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Biogeographical reconstructions of the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA) have suggested a recent spread across the Sunda and Sahul shelves of lineages with diverse origins, which appears to be congruent with a geological history of recent tectonic uplift in the region. However, this scenario is challenged by new geological evidence suggesting that the Sunda shelf was never submerged prior to the Pliocene, casting doubt on the interpretation of recent uplift and the correspondence of evidence from biogeography and geology. A mismatch between geological and biogeographical data may occur if analyses ignore the dynamics of extinct lineages, because this may add uncertainty to the timing and origin of clades in biogeographical reconstructions. We revisit the historical biogeography of multiple IAA taxa and explicitly allow for the possibility of lineage extinction. In contrast to models assuming zero extinction, we find that all of these clades, including plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, have a common and widespread geographic origin, and each has spread and colonized the region much earlier than previously thought. The results for the eight clades re-examined in this article suggest that they diversified and spread during the early Eocene, which helps to unify the geological and biological histories of IAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomy and biogeography of potter wasps with a petiolate metasoma occurring in the Indonesian Archipelago are reviewed. Literature review and specimens examination were carried out for the present study. Within the Eumeninae, the wasps with a petiolate metasoma distributed in the region have been more or less well studied compared with those with a non-petiolate metasoma, but their generic affinities and the concepts of some species yet remain unestablished. A total of 80 species belonging to 16 genera of the “petiolate metasoma” are known to occur from the region. Sumatra, Java, Bali and Borneo have mainly Oriental eumenine fauna, including several area- specific species of the Oriental genera. New Guinean fauna is comprised of Papua-Australian species of the widely distributed genera, together with widely distributed species and species endemic to New Guinea. The Wallacean fauna is constituted mainly with the area-specific species in the rather widely distributed genera; in the western part of Wallacea, they are represented mainly by widely distributed genera, together with Oriental genera; in the eastern part of Wallacea, they are constituted mainly by area endemic species of widely distributed Oriental genera. Widely distributed species generally show a wide range of variation in the marking patterns, and occurs sympatrically in some areas, even the peripheral populations usually characterized by the island(s)-specific marking patterns. Sympatric occurrences of forms with quite different color patterns in widely distributed species need further study to establish their taxonomic status, namely whether they are variations within a given area or different species.

Up to present, Indonesia has 900 described species of dragonflies with around 70% are endemic; among them, the most diverse is in Papua. This data is collected based on 356 publications from scientific journals, bulletins, magazines, books, theses, and proceedings from 1773 to 2019. There is still a lack of information about what is the most and least popular topics and where is the most explored regions in Indonesia for Odonata research. I categorized the topics into biodiversity, taxonomy and systematics, biogeography, conservation, ecology, education, ethnozoology, history, and molecular. The result shows that the most popular topic is biodiversity by 139 publications and the least are history and molecular by only one publication. Most popular group to be observed is dragonflies in general (both suborders) by 200 publications and the least observed is Anisoptera by only 71 publications. Java is the most explored island for about 160 publications in 250 years.

Odonata is important as environmental bioindicator as well as pest control. Langsa Urban Forest (LUF) is a 10-ha green open space in Langsa City, Aceh Province which serves the purpose of tourism and support biodiversity conservation, in which Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) is included. There is a lack of Odonata research in Langsa, especially at the LUF area, therefore this study offers a baseline information for wildlife management. Field observations had been conducted between February to March 2022 using line-transect method. As a result, this study recorded 19 Odonata species from four families, of which Orthetrum sabina (Libellulidae) became the most prominent species observed. Odonata diversity in LUF was medium (H' = 1.863-2.252) with population of each species presumed to be nearly even (J = 0.71-0.79). Odonata diversity in LUF serves as additional information on Odonata species found in Indonesia, especially Aceh Province. Also, the medium category of Odonata diversity index in LUF can be used as a reference for LUF management to support more ecosystems as Odonata habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of gDNAs isolated from museum specimens for high throughput sequencing, especially targeted sequencing in the context of phylogenetics, is a common practice. Yet, little understanding has been focused on comparing the quality of DNA and results of sequencing museum DNAs. Dragonflies and damselflies are ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems and are commonly collected and preserved insects in museum collections hence their use in this study. However, the history of odonate preservation across time and museums has resulted in wide variability in the success of viable DNA extraction, necessitating an assessment of their usefulness in genetic studies. Using Anchored Hybrid Enrichment probes, we sequenced DNA from samples at 2 museums, 48 from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in NYC, USA and 46 from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center (RMNH) in Leiden, Netherlands ranging from global collection localities and across a 120-year time span. We recovered at least 4 loci out of an >1,000 locus probe set for all samples, with the average capture being ~385 loci (539 loci on average when a clade of ambiguous taxa omitted). Neither specimen age nor size was a good predictor of locus capture, but recapture rates differed significantly between museums. Samples from the AMNH had lower overall locus capture than the RMNH, perhaps due to differences in specimen storage over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogeographical reconstructions of the Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA) have suggested a recent spread across the Sunda and Sahul shelves of lineages with diverse origins, which appears to be congruent with a geological history of recent tectonic uplift in the region. However, this scenario is challenged by new geological evidence suggesting that the Sunda shelf was never submerged prior to the Pliocene, casting doubt on the interpretation of recent uplift and the correspondence of evidence from biogeography and geology. A mismatch between geological and biogeographical data may occur if analyses ignore the dynamics of extinct lineages, because this may add uncertainty to the timing and origin of clades in biogeographical reconstructions. We revisit the historical biogeography of multiple IAA taxa and explicitly allow for the possibility of lineage extinction. In contrast to models assuming zero extinction, we find that all of these clades, including plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, have a common and widespread geographic origin, and each has spread and colonized the region much earlier than previously thought. The results for the eight clades re-examined in this article suggest that they diversified and spread during the early Eocene, which helps to unify the geological and biological histories of IAA.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microorganisms is an ongoing threat to human health across the globe. To better characterize the AMR profiles of six strains of Staphylococcus aureus , we performed a secondary analysis that consisted of the following steps: 1) download fastq files from the Sequence Read Archive, 2) perform a de novo genome assembly from the sequencing reads, 3) annotate the assembled contigs, 4) predict the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes. We predicted the presence of 75 unique genes that conferred resistance against 22 unique antimicrobial compounds., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present., (Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.)

Wallacea-the meeting point between the Asian and Australian fauna-is one of the world's largest centers of endemism. Twenty-three million years of complex geological history have given rise to a living laboratory for the study of evolution and biodiversity, highly vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures. In the present article, we review the historic and contemporary processes shaping Wallacea's biodiversity and explore ways to conserve its unique ecosystems. Although remoteness has spared many Wallacean islands from the severe overexploitation that characterizes many tropical regions, industrial-scale expansion of agriculture, mining, aquaculture and fisheries is damaging terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, denuding endemics from communities, and threatening a long-term legacy of impoverished human populations. An impending biodiversity catastrophe demands collaborative actions to improve community-based management, minimize environmental impacts, monitor threatened species, and reduce wildlife trade. Securing a positive future for Wallacea's imperiled ecosystems requires a fundamental shift away from managing marine and terrestrial realms independently., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences.)