scholarly journals Ojo Guareña: A Hotspot of Subterranean Biodiversity in Spain

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Ana Isabel Camacho ◽  
Carlos Puch
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspot ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Aquatic Fauna ◽  
Cave System ◽  
Biological Studies ◽  
Great Heterogeneity ◽  
Natural Monument ◽  
Subterranean Species

Ojo Guareña Natural Monument in Burgos (Spain) is an important and large karstic system. It consists of more than 110 kilometers of surveyed galleries, and it has rich sources of organic material from the surface and permanent water circulation. It is the fourth largest cave system in the Iberian Peninsula, and one of the 10 largest in Europe. Ojo Guareña also ranks 23rd among the world's largest caves. To date, only volcanic caves in the Canary Islands, in which between 28 and 38 subterranean species occur, are considered subterranean diversity hotspots in Spain. Here, we provide the first list of subterranean taxa present in Ojo Guareñ, which is comprised of 54 taxa that includes 46 stygobiotic and eight troglobiotic species (some still unidentified at the species level), revealing Ojo Guareña as the largest known subterranean biodiversity hotspot in Spain and Portugal. In addition, we provide a list of an additional 48 taxa, 34 stygophiles and 14 troglophiles, found in the system, whose ecological status could change with detailed biological studies, which may change the number of strictly subterranean species present in the system. Indeed, at present, these numbers are provisional as they correspond to a small part of this sizeable cave system. The biodiversity of large areas of the system remains unknown as these areas have yet to be explored from the biological point of view. In addition, a large number of samples of both terrestrial and aquatic fauna are still under study by specialists. Furthermore, evidence of cryptic species within Bathynellacea (Crustacea) indicates an underestimation of biodiversity in the karstic system. Despite these limitations, the data available reveal the typical uneven distribution of subterranean aquatic fauna, and suggest that the great heterogeneity of the microhabitats in this wide and highly connected karstic extension led to the great richness of aquatic subterranean species.

scholarly journals Colobopsis explodens sp. n., model species for studies on “exploding ants” (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), with biological notes and first illustrations of males of the Colobopsis cylindrica group

ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 751 ◽  
pp. 1-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Laciny ◽  
Herbert Zettel ◽  
Alexey Kopchinskiy ◽  
Carina Pretzer ◽  
Anna Pal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Complex ◽  
Mandibular Gland ◽  
Species Group ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Model Species ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Taxonomic Description ◽  
Biological Studies ◽  
Taxonomic Changes

A taxonomic description of all castes of Colobopsisexplodens Laciny & Zettel, sp. n. from Borneo, Thailand, and Malaysia is provided, which serves as a model species for biological studies on “exploding ants” in Southeast Asia. The new species is a member of the Colobopsiscylindrica (COCY) group and falls into a species complex that has been repeatedly summarized under the name Colobopsissaundersi (Emery, 1889) (formerly Camponotussaundersi). The COCY species group is known under its vernacular name “exploding ants” for a unique behaviour: during territorial combat, workers of some species sacrifice themselves by rupturing their gaster and releasing sticky and irritant contents of their hypertrophied mandibular gland reservoirs to kill or repel rivals. This study includes first illustrations and morphometric characterizations of males of the COCY group: Colobopsisexplodens Laciny & Zettel, sp. n. and Colobopsisbadia (Smith, 1857). Characters of male genitalia and external morphology are compared with other selected taxa of Camponotini. Preliminary notes on the biology of C.explodens Laciny & Zettel, sp. n. are provided. To fix the species identity of the closely related C.badia, a lectotype from Singapore is designated. The following taxonomic changes within the C.saundersi complex are proposed: Colobopsissolenobia (Menozzi, 1926), syn. n. and Colobopsistrieterica (Menozzi, 1926), syn. n. are synonymized with Colobopsiscorallina Roger, 1863, a common endemic species of the Philippines. Colobopsissaginata Stitz, 1925, stat. n., hitherto a subspecies of C.badia, is raised to species level.

Impact of an Acid Spill on the Resident Fauna of the York River and its Recovery

1989 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-582
Author(s):  
R. Prairie ◽  
K. Schiefer ◽  
L.J. Moulins ◽  
V. Chapados
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Juvenile Salmon ◽  
York River ◽  
Aquatic Fauna ◽  
Biological Studies ◽  
Metal Levels

Abstract As a result of a sulphuric acid spill in June 1982 at the Mines Gaspé operation in Murdochville, Québec, water quality of effluents being discharged into the headwaters of the York River was temporarily impaired. It rapidly became apparent that the aquatic fauna of this important Atlantic salmon river had been affected in some areas. This paper provides an overview of the results obtained in biological studies (Atlantic salmon population and benthic communities) carried out by Beak Consultants Ltd. and Noranda Technology Centre, annually, from 1982 to 1985. The biological and water chemistry surveys carried out during this four-year period indicated a short duration event of high dissolved metal levels, primarily copper, shortly after the spill, followed by a rapid improvement in water quality. Both the aquatic macroinvertebrate benthos and fish life in the river were negatively impacted. The nature and degree of this impact as well as the subsequent recolonization of aquatic habitats by both groups were observed and documented. The most affected aquatic groups in 1982 were the youngest salmon age classes (0+ and 1+) along with the intermediate and sensitive benthic communities. This impact was mainly observed in the upper and middle river section. Maintenance of suitable water quality during the following years has permitted excellent survival rates for juvenile salmon and recolonization of benthic habitats by sensitive species. This has contributed to the gradual re-establishment of a natural aquatic fauna in the York River. More recent surveys carried out since 1985 confirm that the quality of the York River ecosystem has been maintained and suggest that the survival rates observed for juvenile salmon are higher than the theoretical values usually used in salmon production models.

scholarly journals The principles of ultrafiltration as applied in biological studies

1933 ◽  
Vol 112 (778) ◽  
pp. 384-406 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Perforated Plate ◽  
Lateral Diffusion ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Mutual Orientation ◽  
Membrane Thickness ◽  
Disperse Systems ◽  
Vertical Permeability ◽  
Biological Studies ◽  
Molecular Forces ◽  
Optical Examination

Ultrafiltration methods have a twofold usefulness :—(1) As a general means of fractionating disperse systems, and (2) in providing data enabling the size of dispersed particles to be estimated. Their successful application requires an understanding of the physical processes involved. An ultrafilter membrane does not behave like an ordinary sieve in which coarseness of mesh alone determines whether or not a non-deformable particle shall pass. As the meshes become smaller the relative importance of the thickness of the sieve increases, until eventually, as in the case of a membrane, the length of a pore becomes very much greater that its diameter. The liquid traversing the pores of a membrane is in contact with a very large surface, and hence surface phenomena may be expected to play an important part in an ultrafiltration process. The ratio, area of pore surface/pore volume, varies inversely with the first power of the pore radius and hence becomes very large for ultrafine capillaries. Before proceeding to consider experimental evidence upon the course of filtration with typical disperse systems under varied conditions, it will be well to form a working conception of the structure in ultrafilter membranes. Collodion films which are the most commonly used ultrafilters have been studied from the point of view of their structure (Elford, 1930), and the evidence of optical examination indicated an arrangement of aggregated particles somewhat analogous to a pile of shot. This implies lateral as well as vertical permeability, while the degree of porosity will be determined by the size of the particulate units and their arrangement and closeness of packing in successive planes. The analogy cannot be regarded as in any sense a strict one, however, since the colloidal nitrocellulose particles are not spherical, appearing in the ultramicroscope to be slightly elongated, while their mutual orientation is determined by fields of molecular forces that are strongly polar in nature. The effective channels through such membranes approximate to long capillaries, and since the flow of liquid through the membrane will occur most readily by the shortest path from face to face, these capillaries are relatively straight. Evidence may be cited in support of this. Poiseuille’s law is found to govern the flow of water through the membranes over ranges of low pressure where no distension of the membrane occurs ; also when a dye suspension is filtered through a membrane supported upon a perforated plate, the circular areas, through the pores of which the dye passes, become deeply stained through the entire membrane thickness. The corresponding stained circular areas visible on the under face of the membrane remain sharply defined even after long periods of filtration. Lateral diffusion between the mainly effective capillaries therefore occurs very slowly. Thus the ultrafilter membrane may be regarded from the point of view of its performance as a porous struc­ture, the effective pores being long and relatively straight channels, formed by the communicating interstices, between the elements in superimposed strata of the aggregated nitrocellulose particles.

The first troglobitic Glomeridesmus from Brazil, and a template for a modern taxonomic description of Glomeridesmida (Diplopoda)

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3550 (1) ◽  
pp. 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUIZ FELIPE MORETTI INIESTA ◽  
RODRIGO LOPES FERREIRA ◽  
THOMAS WESENER
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
New Members ◽  
Cave System ◽  
Taxonomic Description ◽  
Phylogenetic Studies ◽  
First Time

Glomeridesmus spelaeus n. sp., the first Glomeridesmida described from Brazil and only the second known troglobiontof the order, is described from iron caves of the Amazonian. This description is the first in the order Glomeridesmida since1975, and also the first utilizing modern techniques like SEM. Numerous taxonomic characters, some employed in recentstudies of other millipedes, are described, illustrated, and compared for the first time in the Glomeridesmida, building afoundation for future phylogenetic studies, as well as future descriptions of new members of this basal, enigmatic, and stilllittle-known millipede order. The first photographs of a living Glomeridesmida, as well as anecdotal live observations, arepresented. The description of G. spelaeus is also important from a conservation point of view, since the cave system it inhabits is under anthropogenic pressure due to planned mining activities.

scholarly journals Undara Lava Cave Fauna in Tropical Queensland with an Annotated List of Australian Subterranean Biodiversity Hotspots

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 326
Author(s):  
Stefan M. Eberhard ◽  
Francis G. Howarth
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
High Humidity ◽  
Tree Roots ◽  
Species List ◽  
Lava Tubes ◽  
Cave System ◽  
Annotated List ◽  
Cave Fauna ◽  
Tropical Australia ◽  
Subterranean Species

The lava tubes at Undara became internationally recognised in the late 1980s, when 24 species of terrestrial cave-adapted invertebrates (troglobionts) were recorded from Bayliss Cave, making it one of the 20 richest known cave communities in the world at the time. Over the last decades, several of the Undara species have been taxonomically described and a great deal of research has been undertaken in other parts of Australia, which has revealed additional subterranean hotspots. It is therefore timely to update the list of Undara cave fauna, and to evaluate the Undara cave system in relation to other subterranean hotspots in Australia. The updated species list was compiled from the published literature and museum databases. Minimally, 78 species of arthropods have been recorded from 17 lava tube caves in the Undara Basalt. Sixteen species have been taxonomically described; 30 identified to genus and/or morpho-species; and 32 remain unidentified to species or genus level. Thirty troglobionts and one stygobiont species were recorded. Seven caves harboured obligate subterranean species; Bayliss Cave harboured the most obligate subterranean species: 23 troglobionts and one stygobiont. All these caves contained deep zone environments with high humidity, of which three also contained ‘bad air’ (CO2). The unique combination of geomorphic structure and environmental parameters (high humidity) and multiple energy sources (tree roots, bats and guano, organic material wash-in) are the main factors responsible for Bayliss Cave’s extraordinary local richness. Further research is needed to investigate CO2 as a factor influencing troglobiont richness and distribution in ‘bad air’ caves. Undara remains the richest subterranean hotspot in humid tropical Australia; however, significantly richer subterranean assemblages are found in arid and semi-arid calcrete aquifers, karst and iron-ore terrains, mostly in Western Australia.

scholarly journals Metabarcoding to establish freshwater indicators of environmental degradation in the Indo-Burmese biodiversity hotspot

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfried Vogler ◽  
Md. Mizanur Rahman ◽  
Alfred Burian ◽  
Thomas Creedy
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspot ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Status Assessment ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
High Species Richness ◽  
Threatened Habitats ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Highland Streams

Biodiversity hotspots of the world are increasingly exposed to anthropogenic pressures and resulting ecosystem breakdowns. However, biotic surveys for ecological status assessment are rarely conducted in poorly characterised, yet highly diverse ecosystems in the tropics and subtropics. Here, we addressed the challenge of developing a monitoring system for the highland streams of the Indo-Burmese biodiversity hotspot in Bangladesh, using a meta-barcoding approach to investigate the impacts of growing anthropogenic pressures on poorly studied invertebrate communities. Species richness and beta diversity in the region were correlated with anthropogenic stressors that varied greatly between sampling sites. A partial-network approach allowed us to identify potential indicator species for either a good or poor ecological status. Overall, our results document high species richness and pronounced responses to disturbance in these unexplored, but threatened habitats. In combination with classical taxonomy approaches, metabarcoding can therefore serve as a valuable tool to rapidly generate lacking baseline information facilitating the conservation of vulnerable ecosystems.

scholarly journals Adding DNA barcoding to stream monitoring protocols – What’s the additional value and congruence between morphological and molecular identification approaches?

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244598
Author(s):  
Simone Behrens-Chapuis ◽  
Fabian Herder ◽  
Matthias F. Geiger
Keyword(s):  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Aquatic Macroinvertebrates ◽  
Taxonomic Resolution ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Stream Monitoring ◽  
Monitoring Protocols ◽  
Additional Value

Although aquatic macroinvertebrates and freshwater fishes are important indicators for freshwater quality assessments, the morphological identification to species-level is often impossible and thus especially in many invertebrate taxa not mandatory during Water Framework Directive monitoring, a pragmatism that potentially leads to information loss. Here, we focus on the freshwater fauna of the River Sieg (Germany) to test congruence and additional value in taxa detection and taxonomic resolution of DNA barcoding vs. morphology-based identification in monitoring routines. Prior generated morphological identifications of juvenile fishes and aquatic macroinvertebrates were directly compared to species assignments using the identification engine of the Barcode of Life Data System. In 18% of the invertebrates morphology allowed only assignments to higher systematic entities, but DNA barcoding lead to species-level assignment. Dissimilarities between the two approaches occurred in 7% of the invertebrates and in 1% of the fishes. The 18 fish species were assigned to 20 molecular barcode index numbers, the 104 aquatic invertebrate taxa to 113 molecular entities. Although the cost-benefit analysis of both methods showed that DNA barcoding is still more expensive (5.30–8.60€ per sample) and time consuming (12.5h), the results emphasize the potential to increase taxonomic resolution and gain a more complete profile of biodiversity, especially in invertebrates. The provided reference DNA barcodes help building the foundation for metabarcoding approaches, which provide faster sample processing and more cost-efficient ecological status determination.

scholarly journals Linkages between reach-scale physical habitat and invertebrate assemblages in upland streams

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria S. Milner ◽  
Nigel J. Willby ◽  
David J. Gilvear ◽  
Charles Perfect
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Status ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Taxonomic Resolution ◽  
Initial Assessment ◽  
Physical Habitat ◽  
Biological Structure ◽  
Invertebrate Assemblages ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Species ◽  
Baetis Rhodani

Determining the influence of physical habitat on biological structure in minimally disturbed settings is important if the effects of alterations to physical habitat are to be understood. This study tested whether reach-scale differences in physical habitat influence macroinvertebrate community composition at 24 sites in the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland. Stream reaches were classified into channel types based on a geomorphic typology (i.e. step-pool, bedrock, plane-bed and pool-riffle). PERMANOVA indicated an overall significant relationship between the geomorphic typology and macroinvertebrate species-level composition, and among all combinations of channel types (such as step-pool and pool-riffle, step-pool and bedrock). Most channel types were dominated by high abundances of Baetis rhodani, Rhithrogena semicolorata and Leuctra inermis, which are ubiquitous in unpolluted gravel-bedded Scottish streams. However, reflecting significant differences in abundance of commoner taxa between types, indicator value (IndVal) analysis revealed that pool-riffle reaches were characterised by elmids (Limnius sp. and Oulimnius sp.) and Caenis rivulorum, and step-pool reaches by Alainites muticus, B. rhodani, L. inermis and Brachyptera risi. Geomorphic typing of rivers provides a useful basis for the initial assessment of ecological status whereas abundance-based biological data processed at the appropriate taxonomic resolution should be sensitive to physical-habitat modifications.

scholarly journals Unveiling biogeographical patterns of the ichthyofauna in the Tuichi basin, a biodiversity hotspot in the Bolivian Amazon, using environmental DNA

PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0262357
Author(s):  
Cédric Mariac ◽  
Fabrice Duponchelle ◽  
Guido Miranda ◽  
Camila Ramallo ◽  
Robert Wallace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
National Park ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Environmental Dna ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspot ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Specific Primers ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Bolivian Amazon

To date, more than 2400 valid fish species have been recorded in the Amazon basin. However, some regions remain poorly documented. This is the case in the Beni basin and in particular in one of its main sub-basins, the Tuichi, an Andean foothills rivers flowing through the Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazonia. The knowledge of its ichthyological diversity is, however, essential for the management and protection of aquatic ecosystems, which are threatened by the development of infrastructures (dams, factories and cities), mining and deforestation. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has been relatively little used so far in the Amazon basin. We sampled eDNA from water in 34 sites in lakes and rivers in the Beni basin including 22 sites in the Tuichi sub-basin, during the dry season. To assess the biogeographical patterns of the amazonian ichthyofauna, we implemented a metabarcoding approach using two pairs of specific primers designed and developed in our laboratory to amplify two partially overlapping CO1 fragments, one of 185bp and another of 285bp. We detected 252 fish taxa (207 at species level) among which 57 are newly identified for the Beni watershed. Species compositions are significantly different between lakes and rivers but also between rivers according to their hydrographic rank and altitude. Furthermore, the diversity patterns are related to the different hydro-ecoregions through which the Tuichi flows. The eDNA approach makes it possible to identify and complete the inventory of the ichthyofauna in this still poorly documented Amazon basin. However, taxonomic identification remains constrained by the lack of reference barcodes in public databases and does not allow the assignment of all OTUs. Our results can be taken into account in conservation and management strategies and could serve as a baseline for future studies, including on other Andean tributaries.

scholarly journals A large-scale species level dated angiosperm phylogeny for evolutionary and ecological analyses

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven B. Janssens ◽  
Thomas L.P. Couvreur ◽  
Arne Mertens ◽  
Gilles Dauby ◽  
Samuel Vanden Abeele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Angiosperm Species ◽  
Indispensable Tool ◽  
Dated Phylogeny ◽  
Meta Analyses

AbstractPhylogenies are a central and indispensable tool for evolutionary and ecological research. Even though most angiosperm families are well investigated from a phylogenetic point of view, there are far less possibilities to carry out large-scale meta-analyses at order level or higher. Here, we reconstructed a large-scale dated phylogeny including nearly 1/8th of all angiosperm species based on two plastid barcoding genes, matK and rbcL. Novel sequences were generated for several species, while the rest of the data were mined from GenBank. The resulting tree was dated using 56 angiosperm fossils as calibration points. The resulting megaphylogeny is one of the largest dated phylogenetic tree of angiosperms yet, consisting of 36,101 sampled species, representing 8,399 genera, 426 families and all orders. This novel framework will be useful to investigate different broad scale research questions in ecological and evolutionary biology.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document