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Revealing the mechanisms underlying community organization has long been a central interest for ecologists and biogeographers. Recent findings have suggested that different dimensions of biodiversity may be shaped by contrasting ecological processes, offering complementary insights about community assembly. However, studies integrating multiple diversity facets across the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) remain insufficient. We combined multiple analytical frameworks to unravel the patterns (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic) and correlates (local environment, land use and dispersal pathways) of aquatic arthropod diversity in lotic (stream) and lentic (wetland) ecosystems of the QTP. We observed strong phylogenetic signals in most functional traits, pointing to the influence of evolutionary processes on these faunas. Null models indicated that community structure in most streams and wetlands was mostly the result of random draws from the regional functional and phylogenetic species pool. The prevalence of stochasticity was most likely associated with the interplay of the paleogeographical history, the extremely harsh environmental conditions at high elevations and the subsequent impoverishment of the regional species pool. However, some streams and wetlands also exhibited phylogenetic overdispersion and functional clustering, emphasizing the potential importance of competitive exclusion and habitat filtering, respectively. Variation partitioning further revealed that both environmental filtering and dispersal limitation accounted for the spatial variation of diversity measures, with local environment overriding the effects of space and catchment land use. Overall, this study improves our understanding of community organization and diversity patterns in environmentally extreme alpine catchments, with broad implications for the conservation and management of one of the world’s most important high‐altitude treasures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our understanding of the spread of yeasts in natural ecosystems remains somewhat limited. The recent momentum of yeast ecology research has unveiled novel habitats and vectors that, alongside human activities, impact yeast communities in their natural environments. Yeasts, as non-airborne microorganisms, rely on animal vectors, predominantly insects. However, the overlooked actor in this interplay is the environmental matrix, a player potentially influencing yeast populations and their vectors. This study aims to delve deeper into the intricate, multi-layered connections between yeast populations and ecosystems, focusing on the interactions between the attributes of the environmental matrix, arthropod diversity, and the mycobiota within a renowned yeast-inhabited framework: the vineyard. To investigate these relationships, we sampled both invertebrate and yeast diversity in six organic and conventional vineyards described in terms of management and landscape composition. We identified 80 different invertebrate taxa and isolated 170 yeast strains belonging to 18 species. Notably, new species-specific yeast-insect associations were observed, including the exclusive association between Candida orthopsilosis and Hymenoptera and between Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Coleoptera. These newly identified potential associations provide valuable insights into insect and yeast physiology, hence holding the promise of enhancing our understanding of yeast and arthropod ecology and their collective impact on overall ecosystem health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crab apple (Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill.) is native to Central Europe and successfully commercially grown in Indonesia. Management practices that increase biodiversity in agroecosystems are essential for mediating the negative impacts of intensive agriculture. This study aims to compare arthropod abundance and diversity between grass ground cover and Hydrangea intercropping in crab apple orchards and assess their impact on arthropod functional groups providing ecosystem services. In this study, arthropods were sampled using three types of traps, i.e. pitfall trap, yellow sticky trap, and pan trap. Arthropod specimens were identified by order and family, then categorised by their ecological role: detritivore, omnivore, herbivore, the natural enemy (predator and parasitoid), and pollinator. Our study collected 164 families belonging to the five examined functional groups. We found that the family composition of arthropods was significantly different between Hydrangea intercropping and grass ground cover in crab apple orchards. Grass ground cover supports the increase of herbivore and natural enemy populations and it's related to enhancing biological control. In addition, Hydrangea intercropping increases pollinator species richness and contributes to pollination services. Pest management in crab apple orchards may benefit from a combination of grass ground cover to encourage natural enemies and Hydrangea intercropping to increase pollinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural sector has been intensifying production systems to increase yields. Olive cultivation is the most widespread permanent crop in Europe and the Mediterranean region and in many cases, it is under intensive farming practices with heavy use of agrochemicals, greatly affecting olive grove biodiversity. In this study we investigate the impact of different understorey management practices (undisturbed, cleared with mechanical means) on plant cover, ground beetle and bee richness and abundance, and on the abundance of ground arthropods and flying insects in olive groves on Lesvos Island, North Aegean, Greece. We found that undisturbed understorey had a positive impact on plant richness and abundance, ground beetle and bee richness and abundance, as well as ground arthropod and flying insect abundance. The results suggest that maintaining the plant cover undisturbed significantly improves the biodiversity of the olive groves and by extension the ecosystem services, such as pollination, pest control and soil health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent losses in the abundance and diversity of arthropods have been documented in many regions and ecosystems. In grasslands, such insect declines are largely attributed to land use, including modern machinery and mowing regimes. However, the effects of different mowing techniques on arthropods remain poorly understood. Using 11 years of data from 111 agricultural grassland plots across Germany, we analyzed the influence of various grassland management variables on the abundance and abundance‐accounted species richness of four arthropod orders: Araneae, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Orthoptera. The analysis focused on detailed mowing information, for example, days after mowing and mower type, and compared their effect with other aspects of grassland management, that is, rolling, leveling, fertilization, and grazing. We found strong negative effects of mowing on all four arthropod orders, with arthropod abundance being lowest directly after mowing and steadily increasing to three to seven times the abundance after 100 days post‐mowing. Likewise, Hemiptera and Coleoptera species richness was 30% higher 100 days after mowing. Mower width showed a positive effect on Orthoptera abundance, but not on the other arthropods. Arthropod abundance and Coleoptera species richness were lowest when a mulcher was used compared to rotary or bar mowers. In addition to mowing, intensive grazing negatively affected Orthoptera abundance but not the other orders. Mowing represents a highly disturbing and iterative stressor with negative effects on arthropod abundance and diversity, likely contributed by mowing‐induced mortality and habitat alteration. While modifications of mowing techniques such as mower type or mowing height and width may help to reduce the negative impact of mowing on arthropods, our results show that mowing itself has the most substantial negative effect. Based on our results, we suggest that reduced mowing frequency, omission of mowing in parts of the grassland (refuges), or extensive grazing instead of mowing have the greatest potential to promote arthropod populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Location Taxa Methods Results Main Conclusions Aquatic‐terrestrial transition zones contain features essential for many species that often benefit wetland biodiversity. Shallow flood‐zone areas and reed beds are indicative of natural wetland habitats; however, how such features affect the native arthropod biodiversity in constructed wetlands is scarcely investigated. We asked how these shoreline features, as well as wetland shoreline properties and grazing management, influence riparian arthropod diversities and habitat specializations.Constructed wetlands, Sweden.Araneae, Coleoptera, Diptera.Taxonomic‐, phylogenetic‐ and trait diversities, along with habitat specialist species richness, were measured in riparian spiders, beetles and selected Diptera in 68 constructed wetlands in two regions of Sweden. We ran structural equation models to estimate direct and indirect effects from shoreline slope, flooded grassland, reed areas and grazing management on group diversities, and used multivariate models to determine drivers on habitat specialist species richness.Flooded grassland and reed area, along with shoreline slope influenced arthropod diversities, and responses differed between arthropod groups and diversity metrics. Spider trait diversity was greater in wetlands with larger flooded grassland areas, whilst beetle trait diversity was reduced. Spider phylogenetic diversity was greater in wetlands containing larger reed areas and in wetlands with steeper shorelines. However, species richness in predatory flies was greater in wetlands with more gentle shorelines. Grazing management had limited effects on arthropod diversities; however, species richness in wetland specialist and generalist predatory dipterans was greater in the absence of grazers in wetlands with greater flooded grassland areas.As requirements vary considerably among arthropods, care must be taken when constructing and managing wetlands to benefit arthropod biodiversity. The present results suggest wetlands with a varied shoreline, albeit with greater proportions of flood areas, or multiple adjacent wetlands with varying shores in a wet landscape and a mild grazing regiment, would accommodate a more diverse arthropod fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is exerting growing pressure on natural ecosystems, but its impact on biological interactions remains unclear. This study aimed to assess how ALAN influences leaf functional traits and herbivory in two prevalent street tree species (Styphnolobium japonicum (L.) Schott and Fraxinus pennsylvanica) through field surveys and paired experiments in the urban areas of Beijing, China. We found that ALAN led to increased leaf toughness and decreased levels of leaf herbivory. Additionally, ALAN showed species-specific effects on leaf nutrients, size as well as defense substances. The findings illustrate that ALAN can significantly alter some key functional traits and ecological processes (nutrient cycling, energy flow). In general, we suggest that high ALAN intensity will be detrimental to the energy flow from urban plants to higher trophic levels, posing a potential threat to the maintenance of biodiversity (e.g., arthropod diversity, bird diversity) in urban ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Greater Cape Floristic Region at the southern tip of Africa is a global megadiversity hotspot. The region's biodiversity has been driven by a long history of topographic, climatic, and sea level change coupled with geological uplift, and without being exposed to any major climate events such as glaciations since the breakup of Gondwana. Among arthropods, this long history has led to the survival of many ancient lineages, manifested by much disparity followed by considerable speciation in more recent times, with the emergence of many cryptic species flocks. There is much convergence among the various taxa and functional groups in how they have responded to the various environmental filters of the past. There has also been the development of a great many morphological, behavioral, and microhabitat specialisms, associated with both topography and particular habitats, as well as interactions with other organisms. Morphological and molecular advances are elucidating how this megadiversity came about. There are indications that among the arthropod fauna, especially species that are small‐sized and have cryptic lifestyles, many more taxa remain to be discovered. Here, we review the eco‐evolutionary trends that have occurred in this region and that have resulted in such remarkable arthropod diversity. Conservation of the arthropod fauna requires recognition of this historical biogeography and ecology. Instigation of approaches over wide areas is required so as to encompass all this diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthropods play a crucial role in ecological processes and agricultural productivity. Soil physicochemical properties, indicators of soil health, are closely linked to arthropod communities. Gravel-sand mulching, commonly employed in arid farming, initially enhances water retention and temperature regulation but may contribute to land degradation with prolonged use. This study investigated how varying tillage durations affected soil properties and arthropod diversity under gravel-sand mulching. The analysis employed multiple comparison methods, covariance analysis (ANCOVA), non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), and redundancy analysis (RDA). The results indicated that while soil fertility was better preserved in cultivated fields compared to in the desert grassland, arthropod diversity significantly decreased with longer cultivation periods. A total of 1099 arthropods from 79 species were sampled, by Barber trap. The highest diversity was observed in native grassland (NG), with 305 arthropods from 39 species, while tillage 21 years (GPS-21Y) exhibited the lowest diversity, with only 103 arthropods from 6 species. Dominant species included the carnivores Labidura japonica and Cataglyphis aenes. The analysis revealed low similarity in arthropod communities between GPS-21Y and other fields and high similarity in soil physicochemical properties between NG and the transition zone (STZ). RDA showed available potassium (APP) was negatively correlated with arthropod species diversity and concentration, total Nitrogen (TN) was positively correlated with arthropod species diversity but negatively correlated with species concentration, total phosphorus (TP) was negatively correlated with arthropod species diversity and concentration. This study provides insights into the relationship between maintaining soil fertility and supporting arthropod diversity in grassland agriculture. While soil fertility and arthropod diversity were correlated, continuous cropping practices negatively impacted arthropod diversity, offering valuable information for pest management and sustainable agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a new method for identifying museum pests through the analysis of DNA present in settled dust. Traditionally, the identification of pests in cultural institutions such as museums and depositories has relied on insect trapping (monitoring). They give good results but need time (minimum spring until summer of one year for a complete survey) and face challenges related to the identification of small, rare, or damaged species. Our study presents a non-invasive approach that utilizes metabarcoding analysis of dust samples to identify pests and other arthropods at the species level. We collected dust samples with a handheld vacuum cleaner in summer 2023 from the six different floors of the Natural History Museum in Vienna and compared the results with the insect monitoring. We found over 359 different species of arthropods in the museum and could show how the diversity increases with the elevation of the building floor. This method could be used for rapid and cost-effective screening of pests before monitoring. But the interpretation of results is sometimes difficult (for Lepismatidae, for example), and it cannot replace a continuous monitoring of pests with traps. This investigation might present the highest indoor animal biodiversity ever found in a single building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Exoskeletons are a defining character of all arthropods that provide physical support for their segmented bodies and appendages as well as protection from the environment and predation. This ubiquitous yet evolutionarily variable feature has been instrumental in facilitating the adoption of a variety of lifestyles and the exploitation of ecological niches across all environments. Throughout the radiation that produced the more than one million described modern species, adaptability afforded by segmentation and exoskeletons has led to a diversity that is unrivalled amongst animals. However, because of the limited extensibility of exoskeleton chitin and cuticle components, they must be periodically shed and replaced with new larger ones, notably to accommodate the growing individuals encased within. Therefore, arthropods grow discontinuously by undergoing periodic moulting events, which follow a series of steps from the preparatory pre‐moult phase to ecdysis itself and post‐moult maturation of new exoskeletons. Each event represents a particularly vulnerable period in an arthropod's life cycle, so processes must be tightly regulated and meticulously executed to ensure successful transitions for normal growth and development. Decades of research in representative arthropods provide a foundation of understanding of the mechanisms involved. Building on this, studies continue to develop and test hypotheses on the presence and function of molecular components, including neuropeptides, hormones, and receptors, as well as the so‐called early, late, and fate genes, across arthropod diversity. Here, we review the literature to develop a comprehensive overview of the status of accumulated knowledge of the genetic toolkit governing arthropod moulting. From biosynthesis and regulation of ecdysteroid and sesquiterpenoid hormones, to factors involved in hormonal stimulation responses and exoskeleton remodelling, we identify commonalities and differences, as well as highlighting major knowledge gaps, across arthropod groups. We examine the available evidence supporting current models of how components operate together to prepare for, execute, and recover from ecdysis, comparing reports from Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Crustacea, and Hexapoda. Evidence is generally highly taxonomically imbalanced, with most reports based on insect study systems. Biases are also evident in research on different moulting phases and processes, with the early triggers and late effectors generally being the least well explored. Our synthesis contrasts knowledge based on reported observations with reasonably plausible assumptions given current taxonomic sampling, and exposes weak assumptions or major gaps that need addressing. Encouragingly, advances in genomics are driving a diversification of tractable study systems by facilitating the cataloguing of putative genetic toolkits in previously under‐explored taxa. Analysis of genome and transcriptome data supported by experimental investigations have validated the presence of an “ultra‐conserved” core of arthropod genes involved in moulting processes. The molecular machinery has likely evolved with elaborations on this conserved pathway backbone, but more taxonomic exploration is needed to characterise lineage‐specific changes and novelties. Furthermore, linking these to transformative innovations in moulting processes across Arthropoda remains hampered by knowledge gaps and hypotheses based on untested assumptions. Promisingly however, emerging from the synthesis is a framework that highlights research avenues from the underlying genetics to the dynamic molecular biology through to the complex physiology of moulting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among mammals, bats harbour the greatest taxonomic diversity of ectoparasitic arthropods. This is mainly due to their high mobility, wide distribution range and gregarious social behaviour. In Chile, 17 species of bats have been reported; however, their ectoparasitic arthropofauna has been little studied. There are currently 12 taxa recorded, belonging to two classes and associated with only four species of bats. This study aimed to investigate the diversity of parasitic flies associated with bats in three ecoregions: Atacama Desert, Chilean Matorral and Valdivian temperate forest. During 2021, using mist nets, bats were captured in Anzota caves (Atacama Desert ecoregion), Huelquén and Alto Jahuel (Chilean Matorral ecoregion), Cherquenco and San Patricio (Valdivian temperate forest). Each bat was carefully checked during a 15‐min interval for the collection of ectoparasites. The arthropods were deposited in vials with 96% ethanol. A total of 26 bats corresponding to three species (Vespertilionidae: Histiotus magellanicus Philippi, 1866, Myotis arescens (Osgood, 1943); Phyllostomidae: Desmodus rotundus (Geoffroy, 1810)) were captured from which a total of 142 ectoparasitic arthropods were collected. Bat flies were separated/identified under a stereomicroscope. Additionally, from the fieldwork, we report the presence of other ectoparasites associated with Chilean bats. In our study, we report new host–parasite associations between Trichobius parasiticus Gervais, 1844 (Diptera: Streblidae) on D. rotundus, and Basilia silvae (Brèthes, 1913) (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) in M. arescens in Chile. Our study extended the latitudinal range of distribution for B. silvae to Araucanía region, and we report for first time T. parasiticus in the country. Additionally, partial sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase I gene were obtained from these specimens. Although there is slight morphological variation in the specimens of T. parasiticus, phylogenetic analyses suggest that they correspond to the same species. The sequences generated for B. silvae represent the first for the species. Authors recommend the use of an integrative approach in the identification of ectoparasites in poorly studied ecoregions and hosts. The integration of different markers is necessary to determine more precisely the phylogenetic relationships between South American populations and species of the genera Basilia and Trichobius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biting midges (Culicoides) are vectors of many pathogens of medical and veterinary importance, but their viromes are poorly characterized compared to certain other hematophagous arthropods, e.g., mosquitoes and ticks. The goal of this study was to use metagenomics to identify viruses in Culicoides from Mexico. A total of 457 adult midges were collected in Chihuahua, northern Mexico, in 2020 and 2021, and all were identified as female Culicoides reevesi. The midges were sorted into five pools and homogenized. An aliquot of each homogenate was subjected to polyethylene glycol precipitation to enrich for virions, then total RNA was extracted and analyzed by unbiased high-throughput sequencing. We identified six novel viruses that are characteristic of viruses from five families (Nodaviridae, Partitiviridae, Solemoviridae, Tombusviridae, and Totiviridae) and one novel virus that is too divergent from all classified viruses to be assigned to an established family. The newly discovered viruses are phylogenetically distinct from their closest known relatives, and their minimal infection rates in female C. reevesi range from 0.22 to 1.09. No previously known viruses were detected, presumably because viral metagenomics had never before been used to study Culicoides from the Western Hemisphere. To conclude, we discovered multiple novel viruses in C. reevesi from Mexico, expanding our knowledge of arthropod viral diversity and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest ecosystems are facing increasing challenges like natural disturbances. Despite positive disturbance impacts on the diversity of several taxonomic groups, there are still concerns, whether the drastic canopy opening can lead to a turnover from forest to open habitat species.We sampled arthropods along a disturbance gradient in Norway spruce (Picea abies)‐dominated protected areas across Central Europe using Malaise traps and metabarcoding.To analyse changes in arthropod communities in terms of forest affinities along the disturbance gradient, we explored the potential of a list of forest affinities (LFA) that provides information about species affinities from closed forest to open habitats.Our results show that the mean forest affinity decreased with increasing disturbance severity. This trend was accompanied by a decrease in forest‐associated species as well as community shifts for open and mixed habitat species. Responses varied between taxa and were most apparent in Coleoptera.Overall, the changes did not come with a complete replacement of forest specialists by species with higher affinities for mixed and open landscapes nor a drastic loss of forest species. Furthermore, we observed severely disturbed plots with a high mean forest affinity and vice versa, which calls for further studies using these kinds of species classifications.The LFA can provide additional information how species associated with forests habitats can react to environmental changes beyond increasing amounts of deadwood resources. Using additional trapping methods and determination techniques might increase the explanatory power of such analyses along ecological gradients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoring the heterogeneity of farmland mosaics can help mitigate the ongoing global decline of biodiversity. It has been shown that semi‐natural habitats in viticultural landscapes influence biodiversity in vineyards. However, less attention has been paid to the influence of the extent of vineyard fields and their arrangement in the landscape.Using previously published data, we investigated the influence of both semi‐natural habitats and vineyard fields on arthropod diversity in vineyards in 35 viticultural landscapes located in South Africa and Austria. Effects on several arthropod groups were assessed using standardised landscape predictors that integrate compositional (total area) and configurational (shape and spatial arrangement) heterogeneity of semi‐natural habitats and vineyards. In addition, we assessed the influence of within‐vineyard vegetation cover and farming system (organic or non‐organic) to explore local‐scale effects.Within‐vineyard vegetation and flower cover had a consistent positive influence on most arthropod taxa, whereas farming system had little effect. In addition, configurational heterogeneity of semi‐natural vegetation and vineyards influenced several taxa. However, different taxa showed contrasting relationships with configurational heterogeneity, hindering general recommendations for optimal configuration of semi‐natural elements and vineyards in the landscape. The only significant response to compositional heterogeneity was bug abundance in South Africa, which increased with increasing proportion of semi‐natural elements.We found that increasing vegetation cover in vineyards is an effective and easily implementable measure to improve biodiversity in vineyards. In addition, the spatial arrangement of vineyards influences within‐vineyard arthropod diversity as much as the spatial arrangement of semi‐natural vegetation in the landscape, which expands the possibilities for planning viticultural landscapes with high overall biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic studies of arthropod systematics and biodiversity are hindered by overreliance on 'preferred' semaphoronts, those life stages (typically adult males) that provide the most taxonomically distinctive characters. However, modern sequence‐based methods for inventory have no such limitations and permit incorporation of any and all representatives of a species. Here, we briefly review the growth and potential of these approaches to faunistic and systematic studies and share results from our own recent work that illustrate the value that other morphs, immature stages and females added to these studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Turfgrass is a prevalent ground cover type within urban areas, and is found on large swathes of commercial, residential, and recreational land. Turfgrass supports low biodiversity compared with more diverse vegetation communities. One increasingly popular method for supporting arthropod communities in urban areas is to plant wildflowers in available spaces using a commercial seed mix, which can support beneficial insects such as butterflies, bees, and natural enemies. However, the long-term impacts of these wildflower habitats on arthropod communities in turfgrass systems is poorly known. To explore this, we used pan traps to sample insects from turfgrass systems adjacent to wildflower plots over three years and quantified how different insect groups changed in abundance. We found that different insect groups had variable changes in abundance over time, with sweat bees (Halicitdae) and skipper butterflies (Hesperiidae) being less abundant two years after wildlife implementation, and predatory flies showing boosted abundance for two years post-implementation. These results point to the complex dynamics of arthropod communities in turfgrass systems following wildflower implementation and the need to study how to best maintain these habitats to support long-term biodiversity. Urbanization is rapidly influencing the abundance and diversity of arthropods. Within urban systems, managed turfgrass is a prominent land cover which can support only a limited number of arthropod groups. To allow for more arthropod biodiversity and to support beneficial insects within turfgrass, increasing numbers of land managers are choosing to partially convert turf habitat to wildflower habitat using commercially available seed mixes. However, the population dynamics of arthropod groups in these systems are poorly known, with consequentially little information on best long-term practices for managing wildflower habitats in turfgrass systems. To address this gap, we sampled insects using pan traps in turfgrass systems pre- and post-implementation of wildflower habitats and examined the change in abundance of several insect families and functional guilds. Insect groups had variable responses to wildflower habitat implementation, with some groups such as sweat bees and skipper butterflies showing a decline two years post-implementation. Other groups, such as predatory flies, were relatively more abundant one and two years post-implementation. These variable responses point to the need for more research on the long-term effects of wildflower habitats on beneficial insects in turfgrass habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest terracing operations imply a massive mobilization of topsoil. Nonetheless, its impacts on soil properties, functions and ecosystem services have been poorly quantified so far. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how bulldozer bench terracing may impact the abundance and diversity of ground-dwelling arthropod communities of eucalypt plantations. To this end, three neighbouring sites were selected of which one had not been terraced a –(NT), one had been terraced recently (two months earlier; -RT) and one had been terraced more than a decade (14 years ago; OT). The exploratory nature of this study involved furthermore a single sampling occasion (during spring), and taxonomic identification till the level of order and, in the case of the most frequent orders, (sub-)family. The arthropod communities of the RT site and the NT site did not reveal significant differences in terms of either total abundance or order richness, suggesting that immediate effects of terracing on these aspects of biodiversity may be limited. Nonetheless, notable differences did exist between these two sites for two out of the three prevailing orders. Araneae occurred with a markedly lower abundance as well as family richness at the RT site than at the NT site, while the opposite was true for the Coleoptera, at least in terms of family richness. The communities of the RT site and the OT site also did not evidence substantial differences in abundance or order richness, indicating that terracing effects on these aspects may not increase with time-since-terracing. In fact, the opposite was suggested, since none of the three prevailing orders revealed significant differences in abundance or richness between the two sites. In spite of the reduced effects observed here of massive soil mobilization by bulldozer terracing, further research is plainly justified not only because of the exploratory nature of this study but also the widespread bench terracing in the study region. The present results suggested that such further research should focus on the impacts during the first decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-known phenomenon of attracting untypical animals to disturbed territories has been poorly investigated in the polar mountains. We studied arthropod diversity in self-healing industrial clear-cuts and burn areas in the Khibiny Mountains, Kola Polar region. Fieldworks were conducted at four sites, including a control mountain taiga forest and its three transformed variants: burnt forest, uncleared clear-cut, and twice-disturbed burnt clear-cut. Arthropods were collected using formalin traps 2–3, 5–6, and 8–9 years after industrial deforestation in 2012 and an extensive grass-roots fire in 2013. Out of 124 identified species (spiders—61; ground beetles—41; and rove beetles—22), 79 (or 64%) were collected in disturbed, primarily burned areas and were absent in control forest. We note ten species of rove beetles, nine species of ground beetles, and eight species of spiders for the first time in the well-studied arthropod fauna of the Khibiny Mts. We found that grass-root fires transform the soil vegetation covers in the polar mountain forests more powerfully in comparison with extensive deforestation and attract a greater diversity of arthropods with different preferences, enriching the fauna of the polar mountains and the Subarctic region as a whole. The attraction effect persists for, at least, a decade after the violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Olea europaea L. 1753, is one of the oldest and most distinctive trees in the Mediterranean region. Its nutritional, social, cultural, and economic value is very important for populations in arid regions, where it is widely distributed. A sign of a sustainable environment in many agricultural regions is the existence of a wide variety and abundance of arthropod groups. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the diversity of arthropods subservientin in olive agro-systems in the arid region by using several sampling techniques, namely classic sight hunting, visual inspection, Barber pots, and yellow traps. The inventory is carried out over a period of 5 months, from February to June 2023, in three stations in M’Sila (northeastern Algeria). Three classes of arthropods were found: Insecta, Arachnida, and Malacostraca. Captures were numerically dominated by Insecta, representing 96.88% of total captures. Arachnida and Malacostraca classes represented about 2.74 and 0.38%, respectively. During this research, a total of 1861 arthropod individuals were collected and identified into 83 species, 79 genera, 53 families, and 15 orders. The most abundant orders were: Diptera (42.56%), Hymenoptera (28.11%), and Coleoptera (7.32%). However, we found a significant difference in species composition according to habitat (P < 0.01). The species were determined, and the ecological indices were calculated (Shannon Value, Evenness values and Simpson reciprocal index). The dominant functional feeding groups were phytophages (41.91 %), predators (32.94%), and polyphages (22.14%). The arthropods included several olive pests such as Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Hemiptera: Liviidae), Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae), Prays oleae (Bernard) (Lepidoptera: Praydidae), Liothrips oleae Costa (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), and Oxycenus maxwelli (Keifer) (Arachnida: Eriophyidae). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how primary productivity and diversity affect secondary productivity is an important debate in ecology with implications for biodiversity conservation. Particularly, how plant diversity influences arthropod diversity contributes to our understanding of trophic cascades and species coexistence. Previous studies show a positive correlation between plant and arthropod diversity. The theory of associational resistance suggests that plant herbivory rate will decrease with increasing plant diversity indicating feedbacks between primary diversity, productivity, and secondary productivity rates. However, our understanding of how these relations are mediated by anthropogenic disturbance is still limited. We surveyed 10 forest sites, half of which are disturbed by fire, logging, and tree pruning, distributed in two climatic zones in Benin, West Africa. We established 100 transects to record plant species and sampled arthropods using pitfall traps, ceramic plates with bait, and sweeping nets. We developed a structural equation model to test the mediating effect of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on plant diversity and how it influences arthropod diversity and abundance. Arthropod diversity increased but arthropod abundance decreased with increasing intensity of disturbance. We found no significant bottom‐up influence of the plant diversity on arthropod diversity but a significant plant diversity–arthropod abundance relationship. Some arthropod guilds were significantly affected by plant diversity. Finally, herbivory rates were positively associated with arthropod diversity. Synthesis. Our results highlight how chronic anthropogenic disturbance can mediate the functional links between trophic levels in terms of diversity and productivity. Our study demonstrated a decoupled response of arthropod diversity and abundance to disturbance. The direct positive influence of plant diversity on herbivory rates we found in our study provides counter‐support for the theory of associational resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Recent studies suggest that arthropod diversity in German forests is declining. Currently, different national programs are being developed to monitor arthropod trends and to unravel the effects of forest management on biodiversity in forests. To establish effective long-term monitoring programs, a set of drivers of arthropod diversity and composition as well as suitable species groups have to be identified. To aid in answering these questions, we investigated arthropod data collected in four Hessian forest reserves (FR) in the 1990s. To fully utilize this data set, we combined it with results from a retrospective structural sampling design applied at the original trap locations in central European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests. As expected, the importance of the different forest structural, vegetation, and site attributes differed largely between the investigated arthropod groups: beetles, spiders, Aculeata, and true bugs. Measures related to light availability and temperature such as canopy cover or potential radiation were important to all groups affecting either richness, composition, or both. Spiders and true bugs were affected by the broadest range of explanatory variables, which makes them a good choice for monitoring general trends. For targeted monitoring focused on forestry-related effects on biodiversity, rove and ground beetles seem more suitable. Both groups were driven by a narrower, more management-related set of variables. Most importantly, our study approach shows that it is possible to utilize older biodiversity survey data. Although, in our case, there are strong restrictions due to the long time between species and structural attribute sampling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternally‐inherited sex ratio distorting microbes (SRDMs) are common among arthropod species. Typically, these microbes cause female‐biased sex ratios in host broods, either by; killing male offspring, feminising male offspring, or inducing parthenogenesis. As a result, infected populations can experience drastic ecological and evolutionary change. The mechanism by which SRDMs operate is likely to alter their impact on host evolutionary ecology; despite this, the current literature is heavily biased towards a single mechanism of sex ratio distortion, male‐killing. Furthermore, amidst the growing concerns surrounding the loss of arthropod diversity, research into the impact of SRDMs on the viability of arthropod populations is generally lacking. In this study, using a theoretical approach, we model the epidemiology of an understudied mechanism of microbially‐induced sex ratio distortion—feminisation—to ask an understudied question—how do SRDMs impact extinction risk in a changing environment? We constructed an individual‐based model and measured host population extinction risk under various environmental and epidemiological scenarios. We also used our model to identify the precise mechanism modulating extinction. We find that the presence of feminisers increases host population extinction risk, an effect that is exacerbated in highly variable environments. We also identified transmission rate as the dominant epidemiological trait responsible for driving extinction. Finally, our model shows that sex ratio skew is the mechanism driving extinction. We highlight feminisers and, more broadly, SRDMs as important determinants of the resilience of arthropod populations to environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haiku are short poems, each composed of about 10 words, that typically describe moments in nature. People have written haiku since at least the 17th century, and the medium continues to be popular with poets, amateurs, educators, and students. Collectively, these poems represent an opportunity to understand which aspects of nature—e.g., which taxa and biological traits—resonate with humans and whether there are temporal trends in their representation or the emotions associated with these moments. We tested this potential using a mix of linguistic and biological methods, in analyses of nearly 4,000 haiku that reference arthropods. We documented the taxa and the life history traits represented in these poems and how they changed over time. We also analyzed the poems for emotion and tone. Our results reveal a mix of predictable trends and compelling surprises, each of which stand to potentially inform engagement strategies. At least 99 families of arthropods, in 28 orders, are represented in these haiku. The eight most commonly referenced taxa, from highest to lowest number of references, include: Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Araneae, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Odonata. Several common, conspicuous orders were never referenced, including Trichoptera, Plecoptera, and Megaloptera. The most commonly referenced traits relate to ecology (especially habitat, phenology, time of day), behavior (especially sound production), phenotype (especially color), and locomotion (especially flight). The least common traits in haiku relate to arthropod reproduction and physiology. Our analyses revealed few obvious temporal trends in the representations of taxa, biological traits, or emotion and tone. The broader implications of these results and possible future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Prepuneño del Monte District of the province of Jujuy extends the Quebrada de Humahuaca, declared World Heritage under the category of cultural landscape. Within the framework of the implementation of this figure, the inventories of species, particularly of arthropods and their relationship with the local plant formations along the altitudinal gradient of the Quebrada de Humahuaca, constitute basic information to complete the description of the fauna of the region. find conservation indicator taxa and interpret possible impacts of climate change. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to know the taxonomic composition of epigeal arthropods and analyze their diversity in an altitudinal and temporal gradient included in the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Four sites were selected, Tumbaya Grande (TG), Chucalezna (CH), Coraya (CO) and Tres Cruces (TC), in which arthropods were collected using pitfall traps, active for 48 h, in autumn, winter and spring of 2016 and summer of 2017. The abundance and richness of arthropod species/morphospecies, alpha, beta and gamma diversity, and their functional groups were analyzed. A total of 6426 arthropods were collected and 103 species/morphospecies were identified distributed in the classes Collembola, Insecta, Arachnida and Malacostraca. Abundances decreased with altitude, but richness decreased at intermediate altitudes and was high at the extremes of the gradient, due to the structure and composition of the vegetation. The warm and more humid periods, especially summer, favored the increase in the richness and abundance of arthropods, although there was greater dominance in winter compared to summer. Formicidae represented 75% of the total arthropods collected. The proportion of species shared between the sites was 14.6% of the total species recorded, while the exclusive were TG=25, CH=6, CO=5 and TC=13. The dominant functional group was the omnivore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understanding of ecological mechanisms shaping canopy arthropods community assembly, remains as one of the main targets of ecology. It is necessary to elucidate how abiotic factors such as precipitation shape arthropod communities in oak canopy. We evaluated the changes of canopy arthropod diversity assemblages associated to Quercus castanea along a precipitation gradient in four study sites, where Q. castanea occurs. Five mature Q. castanea trees were selected per site to collect canopy arthropods using fogging techniques. We collected 7,447 arthropods representing 754 morphospecies grouped into 16 different orders associated to Q. castanea along the precipitation gradient. We found differences in arthropod richness and abundance as well as in guild composition along the precipitation gradient. The general pattern showed higher canopy arthropod diversity in dry sites compared to wet sites. Also, arthropod guild composition differed along the precipitation gradient; dry sites harbored higher abundance of phytophages and detritivores, while wet sites had higher richness of phytophages and predators. Local climatic variables such as temperature were related to the canopy of Q. castanea arthropod community in dry sites. Our findings confirm that at a local scale, water availability is an important abiotic factor that generates changes in the assemblies of canopy arthropod community of Q. castanea, harboring more arthropod diversity in dry sites. We highlight the importance of conserving oak species because Mexico is the main center of richness, diversification and endemism of oaks in the northern hemisphere, and they represent key species in temperate forest harboring a great diversity of unique canopy arthropods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burgess Shale-type (BST) Lagerstätten record an exceptional variety of Cambrian soft-bodied fauna, yet these deposits are typically restricted to outboard depositional settings >1000 km from the paleocoastline. For shallow, well-oxygenated shelf environments, our knowledge of non-mineralized animals (the majority of diversity) is severely limited, giving rise to substantial bias in our perception of Cambrian biotas. An alternate means of detecting soft-bodied Cambrian fauna, independent of paleobathymetry, is to use acid maceration to extract microscopic organic remains of non-mineralized animals, known as "small carbonaceous fossils" (SCFs). Here, a hitherto unknown diversity of Cambrian arthropod and mollusk remains are reported from shallow-marine sediments (Cambrian Stage 3 Mickwitzia Sandstone, Sweden). These microfossils comprise a variety of arthropod cuticles preserving sub-micron-scale anatomy alongside abundant radular mouthparts from mollusks--among the oldest known arthropod and molluscan SCFs on record. Significantly, at least three distinct types of fossil radula are identifiable (uniseriate, distichous, and polystichous forms), revealing that substantial diversification of the basic molluscan radula had already taken place by the early Cambrian. These cryptic elements of the biota--otherwise undetectable in such deposits--offer novel insights into Cambrian primary consumers as well as aspects of the fauna that are absent from deeperwater BST deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperate insectivorous bats value high prey abundance and appropriate vegetative structure when selecting foraging habitats. Forests, particularly in the eastern United States, provide prime foraging habitats for bats but can be heavily impacted by non-native plants, which may alter arthropod diversity and abundance, as well as vegetative structure. To investigate the associations between non-native plants and insect abundance, vegetative structure, and, consequently, bat activity, we performed vegetation surveys, insect trapping, and acoustic monitoring at 23 forested plots in northern New Jersey, USA. We predicted that non-native vegetation would either positively influence bat activity by increasing structural openness (thus, facilitating flight) or negatively influence bat activity by lowering the abundance of putative prey. We also hypothesized that vegetative characteristics, and therefore non-native vegetation, impact bats differently depending on their foraging habitat preferences. The percent of non-native cover of the ground and midstory vegetative layers of our study plots ranged from 0 to 92.92% ( x ¯ = 46.94 ± 5.77 SE) and was significantly correlated with structural vegetative characteristics, such as midstory clutter (β = 0.01 ± 0.006 SE), but not putative prey abundance (β = −0.81 ± 2.57 SE). Generalized linear models with only vegetative characteristics best predicted overall bat activity and foraging, which were greatest in areas with a high percent non-native vegetation and low midstory clutter. Although percent non-native vegetation and midstory clutter were also significant effects for bats that prefer to forage in open areas, neither vegetative characteristics nor prey abundance were significant effects for clutter-loving bats. Such findings suggest that vegetative structure is more important than prey availability for predicting overall insectivorous bat activity, but other factors, such as foraging strategy and life history traits, can impact how bat guilds respond to non-native vegetation. Therefore, more research is required to reveal additional mechanisms by which non-native plants impact bats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant species loss, driven by global changes and human activities, can have cascading effects on other trophic levels, such as arthropods, and alter the multitrophic structure of ecosystems. While the relationship between plant diversity and arthropod communities has been well-documented, few studies have explored the effects of species composition variation or plant functional groups. In this study, we conducted a long-term plant removal experiment to investigate the impact of plant functional group loss (specifically targeting tall grasses and sedges, as well as tall or short forbs) on arthropod diversity and their functional groups. Our findings revealed that the removal of plant functional groups resulted in increased arthropod richness, abundance and the exponential of Shannon entropy, contrary to the commonly observed positive correlation between plant diversity and consumer diversity. Furthermore, the removal of different plant groups had varying impacts on arthropod trophic levels. The removal of forbs had a more pronounced impact on herbivores compared to graminoids, but this impact did not consistently cascade to higher-trophic arthropods. Notably, the removal of short forbs had a more significant impact on predators, as evidenced by the increased richness, abundance, the exponential of Shannon entropy, inverse Simpson index and inverse Berger- Parker index of carnivores and abundance of omnivores, likely attributable to distinct underlying mechanisms. Our results highlight the importance of plant species identity in shaping arthropod communities in alpine grasslands. This study emphasizes the crucial role of high plant species diversity in controlling arthropods in natural grasslands, particularly in the context of plant diversity loss caused by global changes and human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All ecosystems face ecological challenges in this century. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the ecology and degree of local adaptation of functionally important Arctic‐alpine biomes by looking at the most diverse taxon of metazoans: the Arthropoda. This is the first study to utilize metabarcoding in the Alpine tundra, providing insights into the effects of micro‐environmental parameters on alpha‐ and beta‐diversity of arthropods in such unique environments. To characterize arthropod diversity, pitfall traps were set at three middle‐alpine sampling sites in the Scandinavian mountain range in Norway during the snow‐free season in 2015. A metabarcoding approach was then used to determine the small‐scale biodiversity patterns of arthropods in the Alpine tundra. All DNA was extracted directly from the preservative EtOH from 27 pitfall traps. In order to identify the controlling environmental conditions, all sampling locations were equipped with automatic data loggers for permanent measurement of the microenvironmental conditions. The variables measured were: air temperature [°C] at 15 cm height, soil temperature [°C] at 15 cm depth, and soil moisture [vol.%] at 15 cm depth. A total of 233 Arthropoda OTUs were identified. The number of unique OTUs found per sampling location (ridge, south‐facing slope, and depression) was generally higher than the OTUs shared between the sampling locations, demonstrating that niche features greatly impact arthropod community structure. Our findings emphasize the fine‐scale heterogeneity of arctic–alpine ecosystems and provide evidence for trait‐based and niche‐driven adaptation. The spatial and temporal differences in arthropod diversity were best explained by soil moisture and soil temperature at the respective locations. Furthermore, our results show that arthropod diversity is underestimated in alpine‐tundra ecosystems using classical approaches and highlight the importance of integrating long‐term functional environmental data and modern taxonomic techniques into biodiversity research to expand our ecological understanding of fine‐ and meso‐scale biogeographical patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The homogenous nature of the urban environment rapidly alters community dynamics of extant flora and fauna due to short-term spatial and temporal factors. However, such impacts of urbanisation are mostly investigated in terms of taxonomic diversity, while its impact on functional diversity remains poorly understood. Studies investigating the role of urbanisation in altering these ecological parameters have mostly focused on avian communities or plant species, while arthropods such as spiders, integral components of urban households, have largely been overlooked. This study aims to understand the impact of urbanisation on both taxonomic diversity and functional diversity of spider assemblages across an urban–semi-urban–forest gradient in Guwahati, a rapidly growing city in northeast India. We surveyed spiders at 13 sites representing four habitat types (urban, urban parks, semi-urban, and forests) using belt transects and also recorded functional traits relating to key life history processes. Spider species composition differed significantly between various habitats. The taxonomic diversity of spiders was highest in forests and lowest in urban parks. The turnover component was the major contributor to changing the β-diversity of spiders. Reduced diversity in urban regions was likely due to the dominance of a few synanthropic species. Generalised linear mixed-effects model analysis indicated that the habitat types significantly influenced spider richness, such that the richness in urban habitat was significantly different from that of the forest core. Functional richness was maximum in forests and minimum in urban habitats, while functional divergence was maximum in urban sites. Our study demonstrates that while urban land-use change can alter the structure and functioning of the spider community, yet these ecosystems have the potential to shelter a rich diversity of arthropods, given conservation measures are prioritised for urban green spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In nature, leaf rolls form during the expansion of young leaves of some plant species but their importance as shelter structures for arthropods is unknown. We examined the role of expanding rolled leaves of aroid species as shelter sites for arthropods and evaluated the effect of leaf size and environmental context (natural forest vs pastures) on the occupation of these leaves. In a Mexican tropical rainforest, arthropods were sampled from 25 fully expanded and 25 expanding rolled leaves of each of three aroid species (Rhodospatha wendlandii, Dieffenbachia oerstedii, and Spathiphyllum ortgiesii), that differ in the size of their leaves. In addition, for D. oerstedii we also collected leaves from a pasture area. We recorded 120 arthropods (44 in expanded and 76 in rolled leaves) from 53 unique morphospecies (21 and 38). Average arthropod abundance was greater in rolled leaves compared with expanded leaves. Average arthropod species richness and abundance, and colonization frequency were lower in the aroid species with smaller leaves (R. wendlandii). Although we found no significant effects of habitat type on arthropods in rolled leaves of D. oerstedii, 3.4 times more individuals (34) and 2.11 times more morphospecies (19) were found in the rolled leaves in the forest compared with those in pasture (10 and 9). This study demonstrates that expanding rolled leaves of aroids, despite being an ephemeral resource, represent suitable leaf shelters used by a diverse arthropod fauna, and that leaf size and environmental context are important factors that affect the colonization of these leaves by arthropods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our world is becoming increasingly urbanized with a growing human population concentrated around cities. The expansion of urban areas has important consequences for biodiversity, yet the abiotic drivers of biodiversity in urban ecosystems have not been well characterized for the most diverse group of animals on the planet, arthropods. Given their great diversity, comparatively small home ranges, and ability to disperse, arthropods make an excellent model for studying which factors can most accurately predict urban biodiversity. We assessed the effects of (i) topography (distance to natural areas and to ocean) (ii) abiotic factors (mean annual temperature and diurnal range), and (iii) anthropogenic drivers (land value and amount of impervious surface) on the occurrence of six arthropod groups represented in Malaise trap collections run by the BioSCAN project across the Greater Los Angeles Area. We found striking heterogeneity in responses to all factors both within and between taxonomic groups. Diurnal temperature range had a consistently negative effect on occupancy but this effect was only significant in Phoridae. Anthropogenic drivers had mixed though mostly insignificant effects, as some groups and species were most diverse in highly urbanized areas, while other groups showed suppressed diversity. Only Phoridae was significantly affected by land value, where most species were more likely to occur in areas with lower land value. Los Angeles can support high regional arthropod diversity, but spatial community composition is highly dependent on the taxonomic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest soil and leaf litter support diverse arthropod mesofauna for which diversity dynamics is challenging to study due to the high number of species and specimens, small body size and limited taxonomic knowledge.Immature stages (larvae) are even harder to identify than adults, as their morphology is largely unknown. Therefore, larvae are often ignored, even though they may form a substantial proportion of specimens collected, are less mobile than adults and their exclusion may provide an incomplete diversity profile.Here, we use Oxford Nanopore DNA barcoding to investigate whether the inclusion of larvae provides a more complete taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity profiles in leaf litter beetles (Coleoptera) from a subtropical forest in Taiwan.Our results indicate that larvae represent up to 38% of beetle specimens per sample, but most of them belong to 2–3 common species. Larvae of most beetle species are rarely collected repeatedly or in multiple specimens, possibly due to special habitat requirements or high seasonality.Taxonomic, phylogenetic and incidence‐based functional diversity measures were not affected by the exclusion of larvae in the Staphylinidae dataset but were strongly biased in all‐beetle dataset, especially when only common or abundant species were considered. Taxonomic beta diversity was not affected by the omission of larvae.Our results indicate that immature stages may be omitted in ecological studies of arthropods in case both adults and larvae co‐occur in the same habitat, and the sites are sampled repeatedly. Caution is needed (1) in groups in which larvae and adults do not inhabit the same environment or strongly differ in biology, (2) when rare species are omitted or (3) when functional diversity is calculated from abundance data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ecological Applications is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Arthropods play a crucial role in ecological processes and agricultural productivity. Soil physicochemical properties, indicators of soil health, are closely linked to arthropod communities. Gravel-sand mulching, commonly employed in arid farming, initially enhances water retention and temperature regulation but may contribute to land degradation with prolonged use. This study investigated how varying tillage durations affected soil properties and arthropod diversity under gravel-sand mulching. The analysis employed multiple comparison methods, covariance analysis (ANCOVA), non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), and redundancy analysis (RDA). The results indicated that while soil fertility was better preserved in cultivated fields compared to in the desert grassland, arthropod diversity significantly decreased with longer cultivation periods. A total of 1099 arthropods from 79 species were sampled, by Barber trap. The highest diversity was observed in native grassland (NG), with 305 arthropods from 39 species, while tillage 21 years (GPS-21Y) exhibited the lowest diversity, with only 103 arthropods from 6 species. Dominant species included the carnivores Labidura japonica and Cataglyphis aenes. The analysis revealed low similarity in arthropod communities between GPS-21Y and other fields and high similarity in soil physicochemical properties between NG and the transition zone (STZ). RDA showed available potassium (APP) was negatively correlated with arthropod species diversity and concentration, total Nitrogen (TN) was positively correlated with arthropod species diversity but negatively correlated with species concentration, total phosphorus (TP) was negatively correlated with arthropod species diversity and concentration. This study provides insights into the relationship between maintaining soil fertility and supporting arthropod diversity in grassland agriculture. While soil fertility and arthropod diversity were correlated, continuous cropping practices negatively impacted arthropod diversity, offering valuable information for pest management and sustainable agricultural practices.

Insect faunas from the latest Cretaceous are poorly known worldwide. Particularly, in the Southern Hemisphere, there is a gap regarding insect assemblages in the Campanian-Maastrichtian interval. Here we present an insect assemblage from the Maastrichtian Chorrillo Formation, southern Argentina, represented by well-preserved and non-deformed, chitinous microscopic remains including head capsules, wings and scales. Identified clades include Chironomidae dipterans, Coelolepida lepidopterans, and Ephemeroptera. The assemblage taxonomically resembles those of Cenozoic age, rather than other Mesozoic assemblages, in being composed by diverse chironomids and lepidopterans. To the best of our knowledge, present discovery constitutes the first insect body fossils for the Maastrichtian in the Southern Hemisphere, thus filling the gap between well-known Early Cretaceous entomofaunas and those of Paleogene age. The presented evidence shows that modern clades of chironomids were already dominant and diversified by the end of the Cretaceous, in concert with the parallel radiation of aquatic angiosperms which became dominant in freshwater habitats. This exceptional finding encourages the active search of microscopic remains of fossil arthropods in other geological units, which could provide a unique way of enhancing our knowledge on the past diversity of the clade. An insect assemblage gathered from the Chorrillo Formation in Argentina constitutes an important set of insect body fossils for the Maastrichtian interval in the Southern Hemisphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive agriculture has a strong impact on the structure of arthropod communities in soil. Sown covers can contribute to their conservation, especially for generalist predators such as spiders and predatory beetles. The aim of this research was to assess the effect of cover crop management on the abundance and diversity of ground-dwelling arthropods. For this purpose, a three-year experiment was conducted in a pear orchard that was divided into three blocks with two plots each: one with a sown cover of mixed plants from different families, including Boraginaceae, Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Brassicaceae, and Fabaceae, and the other with no cover, in which any spontaneous plants were periodically removed without using herbicides. The abundance of ground-dwelling arthropods was sampled using pitfall traps. The sown cover increased the overall richness of arthropods. Additionally, spiders from the families Lycosidae and Linyphiidae, as well as beetles from the families Carabidae and Staphylinidae, were more abundant in the sown cover. Conversely, detritivores such as collembolans and beetles from the family Tenebrionidae were less abundant in the cover. The abundance of ants was not affected by the type of cover. The sown cover increased the diversity of arthropods in the crop, as well as the abundance of generalist predators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils harbour a rich arthropod fauna, but many species are still not formally described (Linnaean shortfall) and the distribution of those already described is poorly understood (Wallacean shortfall). Metabarcoding holds much promise to fill this gap, however, nuclear copies of mitochondrial genes, and other artefacts lead to taxonomic inflation, which compromise the reliability of biodiversity inventories. Here, we explore the potential of a bioinformatic approach to jointly "denoise" and filter nonauthentic mitochondrial sequences from metabarcode reads to obtain reliable soil beetle inventories and address open questions in soil biodiversity research, such as the scale of dispersal constraints in different soil layers. We sampled cloud forest arthropod communities from 49 sites in the Anaga peninsula of Tenerife (Canary Islands). We performed whole organism community DNA (wocDNA) metabarcoding, and built a local reference database with COI barcode sequences of 310 species of Coleoptera for filtering reads and the identification of metabarcoded species. This resulted in reliable haplotype data after considerably reducing nuclear mitochondrial copies and other artefacts. Comparing our results with previous beetle inventories, we found: (i) new species records, potentially representing undescribed species; (ii) new distribution records, and (iii) validated phylogeographic structure when compared with traditional sequencing approaches. Analyses also revealed evidence for higher dispersal constraint within deeper soil beetle communities, compared to those closer to the surface. The combined power of barcoding and metabarcoding contribute to mitigate the important shortfalls associated with soil arthropod diversity data, and thus address unresolved questions for this vast biodiversity fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many agricultural management tactics, such as reduced tillage, aim to promote biodiversity and ecosystem services. Responses to such tactics can be context dependent, however, and differentially impact (i) functional groups of service‐providing organisms and (ii) crop yields. In canola (Brassica napus L., B. rapa L.) crop fields, we assessed how soil tillage and landscape context (amount of semi‐natural habitat within 1 km of each field) affected arthropod biodiversity and crop yield. We assessed effects of full (multiple tillage passes that leave soil surface bare), intermediate (tilled once and some stubble remains), or no (seed planted directly into last year's stubble) tillage on functional groups with unique diets and reproductive strategies: (i) herbivores, (ii) kleptoparasites, (iii) parasitoids, (iv) pollinators, and (v) predators. Effects of tillage and landscape context on arthropod abundance and diversity varied across functional groups. Pollinators responded strongest to tillage, benefitting from intermediate tillage. Predators and herbivores responded strongly to landscape context, as both were more abundant in landscapes with more semi‐natural habitat. Our results suggest that natural history differences among functional groups mediate effects of landscape context on biodiversity. However, variation in arthropod communities had little effect on canola crop yield. The effects of soil management practices on aboveground arthropods are complex, and practices thought to increase some aspects of agricultural sustainability may not be beneficial in other contexts. Identifying practices such as intermediate tillage that may increase soil quality and arthropod diversity is a key to designing agricultural ecosystems that will effectively benefit both biodiversity and human well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Averting climate change‐induced forest diebacks increasingly relies on tree species planted outside of their natural range and on the addition of non‐native tree species to mixed‐species forests. However, the consequences of such changes for associated biodiversity remain poorly understood, especially for the forest canopy as a largely understudied forest stratum. Here, we used flight interception traps and a metabarcoding approach to study the taxonomic and functional (trophic guilds) composition and taxon richness of canopy arthropods. We sampled 15 monospecific and mixed stands of native European beech, native Norway spruce—planted outside its natural range—and non‐native Douglas fir in northwest Germany. We found that the diversity of arthropods was lower in non‐native Douglas fir compared with native beech stands. Taxon richness of herbivores was reduced by both conifer species. Other functional guilds, however, were not affected by stand type. Arthropod composition differed strongly between native broadleaved beech and monospecific coniferous (native spruce or non‐native Douglas fir) stands, with less pronounced differences between the native and non‐native conifers. Beech–conifer mixtures consistently hosted intermediate arthropod diversity and community composition compared with the respective monospecific stands. Moreover, arthropod diversity had a positive relationship with the number of canopy microhabitats. Our study shows that considering arthropod taxa of multiple functional groups reveals the multifaceted impact of non‐native tree species on forest canopy arthropod communities. Contrasting with previous studies that primarily focused on the forest floor, we found that native beech hosts a rich diversity of arthropods, compared with lower diversity and distinct communities in economically attractive, and especially in non‐native, conifers with few canopy microhabitats. Broadleaf–conifer mixtures did not perform better than native beech stands, but mitigated the negative effects of conifers, making such mixtures a compromise to foster both forest‐associated diversity and economic yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding orchard floor management is critical to organic tree-fruit production systems given its impact on weeds, soil fertility, tree health, and crop yield. Several viable options are available to producers for weed management and promotion of organic fertility, including use of turf and broadleaf alleyway covers and living and nonliving tree-row mulches. While these measures can be effective, little is known about how these strategies influence arthropod pests, which cause fruit injury. Here, we assessed 6 organic orchard floor management strategies for their impact on arthropod abundance and diversity in an organic peach production system in northern Utah from 2010 to 2014, using sweep netting and pitfall collections along with observed peach fruit damage. Generally, we found that alleyway and tree-row treatments had no impact on total arthropod diversity, species richness, or community diversity. However, earwig (Forficula auricularia) abundance was significantly impacted by alleyway and tree-row treatments that resulted in increased fruit injury. Trefoil alleyway treatments consistently increased earwig abundance across life-history stages, while mulch or Alyssum (straw) tree-row treatments harbored more earwigs and, as a result, increased earwig fruit injury. Since earwigs are especially prone to damaging young, developing fruits, it is imperative that more work is done to assess earwig abundances and life-history traits. Our results demonstrate that detrimental arthropods are sensitive to orchard floor management and can further inform integrated pest management approaches that complement sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paludiculture, the productive use of wet or rewetted peatlands, offers an option for continued land use by farmers after rewetting formerly drained peatlands, while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from peat soils. Biodiversity conservation may benefit, but research on how biodiversity responds to paludiculture is scarce. We conducted a multi-taxon study investigating vegetation, breeding bird and arthropod diversity at six rewetted fen sites dominated by Carex or Typha species. Sites were either unharvested, low- or high-intensity managed, and were located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany. Biodiversity was estimated across the range of Hill numbers using the iNEXT package, and species were checked for Red List status. Here we show that paludiculture sites can provide biodiversity value even while not reflecting historic fen conditions; managed sites had high plant diversity, as well as Red Listed arthropods and breeding birds. Our study demonstrates that paludiculture has the potential to provide valuable habitat for species even while productive management of the land continues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses the relationship between arthropod and vegetation diversity in four ecosystems with different types of vegetation, during a post-monsoonal season. We determined the arthropod diversity in vegetation surrounding an aquatic environment (AQ), a broad-leaved wet, evergreen forest ecosystem (BL), a Pinus caribaea monoculture plantation (PN), and a Pinus plantation artificially enriched with indigenous broad-leaved tree species (PNEN) located in the Hanthana mountain range, Sri Lanka. Arthropods randomly sampled from three randomly selected sites (5 m × 5 m) of each ecosystem were identified up to the highest possible taxa using standard identification keys. Woody and herbal vegetation was identified via a plant census. Arthropod and vegetation diversities were computed separately for each site using the Shannon–Wiener Index (H). Arthropods of 68 species and 43 families were found. AQ had the greatest arthropod diversity (H = 2.642), dominated by Olios spp., followed by BL (H = 2.444), dominated by a tettigonid species, Oxytate spp. and Psechrus spp. PN was third (H = 1.411), dominated by Dicaldispa spp. PNEN had the lowest (H = 1.3500), dominated by an ant species. Contrastingly, PNEN had the highest plant diversity (H = 2.614) and PN, the lowest (H = 0.879). In AQ, BL, and PN, the arthropod diversity was linearly dependent on plant diversity (R2 = 0.423, p ≤ 0.001), whereas it was not so when PNEN was also included (R2 = 0.008, p ≤ 0.001). This shows that higher plant diversity contributes to greater arthropod diversity in ecosystems where human intervention is minimal. But this pattern was not visible in PNEN, which is an artificially created ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-retroviral endogenous viral elements (nrEVEs) are widely dispersed throughout the genomes of eukaryotes. Although nrEVEs are known to be involved in host antiviral immunity, it remains an open question whether they can be domesticated as functional proteins to serve cellular innovations in arthropods. In this study, we found that endogenous toti-like viral elements (ToEVEs) are ubiquitously integrated into the genomes of three planthopper species, with highly variable distributions and polymorphism levels in planthopper populations. Three ToEVEs display exon‒intron structures and active transcription, suggesting that they might have been domesticated by planthoppers. CRISPR/Cas9 experiments revealed that one ToEVE in Nilaparvata lugens, NlToEVE14, has been co-opted by its host and plays essential roles in planthopper development and fecundity. Large-scale analysis of ToEVEs in arthropod genomes indicated that the number of arthropod nrEVEs is currently underestimated and that they may contribute to the functional diversity of arthropod genes. Non-retroviral endogenous viral elements are widely dispersed in eukaryotic genomes, but their functions remain largely unknown. Here, Huang et al show that one such element in planthoppers has been co-opted and contributes to insect fitness.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suction sampling is increasingly being used to estimate abundance and diversity of epigeal arthropods, yet no study has quantified its efficiency to simultaneously assess diversity at different taxonomic and functional scales. Here, we evaluated the efficiency of this method (G‐Vac) relative to the pitfall (Barber) trap, which has been used for a long time, and their possible complementarity. To do that, we compared several diversity metrics of a wide range of arthropod taxa, with a particular focus on spiders (species level), and using functional traits such as trophic diet, hunting guild, and body size. Sampling took place in some coastal grasslands of Brittany (France) using a spatially paired design of vacuuming and unfenced pitfall trapping. In total, 21159 arthropods were identified to order or family levels, including 1018 adult spiders identified to species. Suction sampling was more efficient than pitfall trapping in collecting phytophagous arthropods, web‐builders, and small species living in the vegetation compared to detritivores, large‐bodied arthropods, and spiders living near the soil surface. We conclude that short‐term G‐Vac suction is more interesting than pitfall trapping to obtain a 'snapshot' of patterns in taxonomic richness. However, for assessing functional diversity, G‐Vac suction and pitfall trapping are complementary sampling methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classification of the biological diversity on Earth is foundational to all areas of research within the natural sciences. Reliable biological nomenclatural and taxonomic systems facilitate efficient access to information about organisms and their names over time. However, broadly sharing, accessing, delivering, and updating these resources remains a persistent problem. This barrier has been acknowledged by the biodiversity data sharing community, yet concrete efforts to standardize and continually update taxonomic names in a sustainable way remain limited. High diversity groups such as arthropods are especially challenging as available specimen data per number of species is substantially lower than vertebrate or plant groups. The Terrestrial Parasite Tracker Thematic Collections Network project developed a workflow for gathering expert-verified taxonomic names across all available sources, aligning those sources, and publishing a single resource that provides a model for future endeavors to standardize digital specimen identification data. The process involved gathering expert-verified nomenclature lists representing the full taxonomic scope of terrestrial arthropod parasites, documenting issues experienced, and finding potential solutions for reconciliation of taxonomic resources against large data publishers. Although discordance between our expert resources and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility are relatively low, the impact across all taxa affects thousands of names that correspond to hundreds of thousands of specimen records. Here, we demonstrate a mechanism for the delivery and continued maintenance of these taxonomic resources, while highlighting the current state of taxon name curation for biodiversity data sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthropod diversity is often linked to variation in resource use, dispersal ability, habitat connectivity, and climate factors that differ across spatial scales. The aim of this research was to examine how species richness, functional diversity, and community composition of two taxa differing in functional roles and dispersal ability are structured across spatial scales and to identify the importance of vegetation, climate, and landscape in explaining these patterns at different scales. Organisms were collected from tree canopies using insecticidal fogging in the summer of 2000 from 96 trees in 24 stands of 6 deciduous forest sites in 2 ecoregions of the eastern United States. Taxonomic and functional beta diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and spiders (Araneae) were partitioned across four hierarchical spatial scales (individual tree, forest stand, site, and ecoregion). The contributions of climatic, landscape, and vegetation variables were determined using model selection. Ant and spider species richness, functional diversity, and community composition differed between taxa and across spatial scales. Alpha diversity (within trees) was lower than expected for both taxa and types of diversity, with host tree species supporting different species of ants and spiders. While the beta components of species diversity among trees and forest stands were greater than expected for both taxa, spiders also showed significant levels of beta diversity among sites. Functional beta diversity was less scale‐dependent than taxonomic beta diversity. Stand‐level patterns of beta diversity were significantly predicted by variation in climate and landscape connectivity. The effects of climate and landscape fragmentation on the diversity and community structure of both taxa indicate that anthropogenic climate change and land use change will alter canopy arthropod communities. Results also suggest that patterns of diversity among fragmentation metrics are influenced by differences in dispersal ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In northern Alberta, Canada, much of treed boreal peatlands are fragmented by seismic lines—linear disturbances where trees and shrubs are cleared for the exploration of fossil fuel reserves. Seismic lines have been shown to have slow tree regeneration, likely due to the loss of microtopography during the creation of seismic lines. Inverted soil mounding is one of the treatments commonly applied in Alberta to restore seismic lines and mitigate the use of these corridors by wildlife and humans. We assessed the effects of mounding on understory plants and arthropod assemblages three years after treatment application. We sampled five mounded and five untreated seismic lines and their adjacent treed fens (reference fens). Compared to reference fens, mounded seismic lines showed on average lower bryophyte (6.5% vs. 98.1%) and total understory cover (47.2% vs. 149.8%), ground-dwelling spider abundance (226.0 vs. 383 individuals), richness (87.2 vs. 106.4 species) and diversity (19.0 vs. 24.6 species), rove beetle abundance (35.2 vs. 84.8 individuals), and ant richness (9.0 vs. 12.9 species). In contrast, rove beetle and ground beetle richness (39.0 and 14.5 species, respectively) and diversity (16.8 and 7.8 species, respectively) were higher on mounded seismic lines compared to reference fens (richness: 18.0 and 7.5 species, respectively; diversity: 7.0 and 3.8 species, respectively). This is one of the first studies to assess arthropod responses to restoration efforts in the context of oil and gas disturbances in North America, and our results highlight the need to incorporate multiple taxa when examining the impact of such treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]