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Habitat degradation and the associated reductions in ecosystem function can be reversed by reintroducing or ‘rewilding’ keystone species. Rewilding projects have historically targeted restoration of processes such as grazing regimes or top-down predation effects. Few projects have focussed on restoring decomposition efficiency, despite the pivotal role decomposition plays in global carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. Here, we tested whether rewilding entire communities of detritivorous invertebrates and microbes can improve litter decomposition efficiency and restore detritivore communities during ecological restoration. Rewilding was conducted by transplanting leaf litter and soil, including associated invertebrate and microbial communities from species-rich remnant sites into species-poor, and geographically isolated, revegetated farmland sites. We sampled pre- and post-rewilding communities, comparing remnant, rewilded revegetation, and control revegetation sites for litter decomposition and the abundance and diversity of detritivorous invertebrates and microbes. We also quantified the effect of detritivores on the rate of litter decomposition using piecewise Structural Equation Modelling. Decomposition was significantly faster in rewilding sites than both control and remnant areas and was largely driven by a greater abundance of invertebrate detritivores. Similarly, the abundance of invertebrate detritivores in rewilding revegetation sites exceeded the level of remnant communities, whereas there was little difference between control and remnant sites. In contrast, saprotrophic fungi contributed little to decomposition. Areas selected for agriculture were likely more productive than remnant sites, suggesting that restoration sites have the capacity for higher decomposition rates and more abundant detritivore communities than target remnant sites. Importantly, our findings suggest that the novel and relatively simple act of transplanting leaf litter can increase functional efficiency during restoration and alter community composition. Our methods may prove important across a range of contexts where other restoration methods have failed to restore ecosystem processes to pre-degradation levels.

Restoration of degraded areas is now a central tool in humanity's response to continued species-loss. However, restoration projects often report exceedingly slow or failed recolonization of fauna, especially dispersal-constrained groups such as invertebrates. Active interventions via reintroducing or "rewilding" invertebrates may assist recolonization and speed up restoration of communities toward a desired target. However, invertebrate rewilding is rarely implemented during ecological restoration. Here, we studied the efficacy of invertebrate rewilding as a means of reintroducing dispersal-constrained species and improving diversity and compositional similarities to remnant communities during restoration. Rewilding was conducted by transplanting leaf litter and soil, including associated communities of invertebrates from species rich remnant sites into species poor, and geographically isolated, revegetated farmland sites. We sampled pre- and post-rewilding invertebrate communities in remnant, rewilded revegetation, and control revegetation sites. We analyzed morphospecies richness, abundance, community composition, and modeled morphospecies traits (dispersal method/trophic guild) using a Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities approach to determine which biological properties facilitated establishment. Beetle (Coleoptera) morphospecies richness increased rapidly in rewilded sites and was indistinguishable from remnant communities as early as 7 months post-rewilding. Beetle community similarity in the rewilding sites significantly deviated from the control sites 27 months post-rewilding, however remnant communities remained distinct over the study timeframe. Establishment success varied as other taxa did not respond as consistently as beetles within the study timeframe. Furthermore, there were no discernible shifts in dispersal traits in rewilded sites. However, predatory morphospecies were more likely to establish post-rewilding than other trophic groups. Our results demonstrate that the relatively simple act of transplanting leaf litter can result in comparatively large increases in morphospecies richness during restoration in a short timeframe. We advocate methodologies such as ours should be adopted more frequently to address failed community restoration as they are cost-effective and can be easily applied by practitioners in various restoration settings. However, further efficacy tests (e.g., varying the number of rewilding events) and longer study timeframes are needed to ensure effectiveness for a broader range of invertebrate taxa and ecosystems.

For over a century, it has been pondered how the biting louse Heterodoxus spiniger, which evolved on the agile wallaby (Macropus agilis) in Australia/New Guinea, came to be found on domesti...

We compared abundances of terrestrial vertebrate insectivores, the rate of insectivory and composition of epigeic arthropod assemblages where an apex predator the dingo was common and rare on either side of the Dingo Barrier Fence (DBF) in Australia's Strzelecki Desert. Previous research in the region shows that suppression of dingoes initiates trophic cascades between dingoes-red foxes-small mammals and woody shrubs and between dingoes-kangaroos and grasses. Results show that terrestrial insectivores were more abundant and the rate of insectivory indexed as the rate of consumption of experimentally provisioned meal-worms was greater where dingoes were common. Overall abundance, diversity and taxon richness of arthropods was unaffected by dingo status. However, there were distinct differences in the composition of arthropod assemblages across the DBF. Scolopendridae, Acrididae and Lepismatidae were more abundant where dingoes were rare, while Tenebrionidae and Blattidae were more abundant where dingoes were common. Our results lend support to the idea that suppression of dingo populations can trigger ≥4 link trophic cascades that extend to arthropod assemblages. We hypothesize that dingo suppression engenders shifts in arthropod assemblages due to a decrease in the intensity of insectivory, changes in habitat structure and alteration of the predatory and competitive interactions between arthropod taxa.

Bothriomirini is a small tropical mirid tribe that has not been comprehensively revised nor has monophyly of the tribe and included genera been tested. This paper presents a systematic review of Bothrioimrini. Bothriomirella ater gen. nov. sp. nov., Bothriomiris lorenzatoae sp. nov., Dashymenia javanensis sp. nov. , Dashymenia jaydeni sp. nov. are described as new to science. A phylogenetic analysis of Bothriomirini based on morphological data is performed. The diagnoses of the tribe and most of its genera are discussed. Bakeriola crassicornis Poppius, Bothriomiris lugubris Poppius, Bothriomiris ornatus Bergroth, Dashymeniella tibialis Poppius and Leprocapsus scutellaris Poppius are redescribed. Female genitalia of Bothrimirini are discussed for the first time. This study supports the monophyly of the tribe and most genera and documents remarkable heterogeneity of the female genitalia. New locality data and a discussion of the distribution of Bothriomirini in relation to major biomes and climatic zones are provided.

A population of the crest-tailed mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda) was recently located in the southern Strzelecki Desert in 2015. We analysed the diet of this population from scats (n=87) collected over two sampling periods in 2016. Beetles were the most favoured food item, followed by spiders, ants and the small mammal Notomys fuscus. Within the beetles, ground beetles (Carabidae) and darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) were the most frequently consumed. Dasycercus cristicauda appeared to exhibit a seasonal shift in prey consumption, moving from vertebrates in July 2016 to invertebrates in November 2016, while also consuming a wide and varied range of prey, even including rabbits in their diet in July 2016. The flexible diet observed in Dasycercus cristicauda may be a response to the fluctuating availability of food found in desert environments.

Adenocarcinoma of the colon represents the third most frequent cause of death from cancer, being surpassed only by lung and stomach cancer. Early screening and diagnosis of polyps are important for a good prognosis. Based on a clinical case, a novel approach is presented for screening of sigmoidal polyps and neoplasia using transvaginal 2D, 3D mode in women. This novel and simple technique can be used to visualize the sigmoid diverticula during routine gynecological examination via 3D transvaginal ultrasound probe.