Science Enabled by Specimen Data

Venegas-Barrera, C. S., J. Manjarrez, Á. Rodríguez-Moreno, Y. A. Mendoza-Walle, J. V. Horta-Vega, I. R. Rodríguez-deLeón, A. Sunny, and A. Azuara Domínguez. 2024. Representativeness, Complementarity, and Degree of Local Extirpation Risk for Thamnophis Species Inside and Outside of Protected Areas of Mexico. Ecologies 5: 697–715. https://doi.org/10.3390/ecologies5040041

Protected areas (PAs) are geographical spaces intended to conserve populations, communities, and ecosystems, in which species richness must be maximized, the conserved area must be minimized, and anthropogenic pressure must be reduced. The present study analyzed the representativeness, complementarity, and degree of risk of 25 garter snake species of the genus Thamnophis in the PAs of Mexico. This study proposes that at least 17% of the potential geographic distribution (PGD) of species will be found inside PAs and in areas (Aichi Target 11) with a low human footprint (HF). The PGD of species was associated with the PAs and HF layers to identify where and which species could be at local extirpation risk by human activities. The results indicate that the federal PAs contain 85.2% of the species, while the state PAs contain 77.7% of the species. An average of 13.4% of the PGD of these species is found inside PAs, and two species are found outside. In 13 federal PAs and 10 state PAs, the Thamnophis species present high local extirpation risk from human activities. In total, 37% of species are found in PAs with a medium to very high human footprint; therefore, their persistence could be at local extirpation risk. Compared to other taxa, species of the genus Thamnophis are well represented. However, the PDG of more than half of the species achieves Aichi Target 11.

Villastrigo, A., A. Lam, M. H. Van Dam, A. Scheunert, J. Hájek, L. Hendrich, M. C. Michat, et al. 2025. Plate tectonics, cold adaptation and long-distance range expansion to remote archipelagos and the high Andes as drivers of a circumantarctic freshwater arthropod radiation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 204: 108279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108279

Disjunct distributions, characterised by spatially separated populations of related species, offer insights into historical biogeographic patterns and evolutionary processes. This study investigates the evolutionary history of the diving beetle subfamily Lancetinae through a phylogenomic approach incorporating ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and heritage genetic markers. Our findings support an early Miocene origin for Lancetinae, with subsequent diversification influenced by historical vicariance events and long-distance dispersal. The divergence from the closely related subfamily Coptotominae in the late Cretaceous is not consistent with a Gondwanan origin, although highlights a likely Pangean origin for these taxa. This research underscores the significant impact of Gondwanan fragmentation on biogeographic patterns and highlights the remarkable dispersal capabilities of Lancetinae beetles.

Wu, D., C. Liu, F. S. Caron, Y. Luo, M. R. Pie, M. Yu, P. Eggleton, and C. Chu. 2024. Habitat fragmentation drives pest termite risk in humid, but not arid, biomes. One Earth 7: 2049–2062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.10.003

Predicting global change effects poses significant challenges due to the intricate interplay between climate change and anthropogenic stressors in shaping ecological communities and their function, such as pest outbreak risk. Termites are ecosystem engineers, yet some pest species are causing worldwide economic losses. While habitat fragmentation seems to drive pest-dominated termite communities, its interaction with climate change effect remains unknown. We test whether climate and habitat fragmentation interactively alter interspecific competition that may limit pest termite risk. Leveraging global termite co-occurrence including 280 pest species, we found that competitively superior termite species (e.g., large bodied) increased in large and continuous habitats solely at high precipitation. While competitive species suppressed pest species globally, habitat fragmentation drove pest termite risk only in humid biomes. Unfortunately, hu- mid tropics have experienced vast forest fragmentation and rainfall reduction over the past decades. These stressors, if not stopped, may drive pest termite risk, potentially via competitive release.

Kosch, T. A., A. J. Crawford, R. Lockridge Mueller, K. C. Wollenberg Valero, M. L. Power, A. Rodríguez, L. A. O’Connell, et al. 2024. Comparative analysis of amphibian genomes: An emerging resource for basic and applied research. Molecular Ecology Resources. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.14025

Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates and are in dire need of conservation intervention to ensure their continued survival. They exhibit unique features including a high diversity of reproductive strategies, permeable and specialized skin capable of producing toxins and antimicrobial compounds, multiple genetic mechanisms of sex determination and in some lineages, the ability to regenerate limbs and organs. Although genomic approaches would shed light on these unique traits and aid conservation, sequencing and assembly of amphibian genomes has lagged behind other taxa due to their comparatively large genome sizes. Fortunately, the development of long‐read sequencing technologies and initiatives has led to a recent burst of new amphibian genome assemblies. Although growing, the field of amphibian genomics suffers from the lack of annotation resources, tools for working with challenging genomes and lack of high‐quality assemblies in multiple clades of amphibians. Here, we analyse 51 publicly available amphibian genomes to evaluate their usefulness for functional genomics research. We report considerable variation in genome assembly quality and completeness and report some of the highest transposable element and repeat contents of any vertebrate. Additionally, we detected an association between transposable element content and climatic variables. Our analysis provides evidence of conserved genome synteny despite the long divergence times of this group, but we also highlight inconsistencies in chromosome naming and orientation across genome assemblies. We discuss sequencing gaps in the phylogeny and suggest key targets for future sequencing endeavours. Finally, we propose increased investment in amphibian genomics research to promote their conservation.

Nekrasova, O., M. Pupins, O. Marushchak, V. Tytar, A. Martinez-Silvestre, A. Škute, A. Čeirāns, et al. 2024. Present and future distribution of the European pond turtle versus seven exotic freshwater turtles, with a focus on Eastern Europe. Scientific Reports 14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71911-4

Freshwater turtles are often used as terrarium pets, especially juveniles of exotic species. At the adult stage they are often released by their owners into the wild despite their high invasion potential. In Europe these thermophilic potentially invasive alien species occupy the habitats of the native European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758), with new records from the wild being made specifically in Eastern Europe (Latvia and Ukraine) during recent decades. Assessing the potential of alien freshwater turtles to establish in new territories is of great concern for preventing invasion risks while preserving native biodiversity in the present context of climate change. We explored this issue by identifying the present and future (by 2050) suitable habitats of the European pond turtle and several potentially invasive alien species of freshwater turtle already settled in Europe, using a geographic information system (GIS) modelling approach based on datasets from CliMond for climate, Near-global environmental information (NGEI) for freshwater ecosystems (EarthEnv) and Maxent modelling using open-access databases, data from the literature and original field data. Modelling was performed for seven species of alien freshwater turtles occurring from the extreme northern to southern borders of the European range of E. orbicularis : the pond slider Trachemys scripta (Thunberg and Schoepff, 1792), the river cooter Pseudemys concinna (Le Conte, 1830), the Florida red-bellied cooter Pseudemys nelsoni (Carr, 1938), the false map turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica (Gray, 1831), the Chinese softshell turtle Pelodiscus sinensis (Wiegmann, 1835), the Caspian turtle Mauremys caspica (Gmelin, 1774) and the Balkan terrapin Mauremys rivulata (Valenciennes, 1833). In Ukraine, the most Eastern limit of E. orbicularis distribution, were previously reported northern American originated T. scripta , M. rivulata , M. caspica , whereas in Latvia, Emys’ most northern limit, were additionally reported P. concinna , P. nelsoni , G. pseudogeographica and Asia originated P. sinensis . The resulting Species Distribution Models (SDM) were of excellent performance (AUC > 0.8). Of these alien species, the most potentially successful in terms of range expansion throughout Europe were T. scripta (34.3% of potential range expansion), G. pseudogeographica (24.1%), and M. caspica (8.9%) and M. rivulata (4.3%) mainly in Eastern Europe, especially in the south of Ukraine (Odesa, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia regions, and Crimean Peninsula). Correlation between the built SDMs for the native E. orbicularis and the invasive alien T. scripta was reliably high, confirming the highly likely competition between these two species in places they cooccur. Moreover, a Multiple Regression Analysis revealed that by 2050, in most of Europe (from the western countries to Ukraine), the territory overlap between E. orbicularis and potentially invasive alien species of freshwater turtles will increase by 1.2 times, confirming higher competition in the future. Importantly, by 2050, Eastern Europe and Ukraine are predicted to be the areas with most suitable habitats for the European pond turtle yet with most limited overlap with the invasive alien species. We conclude that Eastern Europe and Ukraine are the most relevant priority conservation areas for the European pond turtle where it is now necessary to take protective measures to ensure safe habitat for this native species on the long-term.

Graham, K. K., P. Glaum, J. Hartert, J. Gibbs, E. Tucker, R. Isaacs, and F. S. Valdovinos. 2024. A century of wild bee sampling: historical data and neural network analysis reveal ecological traits associated with species loss. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 291. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2837

We analysed the wild bee community sampled from 1921 to 2018 at a nature preserve in southern Michigan, USA, to study long-term community shifts in a protected area. During an intensive survey in 1972 and 1973, Francis C. Evans detected 135 bee species. In the most recent intensive surveys conducted in 2017 and 2018, we recorded 90 species. Only 58 species were recorded in both sampling periods, indicating a significant shift in the bee community. We found that the bee community diversity, species richness and evenness were all lower in recent samples. Additionally, 64% of the more common species exhibited a more than 30% decline in relative abundance. Neural network analysis of species traits revealed that extirpation from the reserve was most likely for oligolectic ground-nesting bees and kleptoparasitic bees, whereas polylectic cavity-nesting bees were more likely to persist. Having longer phenological ranges also increased the chance of persistence in polylectic species. Further analysis suggests a climate response as bees in the contemporary sampling period had a more southerly overall distribution compared to the historic community. Results exhibit the utility of both long-term data and machine learning in disentangling complex indicators of bee population trajectories.

da Silva, C. R. B., and S. E. Diamond. 2024. Local climate change velocities and evolutionary history explain multidirectional range shifts in a North American butterfly assemblage. Journal of Animal Ecology 93: 1160–1171. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14132

Species are often expected to shift their distributions either poleward or upslope to evade warming climates and colonise new suitable climatic niches. However, from 18‐years of fixed transect monitoring data on 88 species of butterfly in the midwestern United States, we show that butterflies are shifting their centroids in all directions, except towards regions that are warming the fastest (southeast).Butterflies shifted their centroids at a mean rate of 4.87 km year−1. The rate of centroid shift was significantly associated with local climate change velocity (temperature by precipitation interaction), but not with mean climate change velocity throughout the species' ranges.Species tended to shift their centroids at a faster rate towards regions that are warming at slower velocities but increasing in precipitation velocity.Surprisingly, species' thermal niche breadth (range of climates butterflies experience throughout their distribution) and wingspan (often used as metric for dispersal capability) were not correlated with the rate at which species shifted their ranges.We observed high phylogenetic signal in the direction species shifted their centroids. However, we found no phylogenetic signal in the rate species shifted their centroids, suggesting less conserved processes determine the rate of range shift than the direction species shift their ranges.This research shows important signatures of multidirectional range shifts (latitudinal and longitudinal) and uniquely shows that local climate change velocities are more important in driving range shifts than the mean climate change velocity throughout a species' entire range.

Martínez-Fonseca, J. G., L. A. Trujillo, E. P. Westeen, F. A. Reid, C. Hood, M. A. Fernández-Mena, L. E. Gutiérrez-López, et al. 2024. New departmental and noteworthy records of mammals (Mammalia, Theria) from Nicaragua. Check List 20: 706–720. https://doi.org/10.15560/20.3.706

AbstractAbstract. neighboring countries. Recently, an increase in biological surveys and access to natural preserves has led to a better understanding of species distributions in Nicaragua and across Central America. Here, we provide new departmental records for three species of didelphid, 18 chiropterans (Phyllostomidae, Molossidae, Vespertilionidae), one geomyid, and one mustelid from 21 sites across the country. This work underscores the need for additional sampling across Nicaragua to fill gaps in the known distribution of many species. This information can facilitate or inform conservation actions in established and proposed preserves in Nicaragua.

Moore, M. P., N. T. Leith, K. D. Fowler‐Finn, and K. A. Medley. 2024. Human‐modified habitats imperil ornamented dragonflies less than their non‐ornamented counterparts at local, regional, and continental scales. Ecology Letters 27. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14455

Biologists have long wondered how sexual ornamentation influences a species' risk of extinction. Because the evolution of condition‐dependent ornamentation can reduce intersexual conflict and accelerate the fixation of advantageous alleles, some theory predicts that ornamented taxa can be buffered against extinction in novel and/or stressful environments. Nevertheless, evidence from the wild remains limited. Here, we show that ornamented dragonflies are less vulnerable to extinction across multiple spatial scales. Population‐occupancy models across the Western United States reveal that ornamented species have become more common relative to non‐ornamented species over >100 years. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that ornamented species exhibit lower continent‐wide extinction risk than non‐ornamented species. Finally, spatial analyses of local dragonfly assemblages suggest that ornamented species possess advantages over non‐ornamented taxa at living in habitats that have been converted to farms and cities. Together, these findings suggest that ornamented taxa are buffered against contemporary extinction at local, regional, and continental scales.

Gordon, M. L., S. Curtis, S. Whitley, S. Robertson, G. Weiberg, K. Strickland, and J. W. Oakley. 2024. UPDATED FISH SPECIES INVENTORY FOR UPPER SAN FELIPE CREEK, DEL RIO, VAL VERDE COUNTY, TEXAS, USA. The Southwestern Naturalist 68. https://doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-68.1.69

Updated records related to coexisting species, the presence of invasive species, and the presence or absence of Threatened, Endangered, or Species of Greatest Conservation Need are a necessary component of wildlife conservation. Here, we compile a list of historically documented fish species found in San Felipe Creek and report updated occurrence from recent sampling events. Of the anticipated 49 species within San Felipe Creek, we documented 16 between 2019 and 2022. We observed Devils River minnow (Dionda diaboli), a federally Threatened species, during all sampling events. Additionally, we confirmed the presence of three state Threatened species and one Species of Greatest Conservation Need. We also document continued presence of the invasive suckermouth catfish (Hypostomus plecostomus) and blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus). Researchers may use species occurrence data provided by these efforts to assess future assemblage changes within the San Felipe Creek system.