Search

Aim: Obstetrical guidelines were established in Japan in 2008, and obstetrical diagnoses and treatments were subsequently standardized nationally. We examined changes in the preterm birth rate (PTBR) and extremely preterm birth rate (EPTBR) following the introduction of such guidelines. Methods: Information on 50 706 432 live births in Japan between 1979 and 2021, including Japanese reproductive medicine, the childbearing age of pregnant women, and the employment status of reproductive‐age women between 2007 and 2020, were obtained from the Japanese government and academic societies. Regression analysis was used to compare chronological changes nationally and those of eight Japanese regions. Regional and national average PTBRs and EPTBRs from 2007 to 2020 were compared by using a repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: From 1979 to 2007, PTBRs and EPTBRs in Japan increased significantly. However, from 2008, the national PTBR and EPTBR decreased until 2020 (p < 0.001) and 2019 (p = 0.02), respectively. From 2007 to 2020, overall PTBR and EPTBR were 5.68% and 0.255%, respectively. A significant difference in the PTBR and EPTBR existed between the eight Japanese regions. During this period, the number of pregnancies using assisted reproductive technology increased from 19 595 to 60 381, pregnant women became older, the employment rate of those of reproductive age increased, and nonregular employment was 54%, which was 2.5 times higher than for men. Conclusions: In Japan, after obstetrical guidelines were enacted in 2008, PTRBs decreased significantly even under the pressure of increasing preterm births. Countermeasures may be necessary for regions showing high PTBRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new feather mite Pelargolichus orientalissp. nov. is described from the Oriental White Stork, Ciconia boyciana Swinhoe, 1873, one of the world's most endangered bird species. This mite species was collected from feathers of the Oriental White Storks bred in the Tama Zoological Park in Japan. The native population of the Oriental White Stork and feather mites associated with this bird had been extinct in Japan since 1986. Wild individuals of this bird species were transported from the Eurasian Continent to Japanese breeding facilities, and in the 2000s, a small wild population was restored. The new mite species is presently distributed in natural fields in Japan along with its introduced host population. This study presents the first record of the feather mite genus Pelargolichus in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis (Rothschild, 1893) is a seabird species included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature as Near Threatened (NT). We sampled two feather mite species, Diomedacarus gigas (Dubinin, 1949) and Echinacarus petaliferus (Trouessart, 1898), from the three albatross, and provided their redescriptions. This is the first record of D. gigas from the past half-century in Japan and the first report of E. petaliferus in this country. The haplotype network of partial sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit for D. gigas showed that six of the seven haplotypes were unique to the mites sampled from each host individual. This mite species may have a very little opportunity for horizontal transmission between host individuals since albatrosses live alone over sea areas, except the breeding period on land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent discovery of the oribatid mite Ameronothrus twitter via a social media platform resulted in a considerable media response and raised the awareness of the public for these tiny organisms. As a direct consequence, another new marine associated ameronothroid species was now discovered via the same social media service. Moreover, the record of this new species, Ameronothrus retweet sp. n., represents the first report of an ameronothroid taxon from the Sea of Japan coast, indicating that this coastline was successfully colonized by these organisms and that further species could be present there. Ameronothrus retweet sp. n. shows an extraordinary sexual dimorphism with females having relatively shorter legs and a strongly folded notogastral integument. Based on morphological characteristics, it is suggested that the new species is closest related to Ameronothrus lineatus and Ameronothrus nigrofemoratus. A molecular genetic investigation of selected ameronothroid taxa, using the 18S rRNA gene, shows that all Ameronothrus species are closely related and represent a distinct monophyletic genus. In a larger phylogenetic context, the Fortuyniidae and Selenoribatidae are given as sister taxa with a monophyletic origin, whereas certain members of Ameronothridae are placed in paraphyletic positions, supporting theories of an independent origin of the marine associated lifestyle in ameronothroid mites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis) is listed as a critically endangered bird species by BirdLife International due to the rapid population decline. Before this study, nothing was known about the night roosting behaviour of this imperiled species. Here, we report on the night roosting behaviour of the White-bellied Herons in Punatsangchhu and Mangdechhu river basins of Bhutan. There was a significant difference in landing and takeoff flights between the short- and long-day periods (P <0.05). Overall, the night roosting behaviour was dominated by sleeping (65 ± 11 min). We also documented two prominent behaviours that were thermoregulatory in function. The White-bellied Herons roosts solitarily on the tree branches in the night and makes extensive use of the night roosting trees. Therefore, night roosting trees are essential for consideration while assessing the home range size of the White-bellied Herons for their better conservation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riccardoella (Proriccardoella) reaumuriFain & van Goethem, 1986 has been reported in terrestrial mollusks in France and the Japanese Archipelago. The purpose of this study was to describe two new subspecies of this mite species from Japan based on their morphological characters. Mites were sampled from terrestrial mollusks at 13 locations in Japan from Oct. 16, 2016 to Nov. 13, 2020. The sampled mites and specimens deposited in museum were also used for morphological observations. As a result of principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis based on morphology of dorsal setae on idiosoma and solenidia on palptarsus and tarsus I and II, mite specimens from France and Japan were divided into three groups: Group 1 (mites sampled in France), Group 2 (Okinawajima Is.) and Group 3 (the area from Kyushu Is. to Hokkaido Is.). The solenidia shapes also differed between the groups. We propose that the mites of each of the three groups should be defined as subspecies based on these morphological differences. Our phylogenetic tree of the two subspecies based on amino acid sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) confirmed that these Japanese mites are members of the genus, family Ereynetidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activities of social insect colonies are supported by exocrine glands and the tremendous functional diversity of the compounds that they secrete. Many social wasps in the subfamilies Vespinae and Polistinae have two sternal glands—the van der Vecht and Richards' glands—that vary in their features and function across the species in which they are found. Field observations suggest that giant hornets use secretions from the van der Vecht gland to chemically mark targeted nests when workers initiate group attacks on social insect prey. However, descriptions of giant hornets' sternal glands and details about their recruitment behavior are lacking. We describe the morphology of the sternal glands of the giant hornet Vespa soror du Buysson and consider their potential to contribute to a marking pheromone. We also assess the gastral rubbing behavior of workers as they attacked Apis cerana F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies. V. soror workers have well-developed van der Vecht and Richards' glands on their terminal gastral sternites, with morphologies that robustly support the synthesis, storage, and dissemination of their secretory products. Observations confirm that the van der Vecht gland is exposed during gastral rubbing, but that the Richards' gland and glands associated with the sting apparatus may also contribute to a marking pheromone. Workers briefly but repeatedly rubbed their gasters around hive entrances and on overhead vegetation. Colonies were heavily marked over consecutive attacks. Our findings provide insight into the use of exocrine secretions by giant hornets as they recruit nestmates to prey colonies for group attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper provides information on juvenile stages of seven intertidal oribatid mite species from the East Asian region. Larva and nymphs of the fortuyniid species Fortuynia churaumi, F. shibai, F. rotunda and Alismobates reticulatus are described and details about juvenile morphology of the selenoribatid species, Arotrobates granulatus, Indopacifica taiyo and I. tyida are given. Juveniles of the genus Arotrobates are reported for the first time and strong ventral femoral carinae are supposed to be diagnostic characters. Basically, the conservative morphology of immature stages could be confirmed in every studied taxon and its importance for phylogenetic considerations is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zoological Systematics & Evolutionary Research is the property of Hindawi Limited 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.)

Difflugia biwae Kawamura, 1918 has been redescribed. Here, the neotype of D. biwae, which was newly collected from its type locality, Lake Biwa, is designated to the species to clarify its taxonomic status. Morphometric characterization of D. biwae was performed. A statistically significant correlation between body length and shell collar diameter was identified in the population of the Lake Biwa, but this correlation was not significant in the population from the Mulan Lake. The PCA scatterplot indicates that the Mulan Lake population could be a separate taxon identified by shorter protuberance length and body length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We found four species of oribatid mites belonging to family Oppiidae from Babeldaob Island of Palau Republic, which is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. Two new species, Anomaloppia babeldaobensissp. nov. and Oxyoppia palauensissp. nov. are described from litter and soil in a secondary forest of Palau, and supplementary descriptions of two hitherto known species, Arcoppia corniculifera (Mahunka 1978) and Arcoppia hammeraeRodríguez & Subías, 1984 are provided, which are reported for the first time from the Oceania region. Following the descriptions and comparisons, aspects of the taxonomy, distribution and habitat ecology of studied species are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We found four species of oribatid mites belonging to the genus Protoribates from Babeldaob Island of Palau Republic, which is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. A new species, Protoribates lutosisetosussp. nov. is described from litter and soil of the primary and secondary forests in Palau, and supplementary descriptions of three hitherto known species, Protoribates acutus, Protoribates paracapucinus, and Protoribates seminudus are provided. Following the descriptions and comparisons, aspects of the taxonomy, distribution, and habitat ecology of all studied species are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical forest canopies are home to an extremely high diversity of arthropods, but their diversity, abundance, and community structures remain incomplete. Three species of oribatid mites from the crown leaves petioles of Light Red Meranti (Shorea quadrinervis Sloot), a tree species that is endemic to Borneo Island, are reported in the present study. A new species of Birobates (Oripodidae) is proposed, with a diagnostic key to adults of all known species of the genus worldwide. Dometorina plantivaga (Berlese, 1895) (Scheloribatidae) and Paralamellobates misella (Berlese, 1910) (Punctoribatidae) are reported for the first time from Borneo, and supplementary descriptions of those species are provided. Aspects of the distribution and habitat ecology of each species reported are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Claws may be the most common biological attachment devices in animals but relatively few studies have examined the ecological and evolutionary significance of their morphology. We performed the first geometric morphometric investigation of arthropod claws using 15 intertidal oribatid mite species from two different families living in three different habitat types to determine if claw shape is correlated with ecology. Our results show that species living on rocky shores show remarkably high and strongly curved claws while species from mangrove habitats show significantly lower and less curved claws. Euryoecious species are able to dwell in a wide range of habitats and show an intermediate claw type. These results indicate a strong relationship between claw shape and microhabitat and the best predictors of microhabitat use seem to be claw height and curvature. Claw length varied to some degree among the species but without any noticeable ecological pattern. A comparison with terrestrial and freshwater aquatic oribatid mite species, on the other hand, confirms that their claws are only half as long as that of intertidal mites and it is suggested that tidal flooding and wave action strongly selects for long claws. In this microarthropod group which occupies a vast array of microhabitats, claw morphology may play an important role in niche separation and hence demonstrate the importance of ecomorphological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We found two species of oribatid mites from Babeldaob Island of Palau Republic, which is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. Eurhynchoribates brevisensillatus sp. nov. is proposed from mosses growing in the forest, and a diagnostic key to adults of all known species of Eurhynchoribates is provided. Another species, Basilobelba foliata Hammer, 1982 is reported for the first time from Palau, which was known previously from island of Bali, Indonesia. Following the descriptions and comparisons, we discuss aspects of the diversity, distribution and habitat ecology of species belonging to each genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates for the first time the presence of marine‐associated mites in the Andaman Sea and Strait of Malacca and reveals a relatively high diversity of these taxa with six species from two different families: Selenoribatidae and Fortuyniidae. Indopacifica, a new genus of Selenoribatidae, is described from Thailand and Malaysia, with two new species, Indopacifica pantai n. sp. and Indopacifica parva n. sp. The genus is characterized by the unique combination of following characters: lacking lamellar ridges, incomplete dorsosejugal suture, fourteen pairs of notogastral setae, and presence of epimeral foveae. A phylogenetic reconstruction based on 18S ribosomal RNA sequences clearly confirms the distinctness of the new genus Indopacifica and places it close to the genus Rhizophobates. The lack of molecular genetic data of possible relatives impedes a clear assessment, and hence, we emphasize the need for further combined approaches using morphological and molecular genetic sequence data. All species show wide distribution areas within this geographic region suggesting that these taxa are good dispersers despite their minute size and wingless body. Molecular genetic data demonstrate recent gene flow between far distant populations of I. pantai n. sp. from the coasts of Thailand and two islands of Malaysia and hence confirm this assumption. The seasonally changing surface currents within this geographic area may favor hydrochorous dispersal and hence genetic exchange. Nevertheless, morphometric data show a slight trend to morphological divergence among the studied populations, whereas this variation is suggested to be a result of genetic drift but also of habitat differences in one population of Alismobates pseudoreticulatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Species diversity is generally higher in the tropics compared to the temperate zones. The phenomenon that one species of an almost exclusively tropical living genus was able to adapt successfully to the cold northern regions is rather rare. However, the oribatid mite Dolicheremaeus dorni represents such a species and is in the focus of this study. While 180 Dolicheremaeus species are confined to the tropics and subtropics, only five species are known to occur in temperate climates and D. dorni represents the only species with a wider distribution in this climatic region. This species is distributed in Central and Southern Europe and was now recorded for the first time in Austria. A morphological and molecular genetic investigation of specimens from Austria, Poland and Croatia confirmed this distribution pattern and revealed specific geographic clades and haplotypes for each population and hence indicate low gene flow between populations. A further molecular genetic analysis of the 18S rRNA gene sequence of D. dorni confirmed its phylogenetic position within Carabodoidea. Based on record information, this species is associated with trees or tree habitats and seems to be rather a generalist than a specialist for a specific substrate (e.g., tree species) or food source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The red mite Balaustium murorum (Hermann) inhabits the Western Palaearctic realm and is well adapted to man-made structures. In Japan, B. murorum had been reported more frequently after the 1980s. A molecular phylogeny based on the nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial COI genes, and including B. murorum individuals from Japan and Austria and representatives of related species from Japan showed four Balaustium species-level lineages in Japan (B. murorum, Balaustium sp. 1, Balaustium sp. 2, Balaustium sp. 3). The B. murorum lineage shared identical 18S sequence and COI haplotype with the Austrian population. Balaustium sp. 1 was detected from the Tokyo and Misaki area (Honshu Island) and was the sister group to B. murorum; the other two lineages inhabited coastal environments of Erimo, Hokkaido Island (Balaustium sp. 2) and Ainan, Shikoku Island (Balaustium sp. 3). The high genetic distances among these four lineages indicate that each lineage is a distinct species, with three of the lineages representing undescribed species. Our results are compatible with the conclusion that B. murorum was introduced to Japan from Europe, although our study did not resolve the polarity or timing of migration events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the supplementary description of adults ofEremaeozetes octomaculatualong with illustrations is provided, which is recorded for the first time from Indonesia.Eremaeozetes octomaculatusis an Oriental and Oceanian species, currently known from the Western Samoa Island of Polynesia, Luzon and Mindanao Islands of the Philippines, Okinawa Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago of Japan, and recently we found it in the Java Island of Indonesia. This species appears to be primarily an inhabitant of tropical forests, and it prefers mosses and fungi growing on stones, tree trunks, as well as forest floors and decomposed plant debris. Data of analysis on 28S D3 gene sequence of this species is provided. Comparison of theE. octomaculatussequence with other oribatid mites 28S D3 sequences identifies thatScapheremaeusis the closest relative toE. octomaculatuswith regard to the species included in this analysis, but the relationship was supported by week bootstrap value. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present a short note on the species composition of testate amoebae in a poor fen on mineral soil near the Pacific Coast in the hilly area of Central Honshu, Japan. In total 45 species and subspecific taxa belonged to 21 genera and 14 families of testate amoebae were recorded. Eight species and nine subspecies are newly recorded from Japan. However, most species from the list can be considered as distributed worldwide and associated mostly to oligotrophic/acid Sphagnum conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]