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Knowledge on species' ecological requirements is the key to an effective evidence‐based conservation. An adaptive approach can refine management recommendations following the outcomes of previous actions or as improved scientific knowledge about a species' ecology becomes available. Following severe population declines the majority of the Swiss European Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) population is now restricted to a small core area in the canton of Valais, despite the local application of evidence‐based restoration measures to the breeding habitats. The habitat use of this crepuscular bird species is presumed to be restricted to semi‐open oak‐pine scrublands and rocky steppe. By deploying miniature GPS loggers we assessed the spatial and habitat selection of 42 individuals (25 individuals in 2018 and 30 individuals in 2019; comprising 13 redeployments between years) in five study sites in the canton Valais. We highlight the importance of using fine‐scaled movement data to obtain insight into complex multi‐scale habitat requirements of a species. Nightjars used multiple habitats, indicating the importance of complementary resources to breed (e.g. open forest and shrub) and to forage (e.g. semi‐extensive grasslands and vineyards). The connectivity between these resources was influenced by habitat configuration and composition. Given these new insights for future conservation strategies, our results also suggest that national‐level land use changes, mainly due to agricultural intensification processes, have contributed to the long‐term population declines in Switzerland. We therefore consider our result in the context of knowledge gaps for species that exploit complementary habitats and the potential shortcomings for conservation planning on discrete species showing complex ecological requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Meiofauna includes an astonishing diversity of organisms, whose census is far from being complete. Most classic ecological studies have focused on hard-bodied Ecdysozoan taxa (notably Copepoda and Nematoda), whose cuticle allows determination at species-level after fixation, rather than soft-bodied, Spiralian taxa, which most often lose any diagnostic feature in fixed samples. Yet, metabarcoding studies have recently revealed a species-richness of soft-bodied taxa comparable, and in cases superior, to that of Copepoda and Nematoda together. However, given objective difficulties inherent to their study, which necessarily has to be performed on living individuals, and their limited utilisation for ecological and applicative research, taxonomic expertise on soft-bodied organisms has declined over the years, and diversity of these phyla in most areas of the world is presently completely unknown. Here we present an expert-based survey of current knowledge on the composition and distribution of soft-bodied meiofaunal taxa in Italy, with special references to the predominantly or exclusively meiobenthic phyla Gastrotricha, Gnathostomulida, Platyhelminthes, Rotifera, Xenacoelomorpha, and macrofaunal taxa with conspicuous meiofaunal representatives (Annelida, Mollusca and Nemertea). A total of 638 described species have been reported from Italian coasts; furthermore, the existence of a large number of undescribed species is mentioned. Knowledge of Annelida, Gastrotricha, and Rotifera appears particularly detailed, placing Italy among the best-known country worldwide. In contrast, knowledge of Platyhelminthes and Xenacoelomorpha appears patchy, and limited to few areas. Sampling effort has been uneven, with most species recorded from the Tyrrhenian Sea, while large sections of the Adriatic and Ionian seas have been poorly explored. Results highlight the role that Marine Biological Stations, notably the Zoological Station "Anton Dohrn" in Naples, have had in promoting the study of soft-bodied taxa in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

This study highlights the value of museum collections in invasion biology. It focuses on introduced tilapias, Oreochromis niloticus and Coptodon rendalli in the Congo Basin and their monogenean (Platyhelminthes) gill parasite fauna. O. niloticus was introduced throughout the Congo Basin while C. rendalli was introduced into the Lower Congo, but is native to the Middle and Upper Congo. In order to study the impact of these stocking events on the native parasite community we investigate the co-introduction and host switching of their parasites. Post-introduction material is compared with pre-introduction samples from museum collections of 5 native tilapias in the Congo Basin. Nine of the known parasites of O. niloticus were co-introduced, while one, Cichlidogyrus rognoni, is missing and possibly not established. In contrast, no parasite species were found co-introduced with C. rendalli into the Lower Congo. The parasite fauna of Tilapia sparrmanii shared no species with O. niloticus. Oreochromis mweruensis shared five species with O. niloticus, but these were also found on the pre-introduction samples, and are considered native to both hosts. We report three putative host switches: Cichlidogyrus sclerosus and Cichlidogyrus tilapiae to Coptodon tholloni in the Lower Congo Basin and Gyrodactylus nyanzae to C. rendalli in the Upper Congo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

This study represents the first exploration of the parasite fauna of cichlid fishes in the Mweru-Luapula subregion (Central Africa). Twelve species of cichlids and 14 species of Monogenea from three genera (Cichlidogyrus, Gyrodactylus and Scutogyrus) were collected. We present a first record of the gill parasite fauna of eight host species, Oreochromis mweruensis, Orthochromis sp. ‘Mambilima’, Sargochromis mellandi, Serranochromis angusticeps, S. stappersi, S. thumbergi and Tylochromis mylodon. The host range of ten parasite species was expanded. The study further includes the description of Cichlidogyrus consobrini sp. n. from S. mellandi and Orthochromis sp. ‘Mambilima’. A new morphotype of C. halli is characterized, and three species – C. papernastrema, C. quaestio and C. zambezensis – are redescribed. Furthermore, the biodiversity and host specificity of these parasites is compared with that of cichlid parasites from Lake Kariba and Cameroon. Two species, including C. consobrini sp. n. and a new morphotype of C. halli, are putative endemics. The parasite fauna in Bangweulu-Mweru is highly similar in species composition to Lake Kariba, but in Bangweulu-Mweru the same parasite species are more host-specific, probably because of hydrogeographical differences between the two regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Owing to the largely unexplored diversity of metazoan parasites, their speciation mechanisms and the circumstances under which such speciation occurs – in allopatry or sympatry – remain vastly understudied. Cichlids and their monogenean flatworm parasites have previously served as a study system for macroevolutionary processes, e.g., for the role of East African host radiations on parasite communities. Here, we investigate the diversity and evolution of the poorly explored monogeneans infecting a West and Central African lineage of cichlid fishes: Chromidotilapiini, which is the most species-rich tribe of cichlids in this region. We screened gills of 149 host specimens (27 species) from natural history collections and measured systematically informative characters of the sclerotised attachment and reproductive organs of the parasites. Ten monogenean species (Dactylogyridae: Cichlidogyrus and Onchobdella) were found, eight of which are newly described and one redescribed herein. The phylogenetic positions of chromidotilapiines-infecting species of Cichlidogyrus were inferred through a parsimony analysis of the morphological characters. Furthermore, we employed machine learning algorithms to detect morphological features associated with the main lineages of Cichlidogyrus. Although the results of these experimental algorithms remain inconclusive, the parsimony analysis indicates that West and Central African lineages of Cichlidogyrus and Onchobdella are monophyletic, unlike the paraphyletic host lineages. Several instances of host sharing suggest occurrences of intra-host speciation (sympatry) and host switching (allopatry). Some morphological variation was recorded that may also indicate the presence of species complexes. We conclude that collection material can provide important insights on parasite evolution despite the lack of well-preserved DNA material. more...

Trigonostomum vanmecheleninov. sp. (Rhabdocoela: Dalytyphloplanida) was collected from algae taken from the channels in Venice (Italy). It can easily be distinguished from its congeners by the detailed morphology of the stylet and of the bursal appendage, which is a coiled tube. OnlyT. lillieihas a bursal appendage with a comparable morphology. All available material of that species was also studied, leading to the conclusion thatT. prytherchiis not a synonym ofT. lilliei, as was proposed in earlier literature.T. prytherchican be distinguished by the fact that the stylet proper is proximally bent over 180°, whereas in the other two species it is bent over 90°, and by the fact that the mantle of the stylet consists of one plate only, where it comprises two plates in the other two species.T. vanmecheleninov. sp. can be distinguished fromT. lillieiby the fact that the two plates of the mantle are different in shape and by the fact that the bursal appendage splits distally into six finer tubes. InT. lillieithe two plates are identical in shape and the bursal appendage splits distally into three to four finer tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Seven typhloplanoids from the Indian Ocean are discussed; six of them are new to science. We place four of the new species within the Trigonostomidae. Gandalfia bilunata gen. nov. sp. nov. is characterized by a tubiform stylet and two semilunar structures in the afferent duct. Mahurubia clava gen. nov. sp. nov. has a gutter-shaped stylet and a club-shaped mouthpiece on the bursa. Parapharyngiella involucrum gen. nov. sp. nov. is characterized by a stylet in the form of a question mark and a bursal mouthpiece with a club-shaped and a barrel-shaped part. Poseidoplanella halleti gen. nov. sp. nov. is characterized by an unpaired ovary, a funnel-shaped stylet connected with a plate, and a small, tubular bursal mouthpiece. Furthermore, new data are given on Ceratopera axi. The two other new species belong to the Typhloplanidae. Aegira annabellae gen. nov. sp. nov., a marine species, is characterized by a box-shaped stylet and a long, pseudocuticularized ejaculatory duct. Castrada trispina sp., a freshwater species, has a copulatory bursa with three spines. Mahurubia clava gen. nov. sp. nov. and Parapharyngiella involucrum gen. nov. sp. nov. occur at Zanzibar, Tanzania. The other five species have been found on Kerguelen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The Lower Congo Basin is characterized by a mangrove-lined estuary at its mouth and, further upstream, by many hydrogeographical barriers such as rapids and narrow gorges. Five localities in the mangroves and four from (upstream) left bank tributaries or pools were sampled. On the gills of Coptodon tholloni, Coptodon rendalli, Hemichromis elongatus, Hemichromis stellifer and Tylochromis praecox, 17 species of parasites (Dactylogyridae & Gyrodactylidae, Monogenea) were found, eight of which are new to science. Six of these are herein described: Cichlidogyrus bixlerzavalai n. sp. and Cichlidogyrus omari n. sp. from T. praecox, Cichlidogyrus calycinus n. sp. and Cichlidogyrus polyenso n. sp. from H. elongatus, Cichlidogyrus kmentovae n. sp. from H. stellifer and Onchobdella ximenae n. sp. from both species of Hemichromis. On Cichlidogyrus reversati a ridge on the accessory piece was discovered that connects to the basal bulb of the penis. We report a putative spillback effect of the native parasites Cichlidogyrus berradae, Cichlidogyrus cubitus and Cichlidogyrus flexicolpos from C. tholloni to the introduced C. rendalli. From our results, we note that the parasite fauna of Lower Congo has a higher affinity with the fauna of West African and nearby freshwater ecoregions than it has with fauna of other regions of the Congo Basin and Central Africa. more...