The demand for scientific biodiversity data is increasing, but taxonomic expertise is often limited or not available. DNA sequencing is a potential remedy to overcome this taxonomic impediment. ...Mitochondrial DNA is most commonly used, e.g., for species identification ("DNA barcoding"). Here, we present the first study in arthropods based on a near-complete species sampling of a family-level taxon from the entire Australian region. We aimed to assess how reliably mtDNA data can capture species diversity when many sister species pairs are included. Then, we contrasted phylogenetic subsampling with the hitherto more commonly applied geographical subsampling, where sister species are not necessarily captured.
We sequenced 800 bp cox1 for 1,439 individuals including 260 Australian species (78% species coverage). We used clustering with thresholds of 1 to 10% and general mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) analysis for the estimation of species richness. The performance metrics used were taxonomic accuracy and agreement between the morphological and molecular species richness estimation. Clustering (at the 3% level) and GMYC reliably estimated species diversity for single or multiple geographic regions, with an error for larger clades of lower than 10%, thus outperforming parataxonomy. However, the rates of error were higher for some individual genera, with values of up to 45% when very recent species formed nonmonophyletic clusters. Taxonomic accuracy was always lower, with error rates above 20% and a larger variation at the genus level (0 to 70%). Sørensen similarity indices calculated for morphospecies, 3% clusters and GMYC entities for different pairs of localities was consistent among methods and showed expected decrease over distance.
Cox1 sequence data are a powerful tool for large-scale species richness estimation, with a great potential for use in ecology and β-diversity studies and for setting conservation priorities. However, error rates can be high in individual lineages.
The German Barcoding initiatives BFB and GBOL have generated a reference library of more than 16,000 metazoan species, which is now ready for applications concerning next generation molecular ...biodiversity assessments. To streamline the barcoding process, we have developed a meta-barcoding pipeline: We pre-sorted a single malaise trap sample (obtained during one week in August 2014, southern Germany) into 12 arthropod orders and extracted DNA from pooled individuals of each order separately, in order to facilitate DNA extraction and avoid time consuming single specimen selection. Aliquots of each ordinal-level DNA extract were combined to roughly simulate a DNA extract from a non-sorted malaise sample. Each DNA extract was amplified using four primer sets targeting the CO1-5' fragment. The resulting PCR products (150-400bp) were sequenced separately on an Illumina Mi-SEQ platform, resulting in 1.5 million sequences and 5,500 clusters (coverage ≥10; CD-HIT-EST, 98%). Using a total of 120,000 DNA barcodes of identified, Central European Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera downloaded from BOLD we established a reference sequence database for a local CUSTOM BLAST. This allowed us to identify 529 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) from our sequence clusters derived from pooled Malaise trap samples. We introduce a scoring matrix based on the sequence match percentages of each amplicon in order to gain plausibility for each detected BIN, leading to 390 high score BINs in the sorted samples; whereas 268 of these high score BINs (69%) could be identified in the combined sample. The results indicate that a time consuming presorting process will yield approximately 30% more high score BINs compared to the non-sorted sample in our case. These promising results indicate that a fast, efficient and reliable analysis of next generation data from malaise trap samples can be achieved using this pipeline.
During the last few years, DNA barcoding has become an efficient method for the identification of species. In the case of insects, most published DNA barcoding studies focus on species of the ...Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, Hymenoptera and especially Lepidoptera. In this study we test the efficiency of DNA barcoding for true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), an ecological and economical highly important as well as morphologically diverse insect taxon. As part of our study we analyzed DNA barcodes for 1742 specimens of 457 species, comprising 39 families of the Heteroptera. We found low nucleotide distances with a minimum pairwise K2P distance <2.2% within 21 species pairs (39 species). For ten of these species pairs (18 species), minimum pairwise distances were zero. In contrast to this, deep intraspecific sequence divergences with maximum pairwise distances >2.2% were detected for 16 traditionally recognized and valid species. With a successful identification rate of 91.5% (418 species) our study emphasizes the use of DNA barcodes for the identification of true bugs and represents an important step in building-up a comprehensive barcode library for true bugs in Germany and Central Europe as well. Our study also highlights the urgent necessity of taxonomic revisions for various taxa of the Heteroptera, with a special focus on various species of the Miridae. In this context we found evidence for on-going hybridization events within various taxonomically challenging genera (e.g. Nabis Latreille, 1802 (Nabidae), Lygus Hahn, 1833 (Miridae), Phytocoris Fallén, 1814 (Miridae)) as well as the putative existence of cryptic species (e.g. Aneurus avenius (Duffour, 1833) (Aradidae) or Orius niger (Wolff, 1811) (Anthocoridae)).
The Austrelatus papuensis group is the second species group of the New Guinean representatives of the recently described genus Austrelatus Shaverdo et al., 2023. The group is mainly defined by ...distinct scale- and/or spinula-like surface structures of the dorsal sclerite of the median lobe. The species group already contains four described species and 42 new species and one subspecies treated here: Austrelatus aiyurensis sp. nov. , A. asteios sp. nov. , A. bewaniensis sp. nov. , A. bosaviensis sp. nov. , A. bundunensis sp. nov. , A. centralensis sp. nov. , A. craterensis sp. nov. , A. decoris sp. nov. , A. dekai sp. nov. , A. epicharis sp. nov. , A. flavocapitatus sp. nov. , A. fuscus sp. nov. , A. herzogensis sp. nov. , A. inconstans sp. nov. , A. iriatoi sp. nov. , A. kalibumi sp. nov. , A. kebarensis sp. nov. , A. kokodensis sp. nov. , A. leptos sp. nov. , A. loloki sp. nov. , A. lopintolensis sp. nov. , A. madangensis sp. nov. , A. maindai sp. nov. , A. mamberamo sp. nov. , A. mianminensis sp. nov. , A. miltokarenos sp. nov. , A. noiadi sp. nov. , A. normanbyensis sp. nov. , A. ohu sp. nov. , A. posmani sp. nov. , A. procerus sp. nov. , A. pseudogestroi sp. nov. , A. pseudomianminensis sp. nov. , A. robustus sp. nov. , A. sararti sp. nov. , A. sumokedi sp. nov. , A. wanangensis sp. nov. , A. wasiorensis sp. nov. , A. wasurensis sp. nov. , A. weigeli sp. nov. , A. yamurensis sp. nov. , A. yeretuar sp. nov. , A. xanthocephalus nabirensis ssp. nov. A checklist and identification key to New Guinean species of the group are provided and important diagnostic characters are illustrated. Data on the species distributions and habiat preferences are given.
As part of the German Barcode of Life campaign, over 3500 arachnid specimens have been collected and analyzed: ca. 3300 Araneae and 200 Opiliones, belonging to almost 600 species (median: 4 ...individuals/species). This covers about 60% of the spider fauna and more than 70% of the harvestmen fauna recorded for Germany. The overwhelming majority of species could be readily identified through DNA barcoding: median distances between closest species lay around 9% in spiders and 13% in harvestmen, while in 95% of the cases, intraspecific distances were below 2.5% and 8% respectively, with intraspecific medians at 0.3% and 0.2%. However, almost 20 spider species, most notably in the family Lycosidae, could not be separated through DNA barcoding (although many of them present discrete morphological differences). Conspicuously high interspecific distances were found in even more cases, hinting at cryptic species in some instances. A new program is presented: DiStats calculates the statistics needed to meet DNA barcode release criteria. Furthermore, new generic COI primers useful for a wide range of taxa (also other than arachnids) are introduced.
This publication provides the first comprehensive DNA barcode data set for the Neuropterida of Central Europe, including 80 of the 102 species (78%) recorded from Bavaria (Germany) and three other ...species from nearby regions (Austria, France and the UK). Although the 286 specimens analyzed had a heterogeneous conservation history (60% dried; 30% in 80% EtOH; 10% fresh specimens in 95% EtOH), 237 (83%) generated a DNA barcode. Eleven species (13%) shared a BIN, but three of these taxa could be discriminated through barcodes. Four pairs of closely allied species shared barcodes including Chrysoperla pallida Henry et al., 2002 and C. lucasina Lacroix, 1912; Wesmaelius concinnus (Stephens, 1836) and W. quadrifasciatus (Reuter, 1894); Hemerobius handschini Tjeder, 1957 and H. nitidulus Fabricius, 1777; and H. atrifrons McLachlan, 1868 and H. contumax Tjeder, 1932. Further studies are needed to test the possible synonymy of these species pairs or to determine if other genetic markers permit their discrimination. Our data highlight five cases of potential cryptic diversity within Bavarian Neuropterida: Nineta flava (Scopoli, 1763), Sympherobius pygmaeus (Rambur, 1842), Sisyra nigra (Retzius, 1783), Semidalis aleyrodiformis (Stephens, 1836) and Coniopteryx pygmaea Enderlein, 1906 are each split into two or three BINs. The present DNA barcode library not only allows the identification of adult and larval stages, but also provides valuable information for alpha-taxonomy, and for ecological and evolutionary research.
DNA sequencing techniques used to estimate biodiversity, such as DNA barcoding, may reveal cryptic species. However, disagreements between barcoding and morphological data have already led to ...controversy. Species delimitation should therefore not be based on mtDNA alone. Here, we explore the use of nDNA and bioclimatic modelling in a new species of aquatic beetle revealed by mtDNA sequence data.
The aquatic beetle fauna of Australia is characterised by high degrees of endemism, including local radiations such as the genus Antiporus. Antiporus femoralis was previously considered to exist in two disjunct, but morphologically indistinguishable populations in south-western and south-eastern Australia. We constructed a phylogeny of Antiporus and detected a deep split between these populations. Diagnostic characters from the highly variable nuclear protein encoding arginine kinase gene confirmed the presence of two isolated populations. We then used ecological niche modelling to examine the climatic niche characteristics of the two populations. All results support the status of the two populations as distinct species. We describe the south-western species as Antiporus occidentalis sp.n.
In addition to nDNA sequence data and extended use of mitochondrial sequences, ecological niche modelling has great potential for delineating morphologically cryptic species.
The diving beetle
Laccornis oblongus
(Stephens, 1835) is recorded for the first time from Bavaria, southern Germany, which marks the most south-westerly record of the species known to date. Three ...specimens were collected in the Murnauer Moos nature reserve in Upper Bavaria. We summarize what is known about the species habitat in Germany and provide photographs of the sampling site and habitus, median lobe of aedeagus, and paramere of the species. We provide a checklist of the 20 other diving beetle species we found syntopic with
L. oblongus
.
Herein,
(type species:
W.J. Macleay, 1871) is described for a distinctive lineage of predominantly Australasian species previously assigned to
Erichson, 1832. The new genus was retrieved as well ...supported, monophyletic clade in phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences data using Bayesian and parsimony approaches. The main morphological diagnostic character of
is a complex median lobe of the aedeagus, with evident dorsal and ventral sclerites usually divided in apical half into two lobes of different shape or otherwise modified. Morphological comparison of the new genus with other Copelatinae genera, especially with
and
Broun, 1886, and a generic key to the New Guinean Copelatinae are provided. New combinations are established for 31 already described species mainly from the Australian Region (all from
):
(Megna, Atthakor, Manaono, Hendrich & Balke, 2017),
;
(Sharp, 1882),
;
(J. Balfour-Browne, 1939),
;
(Hájek, Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2021),
;
(Hájek, Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2021),
;
(Hendrich & Balke, 1998),
;
(Sharp, 1882),
;
(Sharp, 1882),
;
(Wewalka, 2017),
;
(Sheth, Ghate & Hájek, 2018),
;
(Zimmermann, 1928),
;
(Régimbart, 1892),
;
(W.J. Macleay, 1871),
;
(Guignot, 1956),
;
(Hájek, Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2021),
;
(Hájek, Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2021),
;
(Guignot, 1956),
;
(Sheth, Ghate & Hájek, 2018),
;
(Zimmermann, 1919),
;
(Sharp, 1882),
;
(J. Balfour-Browne, 1939),
;
(Zimmermann, 1920a),
;
(Hendrich & Balke, 1998),
;
(Hájek, Hendrich, Hawlitschek & Balke, 2010),
;
(Fairmaire, 1878),
;
(Régimbart, 1899),
;
(Hendrich & Balke, 1995),
;
(Hájek, Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2021),
;
(Hájek, Shaverdo, Hendrich & Balke, 2021),
;
(J. Balfour-Browne, 1939),
and
(Régimbart, 1899),
species from New Guinea are divided into two informal species groups, the
group and
group, and
and
standing aside of them. The
group is introduced with three previously known species and 29 new species described here based on the morphological characters and Cox1 data:
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, and
Zimmermann, 1919,
is recognised as a junior subjective synonym of
(Sharp, 1882). The lectotypes of
Régimbart, 1892,
Zimmermann, 1919 and
Régimbart, 1899 are designated. All species are (re)described, and their important species characters (genitalia, habitus, and colour patterns) are illustrated. Keys to all species are provided. The known distribution and habitat preferences of each species are outlined briefly. New Guinean
occupy a variety of stagnant water habitats, either lentic
, or standing water associated with lotic habitats (e.g., backflows, rockpools, intermittent / ephemeral stream pools).
The underlying mechanisms responsible for the general increase in species richness from temperate regions to the tropics remain equivocal. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain this ...astonishing pattern but additional empirical studies are needed to shed light on the drivers at work. Here we reconstruct the evolutionary history of the cosmopolitan diving beetle subfamily Colymbetinae, the majority of which are found in the Northern hemisphere, hence exhibiting an inversed latitudinal diversity gradient. We reconstructed a dated phylogeny using 12 genes, to investigate the biogeographical history and diversification dynamics in the Colymbetinae. We aimed to identify the role that phylogenetic niche conservatism plays in the inversed diversification pattern seen in this group. Our results suggest that Colymbetinae originated in temperate climates, which supports the hypothesis that their distribution is the result of an ancestral adaptation to temperate environmental conditions rather than tropical origins, and that temperate niche conservatism can generate and/or maintain inverse latitudinal diversity gradients.
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