Search Results (246)

The Eastern Adriatic Sea is biogeographically complex, yet knowledge of its hydromedusae is fragmented across two centuries of uneven sampling and shifting taxonomy. This review integrates historical faunistic records (pre-1950), mid-century programmes (1950–2000), modern quantitative time series (post-2000), and citizen science observations to compile an updated checklist of 98 non-siphonophoran hydrozoan taxa. Records are synthesised across eight sub-regions, although the most continuous research has focused on the Northern Adriatic and the open South Adriatic. The clearest long-term signal is in the Northern Adriatic, where diversity collapsed by >60% from the 1960s to the 1980s, largely through the loss of meroplanktonic taxa with benthic polyp stages under eutrophication-driven hypoxia. Since 2000, oligotrophication coincides with a partial recovery, marked by the re-emergence of meroplankton and episodic intrusions of oceanic holoplankton (including Trachymedusae) linked to circulation regimes (BiOS). For the open South Adriatic, bathymetric distributions and diel vertical migration patterns are synthesised to characterise a persistent offshore core. Taxonomic updates and information on non-indigenous and bloom-forming taxa are provided. Methodological biases and gaps, especially polyp-stage ecology and spatial sampling voids, are highlighted, and routine DNA barcoding is recommended. The checklist provides a baseline for tracking change in a shifting ecosystem. Full article

The noctuid moth Dioszeghyana schmidtii (Dioszeghy, 1935) is a geographically restricted and poorly known species associated with xerothermic oak ecosystems of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. Despite its inclusion in European conservation frameworks, information on its distribution, biology, and ecological requirements remains fragmented, regionally uneven, and scattered across the faunistic literature in multiple languages. This review synthesizes published records, taxonomic sources, ecological observations, and curated occurrence data to provide an updated and critically assessed overview of the species’ biology, habitat associations, and biogeographic pattern. Distributional information was compiled exclusively from the literature and vetted public databases, with mapped occurrences representing confirmed regional presence rather than fine-scale occupancy. The species exhibits a patchy but ecologically coherent distribution closely linked to open, thermophilous Quercus woodlands, particularly those dominated by Q. cerris and related oak species. Major threats include habitat loss, forest densification, fragmentation, and phenological mismatches associated with climate change. By identifying persistent knowledge gaps and sources of uncertainty, this review highlights priorities for future research, monitoring, and habitat-based conservation of D. schmidtii and similar early-spring, oak-associated Lepidoptera. Full article

Despite its ecological and economic importance, Hampala macrolepidota (Cyprinidae: Smiliogastrinae) remains taxonomically debated, having undergone historical reclassifications across multiple taxonomic ranks. These challenges highlight the urgent need for integrative genomic analyses to resolve its phylogeny and assess genome-wide diversity, establishing a baseline for effective management and conservation. In this study, the newly assembled mitogenome of H. macrolepidota from within its native range in Lake Dibawah, West Sumatra, Indonesia, was sequenced. The mitogenome spanned 17,104 bp, encoded 37 genes and a control region, and exhibited a nucleotide composition biased toward adenine and thymine. The protein-coding genes (PCGs) predominantly utilized ATG as the initiation codon and showed a higher proportion of hydrophobic compared to hydrophilic amino acids. The nonsynonymous (Ka) and synonymous (Ks) substitution ratios were below ‘1’, which indicates negative selection on most of the PCGs within Hampala and other Smiliogastrinae species. Mitogenome-wide analysis revealed overall high intraspecific genetic diversity (≥2.7%) in the native Indonesian population compared to mainland populations in Southeast Asia. The Bayesian and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analyses elucidated matrilineal evolutionary relationships within the subfamily Smiliogastrinae, with the Hampala species forming a monophyletic cluster. The present mitogenome-based phylogenetic topologies also supported the taxonomic placement of several species in the revised classification, which previously were classified under the genera Puntius and Barbus, respectively. Additionally, the investigation of partial mitochondrial COI and Cytb genes further elucidated the population genetic structure of H. macrolepidota across Southeast and East Asia. The observed genetic divergence (0–4.2% in COI and 0–4.5% in Cytb), together with well-resolved phylogenetic clustering and the presence of both shared and distinct haplotypes among Indonesian samples, provides strong evidence for long-term population isolation and local adaptation. These patterns are most plausibly driven by historical hydrological dynamics, paleo-drainage connectivity, and persistent geographic barriers that have structured population divergence over time. In addition, this study emphasizes the need to generate mitogenomes of seven additional Hampala species from Southeast Asia to better understand their evolutionary patterns. Further, broader sampling of wild H. macrolepidota populations across their biogeographical range will be essential to strengthen understanding of their genetic diversity and guide effective conservation strategies. Full article

Understanding patterns and mechanisms of species diversity is one fundamental issue in biogeography and ecology. As a critical region for biodiversity, the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP) still has unclear distribution patterns and drivers for cryptic, understudied taxa such as Curculionoidea. Here, we collected the distribution data of Curculionoidea on the QXP to analyze their diversity patterns and influencing factors, and compiled a DNA barcode dataset to uncover cryptic diversity. This comprehensive dataset encompasses 671 Curculionoidea species across 223 genera, demonstrating a level of diversity that surpasses that of certain vertebrate groups. We also observed an unbalanced biogeographic pattern of diversity, with a concentration of species in the eastern and southern regions and a scarcity in the northern and central areas of QXP. Further analysis showed that the elevation range is the most important factor influencing the diversity of Curculionoidea. In addition, based on 1147 COI-5′ barcode sequences from 217 species, we found that 11 morphological species may contain cryptic species based on DNA barcode datadset. Our findings significantly enhance the current understanding of cryptic biodiversity patterns among understudied taxa in the QXP, while simultaneously highlighting persistent knowledge gaps in characterizing the plateau’s full ecological complexity. Full article

Coin spiders of the genus Herennia Thorell, 1877 are species-rich nephilids distributed across South, East, and Southeast Asia and Australasia. They are notable for ladder-shaped arboricolous webs, extreme sexual size dimorphism, and complex sexual behaviors. The most recent revision recognized 11 species, only 4 of which were described from both sexes. Here, we present a taxonomic revision integrating new morphological and molecular data and recognize 14 species. We describe three new species—H. eva Kuntner from Sulawesi, H. maj Kuntner from Vietnam, and H. tsoi Kuntner et al. from Taiwan—and document previously unknown males of H. oz Kuntner, 2005 from Australia and H. tone Kuntner, 2005 from the Philippines. We also extend the known distribution of H. papuana Thorell, 1881 from New Guinea to Australia. Although several molecular species-delimitation analyses suggest H. oz and H. etruscilla Kuntner, 2005 may be conspecific, consistent and diagnostic morphological differences support their recognition as distinct species. We provide an updated identification key to all valid Herennia species. Additional undescribed endemics are likely to occur across the Asian mainland and the rapidly disappearing forests of Southeast Asian and Australasian islands. The genus’ biogeographic pattern, shaped by an ancestrally broad distribution spanning the Wallace Line, may reflect repeated loss and regain of ballooning, a hypothesis that warrants experimental and comparative testing. Full article

The geographic distribution patterns of microorganisms and their underlying mechanisms are central topics in microbiology, crucial for understanding ecosystem functioning and predicting responses to global change. Cryoconite absorbs solar radiation to form cryoconite holes, and because it lies within these relatively deep holes, it faces limited interference from surrounding ecosystems, often being seen as a fairly enclosed environment. Moreover, it plays a dominant role in the biogeochemical cycling of key elements such as carbon and nitrogen, making it an ideal model for studying large-scale microbial biogeography. In this study, we analyzed bacterial communities in cryoconite across a transcontinental scale of glaciers to elucidate their biogeographical distribution and community assembly processes. The cryoconite bacterial communities were predominantly composed of Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidota, and Actinobacteriota, with significant differences in species composition across geographical locations. Bacterial diversity was jointly driven by geographical and anthropogenic factors: species richness exhibited a hump-shaped relationship with latitude and was significantly positively correlated with the Human Development Index (HDI). The significant positive correlation may stem from nutrient input and microbial dispersal driven by high-HDI regions’ industrial, agricultural, and human activities. Beta diversity demonstrated a distance-decay pattern along spatial gradients such as latitude and geographical distance. Analysis of community assembly mechanisms revealed that stochastic processes predominated across continents, with a notable scale dependence: as the spatial scale increased, the role of deterministic processes (heterogeneous selection) decreased, while stochastic processes (dispersal limitation) strengthened and became the dominant force. By integrating geographical, climatic, and anthropogenic factors into a unified framework, this study enhances the understanding of the spatial-scale-driven mechanisms shaping cryoconite bacterial biogeography and emphasizes the need to prioritize anthropogenic influences to predict the trajectory of cryosphere ecosystem evolution under global change. Full article

Grasslands, as dominant terrestrial ecosystems, significantly influence soil microbial communities through alterations in soil properties. However, their effects on spatial patterns of soil microbial communities are still under-investigated. To address this, we quantified taxa–area (TAR) and node–area (NAR) relationships for prokaryotic and fungal communities across temperate steppe (TS), alpine steppe (AS), and alpine meadow (AM). Our findings indicated that the spatial turnover of both prokaryotic and fungal communities were higher in alpine steppe and alpine meadow than in temperate steppe, mirroring the gradient of soil environmental heterogeneity. Notably, overall species richness increased logarithmically with sampling area in all grasslands; in striking contrast, co-occurring richness exhibited an increasing and then decreasing trend in AS and AM, but declined monotonically in TS, indicating that microbial interaction networks collapse once a critical spatial threshold is exceeded regulated by ecosystem type and environmental heterogeneity. In growing season, the stochastic dominance in prokaryotic assembly (Normalized stochasticity ratio = 0.71–0.89) and deterministic dominance in fungal assembly (Normalized stochasticity ratio = 0.23–0.37) can be explained by their differences in niche breadth and migration rate. These scale-dependent biogeographic patterns demonstrate that grassland type impacts distinct interactions and spatial patterns of microbial communities. These findings provide novel insights into a comprehensive understanding of how grassland type mediates soil microbial community. Full article

Coastal reclamation profoundly alters soil physicochemical conditions and strongly influences soil microbial ecology; however, the millennial-scale successional patterns and assembly mechanisms of prokaryotic communities under such long-term disturbance remain insufficiently understood. In this study, we investigated archaeal and bacterial communities in the plow layer along a 0–1000-year coastal reclamation chronosequence on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay. We analyzed community abundance, diversity, composition and assembly processes, and quantified the relative contributions of geographic distance, environmental factors and reclamation years to microbial biogeographic patterns. The results showed that reclamation markedly drove continuous soil desalination, acidification, nutrient accumulation, and particle-size refinement. Bacterial abundance exhibited a sharp decline during the early stages of reclamation, whereas archaeal abundance remained relatively stable. The α-diversity of both archaea and bacteria peaked at approximately 210–230 years of reclamation. Community assembly processes differed substantially between the two microbial domains: the archaeal communities were dominated by stochastic processes (77.78%) identified as undominated processes and dispersal limitation, whereas bacterial communities were primarily shaped by deterministic processes (70.75%) driven as variable selection. Distance–decay analysis indicated that bacterial communities were more sensitive to environmental gradients. Multiple regression and variance partitioning further demonstrated that soil pH and electrical conductivity were the key drivers of community structure. Overall, this study reveals the millennial-scale community dynamics and assembly mechanisms of archaea and bacteria in response to coastal reclamation, providing mechanistic insights into long-term microbial ecological succession and offering valuable guidance for sustainable agricultural management and ecological restoration in reclaimed coastal regions. Full article

Knowledge of Algeria’s orchid flora has increased considerably over the past two decades; however, certain regions, such as Guelma Province in northeastern Algeria, remain poorly studied. Between 2013 and 2024, survey work was conducted in this region using a subjective sampling approach. A total of 40 stations were inventoried, and ecological variables such as altitude, exposure, and vegetation cover were recorded to interpret the distribution patterns of orchid taxa. In total, 37 taxa including 16 species, 19 subspecies and 2 hybrids were identified, with a predominance of the genus Ophrys (19 taxa). Among these, ten taxa exhibit a close endemic relationship with neighboring North African territories, and 22 are classified as rare in Algeria. Several taxa also appear as widespread and abundant, enriching the known orchid flora of the study area. Multivariate analyses revealed site typologies and environmental variables influencing the distribution of the recorded species. Cluster analysis identified five distinct Operational Biogeographical Units (OBUs), corresponding to specific environmental characteristics and orchid physiognomies. Furthermore, correlations between the studied taxa and environmental factors suggest that their occurrence is strongly influenced by these variables. Given the high vulnerability of the surveyed sites and the increasing anthropogenic pressures they face, the implementation of urgent conservation measures to protect these habitats and their components is strongly recommended. Full article

Deep-sea cold seep ecosystems, known for their unique geochemical niches and chemosynthetic communities, harbor numerous “dark matter fungi (DMF)” that remain understudied compared to their bacterial and archaeal counterparts. Integrating 105 metagenomic datasets from 12 global cold seep sites, this study systematically elucidated the diversity, biogeography, and assembly mechanisms of cold seep fungal communities. Our analysis revealed highly diverse and abundant fungi, spanning 21 phyla and 928 genera, characterized by the absolute dominance of Ascomycota and a pervasive presence of unclassified DMF. Crucially, the fungal communities exhibited significant geographical and seep-type heterogeneity, with peak abundance notably in methane seep environments. Further analyses revealed that fungal community diversity and structure are influenced by both spatial and biological factors. Moreover, assembly exhibits multi-scale characteristics: dispersal limitation is the primary determinant globally, while local-scale structure is jointly driven by environmental variables and biological interactions with key chemosynthetic genes. These findings establish the macro-biogeographical pattern of deep-sea cold seep fungi, underscoring their tight coupling with core energy metabolism and providing essential data for future research and potential utilization. Full article

This study investigates hydroid species distribution across the western Atlantic coastline, focusing on biogeographic patterns, comparing them with Caribbean assemblages, and assess the influence of environmental variables—including salinity, temperature, primary productivity, ocean currents, and chlorophyll—on biogeographic structure. We analyzed 375 species from to 9259 records (1946–2022), spanning the western Atlantic from the Caribbean to southern Argentina (28° N–53° S). Cluster analyses using UPGMA and ordination via nMDS, based on Sorensen-transformed occurrence data. Taxonomic distinctness was assessed with Average Taxonomic Distinctness (Delta+) and Lambda+ variation. UPGMA clustering revealed two main groups: one in the Caribbean and Brazil, and another in southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. The Amazon River mouth acted as a semi-permeable barrier, with 21.4% species overlap between Caribbean and Brazil. Southeastern Brazil had the highest species richness, likely due to environmental synergy and biodiversity hotspot. Assemblages followed known biogeographic gradients, with lower diversity offshore and on islands. The Río de la Plata showed a distinct, salinity-driven composition. Salinity, chlorophyll, and currents were key distribution drivers. Full article

Environmental filtering studies have revealed immense oceanic microbial diversity, yet the Southeast Pacific remains comparatively undersampled. We characterize the molecular diversity of phytoplankton across two biogeographic domains with contrasting oceanography—fjords and channels (41–53° S) versus the open Pacific (36–42° S)—where the frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) have increased. Using SSU rRNA metabarcoding, we retrieved community composition and biogeographic patterns for micro-phytoplankton. Diversity signals indicated broadly overlapping communities between domains with subtle shifts along hydrographic and nutrient gradients rather than sharp breaks. Phylogenetic resolution within bloom-forming genera recovered well-supported clades, and multiple ASVs matched historically relevant HAB taxa, including representatives of the Alexandrium complex, Dinophysis, Pseudo-nitzschia, and Karenia. Together, these results suggest that regional environmental filtering acts modestly at the community level while preserving clear signals of taxa of management concern. By providing a regionally resolved, DNA-based baseline for southern Chile’s fjords and adjacent open coast, this study helps fill the molecular diversity gap for the Southeast Pacific and supports improved HAB surveillance and ecosystem forecasting in a climate-sensitive seascape. Full article

The Rubiaceae family, the world’s fourth-largest angiosperm group, exhibits exceptional species and morphological diversity across its global distribution. Understanding its biogeographic patterns and their environmental drivers is critical for elucidating the evolution, ecological adaptation, and conservation priorities of this family. Here, we integrated global-scale distribution data with growth-form classifications (herbaceous vs. woody) to map the species richness patterns of Rubiaceae. We then related these patterns to four types of environmental variables (water and energy, climate seasonality, historical climate change, human influence) to identify key drivers of richness variations across growth forms. Our results indicated that the species richness pattern of Rubiaceae species exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity at the global scale. Total and woody species richness generally exhibit distinct latitudinal distribution patterns, peaking in tropical regions, whereas herbaceous plants predominate in mid-to-high latitudes. The drivers of these patterns also differ among growth forms. Actual evapotranspiration (AET) is the strongest predictor of species richness for the family as a whole and for different growth forms. Among the four types of environmental variables, water and energy are key factors driving the diversity pattern of total species of Rubiaceae. Environmental factors, especially water and energy, have a much stronger impact on the species richness patterns of woody plants than on those of herbaceous plants. These findings highlight the unique biogeographic patterns and potential environmental driving mechanisms of the diversity of Rubiaceae species, providing a theoretical basis for the diversity of global conservation in Rubiaceae. Full article

Severely understudied and poorly known ultra-abyssal (hadal) brittle-stars of the genus Abyssura were collected during a recent expedition to the Japan Trench at depths between 6183 and 6539 m and were examined for the first time for both their molecular and detailed morphological data. To date, family-level assignment of the genus Abyssura remains a complete enigma, despite a recent major reorganization of ophiuroid classification. In this study, we infer an all-family level phylogeny of the class Ophiuroidea and find phylogenetic placement for Abyssura, which turns out to be a sister taxon of another little-known ophiuroid genus, Ophiambix, found in hot-vent and cold-seep environments in association with sunken wood at depths between 146 and 5315 m. The sister relationship between the hadal genus Abyssura and the shallow-water-to-abyssal genus Ophiambix is robustly supported by our molecular data, and both external and micromorphological data for these genera are highly consistent. No similar taxa have been found in any of the currently recognized 34 ophiuroid families. Therefore, the genera Abyssura and Ophiambix are assigned to the new family, Abyssuridae fam. nov. This new family shows features of paedomorphic reduction and elucidates the linkage between fauna from both the shallower and the deepest parts of the world’s oceans and provides new insights into the global bathymetric, biogeographic, and diversity patterns of organisms. Full article

The Strait of Gibraltar (SG) is a key biogeographic and ecological corridor connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, enabling the seasonal migrations of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). The objective of this study was to characterize, for the first time, the spatial and temporal exposure of the species to maritime traffic during its migration through the SG, quantifying movement patterns, individual composition, and collision risk to identify critical areas for conservation. Validated observations collected between April 2016 and October 2024, with additional records in January and March 2025, were integrated with EMODnet vessel density layers to assess monthly distributions of sightings, individuals, calves, migration patterns, and behavior. A total of 347 sightings comprising 692 individuals were recorded, revealing predominantly westward movements between June and August. Spatial overlap analyses indicated that the highest exposure occurred both near the Bay of Algeciras/Gibraltar and in the northern half of the Central SG, where cargo ship and tanker traffic coincides with dense migration routes and where injuries have been documented in the field. These findings delineate high-risk areas for fin whales throughout the SG and provide an empirical basis for spatial management measures, including speed reduction zones, adaptive route planning, and the possible designation of the area as a cetacean migration corridor. The proposed measures aim to mitigate collision risk and ensure long-term ecological connectivity between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Full article