Plant occurrences on the Rybachy and the Sredny Peninsulas, Murmansk Region, Russia: a dataset

The Rybachy and the Sredny Peninsulas are the northernmost part of Murmansk Region in the European part of Russia. While the most part of the Region is covered by boreal forest, the Peninsulas are covered by tundra. The vegetation and flora of Murmansk Region are well studied at present. The Peninsulas were first studied in 1829 by a Finnish botanist Jacob Fellman. The most comprehensive research was conducted in the late 19th - early 20th century. Nevertheless, the species composition of the Peninsulas' flora has changed significantly over the past 100 years due to land use and climate change. The aim of this dataset is to make the data on species occurrences for this territory digitally available via GBIF. To date, more or less complete digital floristic data were provided only by the project for digitising the book "Flora of Murmansk Region" (1953–1966). The present dataset is a part of the project studying the vegetation of the territory. We recorded the information about species frequency and distribution using the relevé method. We present a dataset based on 991 relevés from all vegetation types, which includes 16,289 records of georeferenced plant occurrences that belong to 568 species. There are 23 species of lichens (Ascomycota), 142 species of mosses (Bryophyta), three species of liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and 400 species of vascular plants (Tracheophyta) in the present dataset. The taxonomic diversity and unevenness result from the vegetation sampling. The data were collected in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015. The dataset cannot be considered as a complete vegetation database or a flora checklist, but it contains the occurrences and frequencies of the species from all the vegetation types.

Ichthyofauna associated with sandy beaches of the rio Machado, tributary of the rio Madeira, northern Brazil

The rio Machado is an large tributary of the rio Madeira, and investigations of the ichthyofauna are urgent given the current high threat of habitat loss on account of a hydroelectric plant under construction. Our inventory quantified 9,544 specimens, representing four orders and 38 species. Our study provides an unprecedented list of fish species from a poorly studied South American basin. This basin, which is considered one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, presents high endemism, few cases of co-existence of phylogenetically related lineages, low species diversity, and few species occurrences with wide distribution.

Amphibian fauna of Pakistan with notes on future prospects of research and conservation

Research on amphibians and their conservation have gained worldwide attention, as the group includes the highest number of threatened and Data Deficient species when compared to other vertebrates. However, amphibians have long been neglected in wildlife conservation, management decisions, policy making, and research agendas in Pakistan. In this paper, an annotated checklist of the 21 amphibian species of Pakistan, a key to their identification, and detailed discussions on variation in species, including the genera Minervarya and Sphaerotheca, are provided. We found a statistically significant difference in the morphometric measurements of males but non-significant difference in the females of the two forms (rusty dorsum and dotted dorsum) of S. maskeyi. Some genera, such as Microhyla, Uperodon, Minervarya, Allopaa, Chrysopaa, Euphlyctis, Nanorana, and Sphaerotheca, in Pakistan are in need of additional data for molecular and morphological comparisons with taxa in other South Asian countries. The predicaments of amphibian research in Pakistan are discussed, gaps identified, and suggestions are made. Although the occurrence of chytrid fungus in Pakistan is predicted of low likelihood, a lack of data merits studying the prevalence of the fungus, particularly in the northern regions of the country which exhibit complex and dynamic ecosystems. It is recommended that systematic and coordinated surveys are conducted throughout the country to build a database of species occurrences and distributions. Additionally, the monitoring of wild populations and threat mitigation, as well as appropriate legislation, are suggested as long-term measures. By adopting an inclusive wildlife conservation approach in Pakistan, amphibians could be integrated into wildlife conservation and management efforts.

Alien Species Threat across Marine Protected Areas of Turkey—An Updated Inventory

This study presents the first comprehensive assessment of alien species occurrences within the selected 11 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) located on the Aegean and Levantine coasts of Turkey. The inventory includes a total of 289 species belonging to 15 phyla, in which lowest and highest diversities were observed in Saros Bay MPA (27 species, northern Aegean Sea) and Fethiye-Göcek Bay MPA (150 species, northwest Levantine Sea), respectively. Alien species distributions that were revealed in protected areas located in the southern Aegean and Levantine Seas were 56.9% similar (based on presence vs. absence data), while northern Aegean sites formed another distinct group. According to the breakdown of major phyla through the entire study areas, Mollusca had the highest alien diversity (22.1% of alien species), followed by Actinopterygii (19.0%), Arthropoda (15.2%) and Annelida (13.5%). Casual aliens were represented by very low proportions in each MPA, proving that most species were already established in the region, with a significant proportion of invasive species. Regardless of the localities, the majority of the species originated from the Red Sea, whose primary pathway of introduction is the corridor, the Suez Canal. In the absence of effective management actions against bioinvasions, MPAs located along the Turkish coastline do not currently seem to provide any protection, revealing a large conservation gap to be filled.

When fossil clades ‘compete’: local dominance, global diversification dynamics and causation

Examining the supposition that local-scale competition drives macroevolutionary patterns has become a familiar goal in fossil biodiversity studies. However, it is an elusive goal, hampered by inadequate confirmation of ecological equivalence and interactive processes between clades, patchy sampling, few comparative analyses of local species assemblages over long geological intervals, and a dearth of appropriate statistical tools. We address these concerns by reevaluating one of the classic examples of clade displacement in the fossil record, in which cheilostome bryozoans surpass the once dominant cyclostomes. Here, we analyse a newly expanded and vetted compilation of 40 190 fossil species occurrences to estimate cheilostome and cyclostome patterns of species proportions within assemblages, global genus richness and genus origination and extinction rates while accounting for sampling. Comparison of time-series models using linear stochastic differential equations suggests that inter-clade genus origination and extinction rates are causally linked to each other in a complex feedback relationship rather than by simple correlations or unidirectional relationships, and that these rates are not causally linked to changing within-assemblage proportions of cheilostome versus cyclostome species.

A database and checklist of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera) from Colombia

Molecular DNA sequence data allow unprecedented advances in biodiversity assessments, monitoring schemes and taxonomic works, particularly in poorly-explored areas. They allow, for instance, the sorting of material rapidly into operational taxonomic units (such as BINs - Barcode Index Numbers), sequences can be subject to diverse analyses and, with linked metadata and physical vouchers, they can be examined further by experts. However, a prerequisite for their exploitation is the construction of reference libraries of DNA sequences that represent the existing biodiversity. To achieve these goals for Geometridae (Lepidoptera) moths in Colombia, expeditions were carried out to 26 localities in the northern part of the country in 2015–2019. The aim was to collect specimens and sequence their DNA barcodes and to record a fraction of the species richness and occurrences in one of the most biodiversity-rich countries. These data are the beginning of an identification guide to Colombian geometrid moths, whose identities are currently often provisional only, being morpho species or operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Prior to the current dataset, 99 Geometridae sequences forming 44 BINs from Colombia were publicly available on the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), covering 20 species only. We enrich the Colombian Geometridae database significantly by including DNA barcodes, two nuclear markers, photos of vouchers and georeferenced occurrences of 281 specimens of geometrid moths from different localities. These specimens are classified into 80 genera. Analytical tools on BOLD clustered 157 of the mentioned sequences to existing BINs identified to species level, identified earlier by experts. Another 115 were assigned to BINs that were identified to genus or tribe level only. Eleven specimens did not match any existing BIN on BOLD and are, therefore, new additions to the database. It is likely that many BINs represent undescribed species. Nine short sequences (< 500bp) were not assigned to BINs, but identified to the lowest taxonomic category by expert taxonomists and with comparisons of type material photos. The released new genetic information will help to further progress the systematics of Geometridae. An illustrated catalogue of all new records allows validation of our identifications; it is also the first document of this kind for Colombian Geometridae. All specimens are deposited at the Museo de Zoología of Universidad de Sucre (MZUS), North Colombia. DNA BINs are reported in this study through dx.doi.org/10.5883/DS-GEOCO, the species occurrences are available on SIB Colombia https://sibcolombia.net/ and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) https://www.gbif.org/ through https://doi.org/10.15472/ucfmkh.

Ferries and Environmental DNA: Underway Sampling From Commercial Vessels Provides New Opportunities for Systematic Genetic Surveys of Marine Biodiversity

Marine environmental DNA (eDNA) is an important tool for biodiversity research and monitoring but challenges remain in scaling surveys over large spatial areas, and increasing the frequency of sampling in remote locations at reasonable cost. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of sampling from commercial vessels (Mediterranean ferries) while underway, as a strategy to facilitate replicable, systematic marine eDNA surveys in locations that would normally be challenging and expensive for researchers to access. Sixteen eDNA samples were collected from four fixed sampling stations, and in response to four cetacean sightings, across three cruises undertaken along the 300 km ferry route between Livorno (Tuscany) and Golfo Aranci (Sardinia) in the Ligurian/Tyrrhenian Seas, June-July 2018. Using 12SrDNA and 16SrDNA metabarcoding markers, we recovered diverse marine vertebrate Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) from teleost fish, elasmobranchs, and cetaceans. We detected sample heterogeneity consistent with previously known variation in species occurrences, including putative species spawning peaks associated with specific sea surface temperature ranges, and increased night time abundance of bathypelagic species known to undertake diel migrations through the water column. We suggest commercial vessel based marine eDNA sampling using the global shipping network has potential to facilitate broad-scale biodiversity monitoring in the world’s oceans.

A dataset of distribution and diversity of blood-sucking mites in China

Mite-borne diseases, such as scrub typhus and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, present an increasing global public health concern. Most of the mite-borne diseases are caused by the blood-sucking mites. To present a comprehensive understanding of the distributions and diversity of blood-sucking mites in China, we derived information from peer-reviewed journal articles, thesis publications and books related to mites in both Chinese and English between 1978 and 2020. Geographic information of blood-sucking mites’ occurrence and mite species were extracted and georeferenced at the county level. Standard operating procedures were applied to remove duplicates and ensure accuracy of the data. This dataset contains 6,443 records of mite species occurrences at the county level in China. This geographical dataset provides an overview of the species diversity and wide distributions of blood-sucking mites, and can potentially be used in distribution prediction of mite species and risk assessment of mite-borne diseases in China.

A database and checklist of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera) from Colombia

Molecular DNA sequence data allow unprecedented advances in biodiversity assessments, monitoring schemes, and taxonomic works, particularly in poorly explored areas. They allow, for instance, the sorting of material rapidly into operational taxonomic units (such as BINs - Barcode Index Numbers), sequences can be subject to diverse analyses, and with linked metadata and physical vouchers they can be examined further by experts. However, a prerequisite for their exploitation is the construction of reference libraries of DNA sequences that represent the existing biodiversity. To achieve these goals for Geometridae (Lepidoptera) moths in Colombia, expeditions were carried out to 26 localities in the northern part of the country in 2015–2019. The aim was to collect specimens and sequence their DNA barcodes, and to record a fraction of the species richness and occurrences in one of the most biodiversity-rich countries. These data are the beginnings of an identification guide to Colombian geometrid moths, whose identities are currently often provisional only, being morpho species or operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Prior to the current dataset, 99 Geometridae sequences forming 44 BINs from Colombia were publicly available on the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), covering 20 species only. We enrich the Colombian Geometridae database significantly by including DNA barcodes, two nuclear markers, photos of vouchers, and georeferenced occurrences of 281 specimens of geometrid moths from different localities. These specimens are classified into 80 genera. Analytical tools on BOLD clustered 157 of the mentioned sequences to existing species level BINs, identified earlier by experts. Another 115 were assigned to BINs that were identified to genus or tribe level only. 11 specimens did not match any existing BIN on BOLD, and are therefore new additions to the database. It is likely that many BINs represent undescribed species. Nine short sequences (<500bp) were not assigned to BINs but identified to the lowest taxonomic category by expert taxonomists and with comparisons of type material photos. The released new genetic information will help to further progress the systematics of Geometridae. An illustrated catalogue of all new records allows validation of our identifications; it is also the first document of this kind for Colombian Geometridae. All specimens are deposited at the Museo de Zoología of Universidad de Sucre (MZUS), North Colombia. DNA BINs are reported in this study, the species occurrences are available on SIB Colombia https://sibcolombia.net/ and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) https://www.gbif.org/ through https://doi.org/10.15472/ucfmkh.