sampling and the statistical estimator used. Consequently, the use of fewer traps would have caught only a small proportion of all species (one trap 7–21%; two traps 13–32%), and many traps contributed little to the overall number of individuals caught. However, variation in the catch of individual Malaise traps was not explained by seasonal turnover of species, vegetation or environmental conditions surrounding the trap, or distance of traps to one another. Overall the results demonstrate that even with an intense sampling effort the community is incompletely sampled. The use of only a few traps and/or for very short periods severely limits the estimates of richness because (i) fewer individuals are caught leading to a greater number of singletons; and (ii) the considerable variation of individual traps means some traps will contribute few or no individuals. Understanding how sampling effort affects the richness and diversity of parasitoid wasps is a useful foundation for future studies.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilari E. Sääksjärvi ◽  
Kalle Ruokolainen ◽  
Hanna Tuomisto ◽  
Samuli Haataja ◽  
Paul V. A. Fine ◽  
...  

Local species richness and between-site similarity in species composition of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae; Pimplinae and Rhyssinae) were correlated with those of four plant groups (pteridophytes, Melastomataceae, Burseraceae and Arecaceae) in a western Amazonian lowland rain forest mosaic. The mosaic structure of the forest was related to variation in soils within the non-inundated terrain. Significant matrix correlation between patterns in parasitoid wasp species composition and plant species composition was found. Most of the overall correlation was due to idiobiont parasitoids of weakly concealed hosts, which attack host larvae and pupae in exposed situations, with two of the four ecologically defined parasitoid groups showing no correlation at all. A positive correlation between the number of plant species and the number of Pimplinae and Rhyssinae species at a site was found when the latter was corrected for collecting effort. Consequently, the degree of floristic difference between sites may be indicative of the difference in species composition of ichneumonids, and the species richness of plants may serve as a predictor of the species richness of parasitoid wasps. Although these results were obtained in a mosaic including structurally and floristically clearly different types of rain forest, the correlation coefficients were relatively low, and the present results lend only weak support to the idea of using plant distributions as indicators of animal distributions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimaa A. M. Ebrahim ◽  
Gaëlle J. S. Talross ◽  
John R. Carlson

AbstractParasitoid wasps inflict widespread death upon the insect world. Hundreds of thousands of parasitoid wasp species kill a vast range of insect species. Insects have evolved defensive responses to the threat of wasps, some cellular and some behavioral. Here we find an unexpected response of adult Drosophila to the presence of certain parasitoid wasps: accelerated mating behavior. Flies exposed to certain wasp species begin mating more quickly. The effect is mediated via changes in the behavior of the female fly and depends on visual perception. The sight of wasps induces the dramatic upregulation in the fly nervous system of a gene that encodes a 41-amino acid micropeptide. Mutational analysis reveals that the gene is essential to the behavioral response of the fly. Our work provides a foundation for further exploration of how the activation of visual circuits by the sight of a wasp alters both sexual behavior and gene expression.


Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2622 (1) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANA L. GADDI ◽  
NORMA B. DÍAZ ◽  
FABIANA E. GALLARDO

A new parasitoid wasp species, the eucoiline Hexacola lemnaphilae Gaddi & Díaz, is described. Specimens were reared from pupae of Lemnaphila neotropica Lizarralde de Grosso (Diptera: Ephydridae), a shore fly that mines least duckweed, Lemna minuta Kunth (Lemnaceae); the material examined was collected in Berisso (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and is housed in the collection of the División Entomología of the Museo de La Plata, Argentina. Photographs of diagnostic characters and data about the ecological and economic importance of these organisms are included.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 530-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine J. Rodriguez ◽  
Jose L. Fernández-Triana ◽  
M. Alex Smith ◽  
Daniel H. Janzen ◽  
Winnie Hallwachs ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Sergey G. Ermilov ◽  
Maria Minor ◽  
Valerir Behan-Pelletier

A new species of Antarctozetes (Oribatida, Ceratozetoidea) is described from the soil in New Zealand based on adult morphology. Antarctozetes mariehammerae sp. nov. differs from Antarctozetes intermedius (Hammer, 1967) by the short rostral setae, very short stalks of bothridial setae, and bidentate lamellar cusps. A revised generic diagnosis is given, Antarctozetes is maintained in Punctoribatidae, although knowledge of juvenile instars is lacking. The relationship of Antarctozetes, Anellozetes, Africoribates and Kilimabates is discussed. Data on habitat and an identification key to known species of Antarctozetes in New Zealand are provided. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4614 (2) ◽  
pp. 201 ◽  
Author(s):  
VASCO VEIGA BRANCO ◽  
EDUARDO MORANO ◽  
PEDRO CARDOSO

We updated a previous database that compiled all the information available in 2010 for the species distribution of spiders (Araneae) in the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands (Illes Balears) included. By the end of 2018 a total of 30834 records were compiled. These belong to 1493 species, 282 of those endemic to the peninsula, across 56 families and 402 genera. This represents an increase of approximately 14% in the number of species in the last nine years. From all families found in the Iberian Peninsula, Araneidae represent the highest number of records (3315), Linyphiidae the highest species richness (302) and Dysderidae the highest endemic richness (58). When considering only the 2010 decade, Linyphiidae lead in both number of records (1417) and species (49), but Gnaphosidae have the highest newly described endemic richness (18). When looking at the full data per province, the largest number of records are located in Illes Balears (1864), followed by Barcelona (1287). When it comes to species, Huesca (474) and Barcelona (470) are the richest provinces. However, it is Illes Balears that possesses the largest known endemic richness (43), followed by Beja and Faro (39). Regarding the last decade, Illes Balears received the largest sampling effort with 901 records, followed by Girona (806). Ciudad Real had the highest increase in known richness with 191 new species to the province, followed by León and Lleida (188). The most new endemic species were found in Faro (16), followed by Almería and Cádiz (13). This checklist is accompanied by an online catalogue where all its information is fully listed.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4609 (1) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
JOBER FERNANDO SOBCZAK ◽  
DIEGO GALVÃO DE PÁDUA ◽  
GERMAN ANTONIO VILLANUEVA- BONILLA ◽  
FRANCISCO AGEU DE SOUSA NÓBREGA ◽  
YURI FANCHINI MESSAS

 Some polysphinctine wasps of the genus Zatypota complete their life cycles upon theridiid host spiders. The host range of these wasps is usually species-specific, although in some less common associations more than one wasp species interacts with the same host spider. Here we describe and illustrate the polysphinctine wasps Zatypota baezae sp. n. and Zatypota mulunguensis sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), both koinobiont ectoparasitoids of the spider Anelosimus baeza (Theridiidae). The two parasitoid wasps show the same development time (12 days) which was longer when compared with other parasitoid wasps Z. anomala Holmgren and Z. riverai Gauld (nine days). As described for other species of Zatypota and Hymenoepimecis, the second larval instar remains attached to the spider by the remains of the chorion and also by a rigid brownish-semitransparent membrane called a saddle. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1877 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
GRAHAM J BIRD

Tanais novaezealandiae Thomson, 1879 is redescribed based on material from the type locality and re-assigned to the genus Zeuxo. The taxon Anatanais novaezealandiae sensu Sieg from the subantarctic Auckland Islands is a distinct species and requires new material to fully assess its taxonomy. Two new species which could be confused with Z. novaezealandiae, Zeuxoides aka sp.nov. and Zeuxoides rimuwhero n.sp., are described. Both show a close resemblance to some newly-described Australian species and Zeuxoides helleri and support the view that the Australasian/New Zealand region is a hot-spot for species richness within the Tribe Anatanaini. The confused taxonomy of the Subfamily Tanainae is remarked on, with a new phylogenetic review desirable.


Parasitology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. SORENSEN ◽  
N. B. RODRIGUES ◽  
G. OLIVEIRA ◽  
A. J. ROMANHA ◽  
D. J. MINCHELLA

Allelic variation in 6 microsatellite markers was compared between frozen Schistosoma mansoni eggs and laboratory-passaged worms originating from the same 5 fecal samples obtained from Brazilian residents. Based on allelic richness values, the number of alleles detected per locus did not differ between egg and worm DNA templates. However, our ability to score loci differed between these DNA templates, with worms providing more scored loci per individual than eggs. Differences also existed between the worms and eggs in the identity of the specific alleles that were detected. Additionally, we observed a reduction in homozygous genotypes among laboratory-passaged worms relative to the eggs. Allelic diversity curves were calculated by genotyping all worms from a representative host sample to determine the relationship between the number of alleles detected at a locus and the number of worms genotyped. Curves for the 5 residents' worm infrapopulations for each of the loci were very similar. The equation y=19·55×ln(x)+9·992 explained the association between sampling effort (x) and number of alleles detected (y) with an R2 of 0·775. In conclusion, egg DNA templates and allelic diversity curves can benefit efforts to discern the sociological, ecological and evolutionary forces impacting the genetic diversity and disease epidemiology of human schistosomes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document