New and little known species of moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Psychodinae) from Nicaragua

The male of a new species Arisemus venustus sp. n. from Nicaragua, the Cerro Musun Natural Reserve, is described. A. atrasetus (Rapp, 1945) and Platyplastinx tango Quate et Brown, 2004 (Diptera: Psychodidae: Psychodinae) from Nicaragua are redescribed and illustrated on the basis of male morphological characters.

Contributions to the taxonomy and biogeography of the genus Dichagyris (subg. Dichagyris) Lederer, 1867 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae)

The taxonomically important characters and subgeneric subdivision of Dichagyris are presented with several historical and nomenclatural considerations. Subdivision of D. vallesiaca is revised based on the type material of the known subspecies. The D. psammochroa group is revised, with description of a new species, D. kurbatskyi from Kazakhstan, and one new subspecies, D. psammochroa kopetdaghimena from the Kopet-Dagh massif. The D. taftana group is revised, with the description of a new species (D. guentereberti from Afghanistan) and two new subspecies (D. taftana elborsasta and D. taftana safavida, from different areas of Iran). The eastern sister species of D. humilis, D. hypotacta from Afghanistan and Pakistan, is described. Major phylogenetic clades of Dichagyris s. str. are associated to western Palaearctic and/or Central Asiatic mountainous regions. Core areas of allopatric speciation of Dichagyris s. str. are discussed with taxonomic considerations and outlook on the subgenera Yigoga and Albocosta, as well.

Selected life history traits of Leptaxis simia (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae) established in the laboratory

Among ten adult specimens of the Madeiran endemic land snail Leptaxis simia kept in the laboratory, a single clutch of 110 eggs was reared, and the mortality, growth and reproductive capacity of hatchlings over a 1240- day period were monitored. Of 70 hatchlings, 34 survived to complete shell growth at around 640 days. Growth was rapid, and mortality high in the early stages; growth slowed and mortality was very low as full size was approached. Snails kept singly failed to lay any eggs. Among those with potential mates, only three clutches were produced, one of which yielded no hatchlings. Clutches were produced at least five months after shell growth was complete. Mortality increased sharply after the onset of sexual maturity, and the oldest snail survived for three and a half years. The apparently very strictly semelparous mode of reproduction, delayed sexual maturity and relatively long period of juvenile growth are discussed in relation to other species, and to the practical problems of rearing potentially endangered species in captivity.

Comparison of Ostracoda (Crustacea) species composition between lakes and streams at high elevations in Turkey

Ostracods are one of the most suitable organisms because of their ecological and morphological preferences for habitat types to study the diversity between streams and lakes. Here, 24 streams and 16 lakes were sampled in 2019 to evaluate the species compositions between streams and lakes. Environmental heterogeneity in the sense of the physico-chemical variables was found among the habitats. 24 of the 29 species with 923 individuals were found in the lakes when 13 species with 898 individuals were found in the streams. Eight species were common in both habitat types. Species contributing about 70.81% to the significant differences in the species composition between the habitats showed cosmopolitan characteristics. Species variation among the replicates of lakes were higher than streams. Results indicated that the species composition was probably associated to dissolved oxygen in lakes, while electrical conductivity in streams. Relationship amid elevational range and ostracod species richness was negative in lakes when there was no clear relationship in the streams. Overall, results suggested that determination of influential regional factors in different aquatic bodies can provide important contributions to the estimation of which habitat types can be chosen by species, and the using of species as bioindicators.

Geographic isolation created distinct pelage characters in Finlayson’s squirrel on isolated island offshore of the Indochina Peninsula in Central Vietnam

We found distinct pelage characters in Finlayson’s squirrel (Callosciurus finlaysonii) population, which is endemic to Lao Island of the Cham Islands, located off the coast of central Vietnam. Among squirrels of the ‘C. erythraeus-finlaysonii complex’, which consists of all forms of C. erythraeus and C. finlaysonii, mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences show that the Lao Island squirrel forms a cluster with C. finlaysonii with external characters of C. erythraeus flavimanus, defined previously as ‘C. finlaysonii morpha flavimanus’. Both squirrel forms, however, differed in pelage colour. This different colouration may have arisen from the effect of geographic isolation.

Agri-environment schemes do not support Brown Hare populations due to inadequate scheme application

The goal of many agri-environment schemes (AES) is to increase biodiversity in agroecosystems. AES effects are often measured on invertebrates and birds; mammals as indicator species are infrequently targets of such researches. Our goal was to evaluate the local-scale effects of the Hungarian Agri-Environmental Measures (AEM) on the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus), which shows decreasing population trends across Europe. We compared hare abundances and their dropping numbers in AEM and control agricultural arable and grassland fields of 17 game management units in two seasons. We also examined the quality of arable fields based on their margin width and vegetation cover. We found that margin quality was higher in AEM than in the control fields. Control grasslands had higher vegetation quality than the AEM grasslands. We found a significant difference in hare counts between AEM and control arable fields in spring but no difference in autumn. The dropping densities did not differ in any season, treatment category or agroecosystem type. We conclude that the AEM program (2009-2014) in Hungary was not effective for the hare, and this might have been caused by the inadequate or weak application of AEM practices. We provide recommendations for future AEM programs to enhance biodiversity.

Positive ecological roles of parasites

The traditional assessment of parasites by veterinarians and medical professionals is une-quivocally negative. In this minireview, we focus on the positive aspects of the presence of parasites in the environment. Most notably, the host-parasite system is a long-term interac-tion because parasites, despite their negative impact on the host, rarely lead to its death. We analysed three important aspects of the presence of parasites in the environment: (i) participation in the regulation community balance leading to changes in the dominance structure, the formation of trophic chains as well as the inclusion of new energy sources into the ecosystem, (ii) control of invasions of alien species to new areas through the im-pact on the adaptive abilities of invaders and (iii) efficient accumulation of heavy metals resulting from the physiological properties of parasite tissues, and thus providing the ad-ditional environmental pollution index. The presented examples show that parasites play an important role as ecosystem engineers, affecting the dynamic balance of ecosystems. The present review aims to challenge the stereotype of parasitism as an unambiguously negative interaction and show evidence of the significant impact of parasites on healthy functioning communities and environmental safety.

Life-history traits and the first demographic data of Iranian population of the West Asian Lemon-Yellow Tree Frog, Hyla savignyi (Audouin, 1827)

The life-history of an organism consists of its lifetime pattern of growth, development, storage, age, and reproduction. In this study, some life-history traits of Hyla savignyi were studied in populations from different parts of Iran. The microscopic and macroscopic analysis showed that testicular activity in H. savignyi is potentially continuous, reaching its peak level in April. Metamorphosis was completed in approximately 102 days after egg deposition, and body size at metamorphosis was 10 mm. Significant sexual size dimorphism was present in all populations, and a larger female asymptotic body size was observed (43.07 mm for females vs 41.16 mm for males). The adult survival rate (S) and life expectancy (ESP) were the same for both sexes (S = 0.73 and ESP = 4.2 years). Age and body size were positively correlated with each other for both females and males. Maximum longevity was recorded to be six years in both females and males, and ages of sexual maturity were estimated to be two or three years in breeding individuals. The adult sample age ranged from two to six years (mean age of females: 4.40±0.68 years; males: 3.63±0.13 years). Our data confirm the general patterns of body size variation and mean age in anurans and show that females are larger than males and live longer.

New Achillea-feeding species of the aphid genus Uroleucon (Hemiptera: Aphididae) from Bulgaria

An apterous viviparous female of a new aphid species Uroleucon (Uroleucon) bulgaricum sp. n. is described and compared with the similar species U. (Uroleucon) achilleae (Koch, 1865). The new species was collected by the late J. Holman in the Blagoevgrad region (SE Bulgaria), where it is associated with Achillea coarctata Poiret in Lam. (Asteraceae). The similarities and differences between other Achillea-feeding Uroleucon species are discussed. A morphological key to the species of the subgenus Uroleucon Mordvilko, 1914 in Bulgaria is presented. A modified key to the Achillea-feeding Uroleucon aphids of Blackman and Eastop is also provided.

Morphological differences between genetic lineages of the peregrine earthworm : Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny, 1826)

Aporrectodea caliginosa is a universally distributed and highly abundant peregrine earthworm that is the object of many ecological and ecotoxicological studies. Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggested that A. caliginosa consists of three highly diverged genetic lineages. In this study, we investigated morphological diversity within a sample of these three lineages from Belarus. We detected a variety of forms with different degrees of pigmentation and a shift in the clitellum position. The three genetic lineages of A. caliginosa demonstrated different propensity to particular morphological variants, including size, colour, and the clitellum position, yet no character could be used to distinguish among the lineages with sufficient accuracy. Thus, our results suggest that identification of the genetic lineage should be recommended for ecological studies involving A. caliginosa to account for possible differences between them.