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Checklists represent a basic tool for conservation and management of regional faunas. However, our knowledge on species composition in a territory changes over time due to species movements across borders, extinctions, introductions, as well as to new taxonomic evidence. We aimed to provide the most updated data on native and non-native species of mammals occurring, or that used to occur until recently, on the Italian political territory and seas. The checklist only includes species whose taxonomic status was explicitly agreed in the most recent peer-reviewed literature and based on the most updated taxonomic approaches. For each species, we provided the following information: scientific and common name, global and Italian range, relevant information for management and conservation (e.g. whether it is endemic, allochthonous, or listed in international regulations and red list assessments), as well as remarks on taxonomy and distribution. This new check list of Italian mammal fauna includes nine marine and 114 terrestrial species, belonging to seven orders (Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha, Chiroptera, Carnivora, Cetartiodactyla, Rodentia, Lagomorpha), and 28 families. Vespertilionidae represents the richest family (n=27 species), followed by Cricetidae (n=12) and Soricidae (n=11). The list includes 15-16 allocthonous species. Considering the relative small size of the country, Italy is confirmed as a hotspot of mammal diversity in Europe, hosting the highest species richness in relation to the total area.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The wrong Supplementary File online resource 1 was originally published with this article; it has now been replaced with the correct file. The original article has been corrected.

Presentazione del progetto YES!BAT - uso dei pipistrelli nella lotta integrata per un'agricoltura ecosostenibile

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Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a hotspot for the selection of Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs), and for their spread into the environment. The fate of the ARGs released into open waters (lakes, rivers, and oceans) through WWTP outflows and the response of the resident microbial communities is of primary importance in assessing the cycle of a resistance, and thus the potential transmission to human pathogens. Treated WWTP effluents include peculiar bacterial communities (105-106 cells ml-1), with different vitality and ARGs load. What is the fate of ARGs released through WWTP effluents into open waters? How does this point source pollution impact on the natural environment?Is there a risk of permanent contamination, and if yes, does dilution of the effluent and ecology of the receiving water body matter? Once in the receiving water body, bacteria and ARGs from the WWTP effluent are exposed to a number of ecological interactions with the new environment and its microbial community. The fate of the introduced bacteria is thus regulated by ecology: Spatial (in lakes or seas with constant water mass) and temporal (in rivers, with variable water flow) dilution matters.

Fra i tanti ricercatori che hanno frequentato I'Ossola per motivi di studio, certamente Rina Monti Stella (1871-1937) merita una attenzione particolare, per una serie di motivi che cercheremo di esporre in questo articolo

Breve introduzione sui metodi molecolari attualmente in uso per delimitare species sulla base di sequenze di DNA. Descrizione dei metodi, del loro approccio teorico, dei lati positivi e negativi, e potenziali applicazioni nel campo della mammalologia.

Prevedere cambiamenti non è facile, ma spostamenti di rotta negli approcci di ricerca sui laghi nelle Terre Alte riguarderanno probabilmente due aspetti complementari: da una parte il modo in cui si acquisiscono e si archiviano i dati e dall'altra le domande che ci si pone usando i laghi delle Terre Alte come modelli di studio. Il monitoraggio delle caratteristiche dei laghi può essere ottimizzato grazie a nuove tecnologie o nuove concezioni. Esempi di tali cambiamenti riguardano: per il comparto abiotico, le tecniche di telerilevamento o l'utilizzo di droni; per il comparto biotico, gli approcci mediante DNA metabarcoding. Inoltre, l'utilizzo di database aggiornati o interattivi, collegati a livello internazionale (ad esempio PESI, LifeWatch, GenBank ecc.) permette l'introduzione di app per smartphone da usare per citizen science, ad esempio chiavi di riconoscimento fotografiche per organismi viventi. I laghi delle Terre Alte possono essere usati come ambienti modello per rispondere a domande di carattere generale. Ad esempio i laghi in quota possono essere usati come sentinelle del cambiamento climatico, per analizzare la diffusione di nuovi inquinanti (ad esempio i famigerati neonicotinoidi) o di problemi emergenti (come la temibile resistenza agli antibiotici in batteri presenti nell'ambiente) e per studiare gli adattamenti degli organismi agli ambienti estremi, in modo da trovare potenziali applicazioni biotecnologiche.

Plastic pollution is a major global concern with several million microplastic particles entering every day freshwater ecosystems via wastewater discharge, together with human pathogens. Microplastic particles stimulate biofilm formation (plastisphere) throughout the water column and have the potential to affect microbial community structure, especially enhancing the proliferation of biohazardous bacteria in pelagic systems. To test this scenario, we simulated the inflow of treated wastewater into a temperate lake using a continuous culture system with a gradient of concentration of microplastic particles. We followed the effect of microplastics on the microbial community structure by ARISA and on the occurrence of integrase 1 (int1, by qPCR), a marker associated to mobile genetic elements known as a proxy for anthropic effects on the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes.

La valutazione dello stato di conservazione di biodiversità, funzioni e servizi degli ecosistemi di acque interne e la stima della loro vulnerabilità ai cambiamenti climatici sono affrontate considerando tipologie omogenee di ecosistemi acquatici, alla scala integrata del bacino idrografico e della zona di transizione adiacente. Gli ecosistemi acquatici sono ripartiti, secondo uno schema tradizionale, in: bacini fluviali, laghi, zone umide e acque lentiche85 di piccole dimensioni, ecosistemi dipendenti dalle acque sotterranee (Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems - GDE) e ambienti di transizione a mare. I bacini fluviali e i laghi sono inoltre analizzati nel contesto della regione geografica cui appartengono, assumendo che vi siano associate diverse pressioni e minacce derivanti dai cambiamenti climatici. I cambiamenti climatici hanno effetti diretti sulla fenologia e sulla distribuzione delle specie che si manifestano in seguito a modificazioni della durata delle fasi di crescita, anticipazione o ritardo nelle migrazioni, sfasamento dei cicli vitali di predatore e preda, e migrazione verso nord e verso monte delle specie sensibili all’aumento di temperatura. Negli ecosistemi acquatici queste perturbazioni sono causate non solo dall’aumento della temperatura, ma anche dalle variazioni del regime idrologico e delle proprietà fisiche delle masse d’acqua. Tra gli ecosistemi a maggiore vulnerabilità si annoverano le acque lentiche di piccole dimensioni, i GDE e i laghi d’alta quota, e i corsi d’acqua appenninici e delle isole maggiori, sui quali già insistono pressioni importanti per l’elevato tasso di sfruttamento del territorio e delle risorse idriche. La vulnerabilità dei grandi corsi d’acqua dipende dall’interazione tra le pressioni locali (uso del suolo, urbanizzazione, alterazioni idro-morfologiche), le variazioni del regime idrologico e la gestione delle risorse idriche. Attualmente si segnalano problemi legati al dissesto idromorfologico dei corsi d’acqua, al deflusso residuo a valle delle derivazioni idriche, alle variazioni improvvise e intense delle portate dovute all’esercizio delle centrali idroelettriche (hydropeaking), all’inquinamento delle acque, alla perdita di specie indigene e alla crescente diffusione di specie aliene. Queste situazioni potrebbero essere amplificate dalle variazioni del regime idrologico indotte dai cambiamenti climatici. I grandi laghi subalpini profondi sono regolati e costituiscono la più importante riserva di acqua dolce in Italia. Negli ultimi decenni si sono osservate condizioni critiche per il bilancio termico e la conseguente stratificazione della colonna d’acqua: l’aumento della temperatura atmosferica ha già causato una notevole riduzione della frequenza del rimescolamento delle intere masse d’acqua (oligomissi) e potrebbe portare a un rimescolamento limitato ai soli strati superficiali (meromissi). Le condizioni di meromissi sono in genere accompagnate dall’esaurimento dell’ossigeno disciolto nelle acque di fondo e da notevoli alterazioni della composizione delle comunità lacustri. Nel lungo termine, la diminuzione degli apporti nivali e glaciali e l’aumento dei prelievi potrebbero determinare oscillazioni del livello idrico con gravi impatti anche sulle zone litoranee di basso fondale. Condizioni di particolare vulnerabilità sono previste per i laghi dell’Italia centrale, in particolare per quelli poco profondi come il Lago Trasimeno, nei quali si stanno verificando l’interramento delle zone litoranee, l’aumento delle concentrazioni dei soluti e il riscaldamento delle acque. Nei laghi artificiali dell’Italia meridionale e delle isole, la diminuzione delle precipitazioni e l’aumento della temperatura, combinate con un maggiore consumo idrico, potrebbero accentuare le variazioni di livello, favorendo così il peggioramento della qualità delle acque e l’affermazione di specie invasive e di cianobatteri tossici. Le acque di transizione (foci fluviali e lagune costiere) sono esposte alle variazioni del regime idrologico dei bacini di monte, all’innalzamento del livello marino e all’aumento della temperatura. Trattandosi di sistemi a bassa profondità, sono attesi effetti particolarmente marcati nelle comunità bentoniche, con comparsa di fioriture di macroalghe, microalghe tossiche e cianobatteri e scomparsa delle specie animali maggiormente sensibili. Le opere di difesa idraulica a protezione dei centri abitati e delle zone agricole subsidenti potrebbero fare aumentare il confinamento delle aree lagunari interne, con rischi crescenti di stagnazione e anossia delle acque, condizioni che comportano la perdita di specie sensibili al tenore di ossigeno e alla temperatura. Complessivamente, si ritiene che le tendenze evolutive degli ecosistemi lagunari possano essere sfavorevoli per le specie native a vantaggio di quelle esotiche, con possibili impatti anche sulle attività di pesca e acquacoltura. Nelle foci fluviali, nei periodi di secca si potrà verificare la risalita del cuneo salino, un fenomeno che si è già manifestato in modo significativo in anni particolarmente siccitosi, ad esempio dal 2003 al 2007. Nella maggior parte degli ambienti acquatici considerati, al crescere della temperatura e della durata della stagnazione delle masse idriche potranno aumentare il metabolismo microbico e l’eterotrofia, con possibili retroazioni sulle emissioni di gas clima-alteranti (CO2, N2O e CH4).

Background: Although prevalent in prokaryotes, horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is rarer in multicellular eukaryotes. Bdelloid rotifers are microscopic animals that contain a higher proportion of horizontally transferred, non-metazoan genes in their genomes than typical of animals. It has been hypothesized that bdelloids incorporate foreign DNA when they repair their chromosomes following double-strand breaks caused by desiccation. HGT might thereby contribute to species divergence and adaptation, as in prokaryotes. If so, we expect that species should differ in their complement of foreign genes, rather than sharing the same set of foreign genes inherited from a common ancestor. Furthermore, there should be more foreign genes in species that desiccate more frequently. We tested these hypotheses by surveying HGT in four congeneric species of bdelloids from different habitats: two from permanent aquatic habitats and two from temporary aquatic habitats that desiccate regularly.\ud \ud Results: Transcriptomes of all four species contain many genes with a closer match to non-metazoan genes than to metazoan genes. Whole genome sequencing of one species confirmed the presence of these foreign genes in the genome. Nearly half of foreign genes are shared between all four species and an outgroup from another family, but many hundreds are unique to particular species, which indicates that HGT is ongoing. Using a dated phylogeny, we estimate an average of 12.8 gains versus 2.0 losses of foreign genes per million years. Consistent with the desiccation hypothesis, the level of HGT is higher in the species that experience regular desiccation events than those that do not. However, HGT still contributed hundreds of foreign genes to the species from permanently aquatic habitats. Foreign genes were mainly enzymes with various annotated functions that include catabolism of complex polysaccharides and stress responses. We found evidence of differential loss of ancestral foreign genes previously associated with desiccation protection in the two non-desiccating species.\ud \ud Conclusions: Nearly half of foreign genes were acquired before the divergence of bdelloid families over 60 Mya. Nonetheless, HGT is ongoing in bdelloids and has contributed to putative functional differences among species. Variation among our study species is consistent with the hypothesis that desiccating habitats promote HGT.\ud

Why organisms diversify into discrete species instead of showing a continuum of genotypic and phenotypic forms is an important yet rarely studied question in speciation biology. Does species discreteness come from adaptation to fill discrete niches or from interspecific gaps generated by reproductive isolation? We investigate the importance of reproductive isolation by comparing genetic discreteness, in terms of intra- and interspecific variation, between facultatively sexual monogonont rotifers and obligately asexual bdelloid rotifers. We calculated the age (phylogenetic distance) and average pairwise genetic distance (raw distance) within and among evolutionarily significant units of diversity in six bdelloid clades and seven monogonont clades sampled for 4211 individuals in total. We find that monogonont species are more discrete than bdelloid species with respect to divergence between species but exhibit similar levels of intraspecific variation (species cohesiveness). This pattern arises because bdelloids have diversified into discrete genetic clusters at a faster net rate than monogononts. Although sampling biases or differences in ecology that are independent of sexuality might also affect these patterns, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that bdelloids diversified at a faster rate into less discrete species because their diversification does not depend on the evolution of reproductive isolation.

Coalescent-based species delimitation methods combine population genetic and phylogenetic theory to provide an objective means for delineating evolutionarily significant units of diversity. The generalised mixed Yule coalescent (GMYC) and the Poisson tree process (PTP) are methods that use ultrametric (GMYC or PTP) or non-ultrametric (PTP) gene trees as input, intended for use mostly with single-locus data such as DNA barcodes. Here, we assess how robust the GMYC and PTP are to different phylogenetic reconstruction and branch smoothing methods. We reconstruct over 400 ultrametric trees using up to 30 different combinations of phylogenetic and smoothing methods and perform over 2000 separate species delimitation analyses across 16 empirical data sets. We then assess how variable diversity estimates are, in terms of richness and identity, with respect to species delimitation, phylogenetic and smoothing methods. The PTP method generally generates diversity estimates that are more robust to different phylogenetic methods. The GMYC is more sensitive, but provides consistent estimates for BEAST trees. The lower consistency of GMYC estimates is likely a result of differences among gene trees introduced by the smoothing step. Unresolved nodes (real anomalies or methodological artefacts) affect both GMYC and PTP estimates, but have a greater effect on GMYC estimates. Branch smoothing is a difficult step and perhaps an underappreciated source of bias that may be widespread among studies of diversity and diversification. Nevertheless, careful choice of phylogenetic method does produce equivalent PTP and GMYC diversity estimates. We recommend simultaneous use of the PTP model with any model-based gene tree (e.g. RAxML) and GMYC approaches with BEAST trees for obtaining species hypotheses. 10.1111/(ISSN)2041-210X

Aim General patterns of biodiversity, such as latitudinal gradients and species-area relationships, are found consistently in a wide range of organisms, but recent results for protist diversity suggest that organisms shorter than 2 mm do not display such patterns. We tested this prediction in bdelloid rotifers, pluricellular metazoans smaller than 2 mm, but with size and ecology comparable to protists. Location A single valley in northern Italy was surveyed in detail and compared to all available faunistic data on bdelloids worldwide. Methods We analysed 171 local assemblages of bdelloid rotifers living in 5 systems of dry mosses and submerged mosses in running water and in lakes. We compared patterns of alpha, beta, and gamma diversity, and nestedness of metacommunities, with those known from protists and larger organisms. Results Bdelloid rotifers showed low local species richness (alpha diversity), with strong habitat selection, as observed in larger organisms. The number of species differed among systems, with a higher number of species in dry than in aquatic mosses. There was no hierarchical structure or exclusion of species in the metacommunity pattern within each system. Local diversity for the entire valley was surprisingly high compared with worldwide bdelloid diversity, similar to observed patterns in protists. Main Conclusions Bdelloid rotifers have some of the peculiarities of protist biodiversity, although at slightly different spatial scales, thus confirming the idea of a major change in biodiversity patterns among organisms shorter than 2 mm. However, bdelloids show stronger habitat selection than protists. We suggest two possible explanations for the observed patterns: (1) dispersal is very rare, and not all bdelloid clones are arriving everywhere; and (2) dispersal is effective in displacing propagules, but environmental heterogeneity is very high and prevents many species from colonizing a given patch of moss.

Aquatic faunas in fresh, brackish, and salt waters are usually well defined and differ amongst these three habitats. Nonetheless, some animals are known to be euryhaline, namely present across wide salinity ranges. The wide tolerance of putative euryhaline species has, however been refuted in some cases by DNA taxonomy, which has uncovered cryptic diversity with narrow ecological niches. We aim to improve knowledge on the putative euryhalinism of microinvertebrates and test whether it might actually be a real phenomenon or if euryhaline species are mostly a consequence of our previous inability to identify cryptic species with narrow salinity ranges, as discovered in Brachionus plicatilis. Using morphological analyses and DNA taxonomy, we investigated the species reality and distribution of a putative euryhaline rotifer species, Testudinella clypeata, and evaluated whether cryptic species are ecologically and/or geographically segregated. Different DNA taxonomy approaches concurred in revealing the presence of seven cryptic species within the T.?clypeata morphospecies, which, in contrast to what has been previously detected, are actually euryhaline. Moreover, differences in analysed morphological traits were not significantly different amongst cryptic species. This suggests that DNA taxonomy improves our estimates of the actual diversity of microscopic species, in contrast to the morphological approach.

Many, mostly older, names of animal species are nomenclaturally problematic, either because their orthography is unstable, or they cannot be linked reliably to a taxonomic identity, due to the lack of recognisable descriptions and/or types. Yet, they represent available (sensu International Code of Zoological Nomenclature) names and must be taken into account in zoological works. This situation, with available senior, yet dubious names confounding nomenclature, is undesirable. It creates uncertainties at a time when molecular approaches are revolutionizing our concepts of species diversity, and fails us when the current extinction crisis calls for efficient, accurate, and constructive approaches to document, monitor, and conserve biodiversity.The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (The Code) provides a means to address this issue by restricting availability, application and orthography of names to those included in the List of Available Names in Zoology (LAN). The Code (Art. 79) allows an international body of zoologists in consultation with the Commission to propose a candidate part of the LAN for a major taxonomic field. We explore this possibility for 3570 species-group names of Phylum Rotifera (of which 665 are problematic), by presenting such a candidate Rotifera part of the LAN. The web site of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (http://www.iczn.org) will hold both the candidate list and a forum to facilitate consultation on the candidate list, while the list itself also can already be freely downloaded from three other Internet sites: http://fada.biodiversity.be, http://rotifer.ansp.org/LAN, and www.hausdernatur.at/rotifera. We give here an overview of the general approach and procedures applied in preparation of the candidate list, and anticipate that our effort will promote the process as well as result in a standard list of names for use in taxonomy, the Global Names Architecture and other biodiversity information initiatives.

During a two-week workshop held at the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences on Tjärnö, an island on the Swedish west-coast, meiofauna was studied in a large variety of habitats using a wide range of sampling techniques. Almost 100 samples coming from littoral beaches, rock pools and different types of sublittoral sand- and mudflats yielded a total of 430 species, a conservative estimate. The main focus was on acoels, proseriate and rhabdocoel flatworms, rotifers, nematodes, gastrotrichs, copepods and some smaller taxa, like nemertodermatids, gnathostomulids, cycliophorans, dorvilleid polychaetes, priapulids, kinorhynchs, tardigrades and some other flatworms. As this is a preliminary report, some species still have to be positively identified and/or described, as 157 species were new for the Swedish fauna and 27 are possibly new to science. Each taxon is discussed separately and accompanied by a detailed species list.

A dichotomous key to rotifers is presented for the 28 Families and 66 Genera that have been reported from saline systems of both marine and inland waters. Information is provided on general identification and papers dealing more particularly with certain Families and Genera. A succinct overview of the species found in saline habitats is given for each genus.

Embata parasitica (Giglioli, 1863) (figures 14���16) Material examined Thirty-seven specimens among gills of a male crab; a single specimen near the mouth of a female crab. Diagnosis and comments Trophi (n ~8) have two major unci teeth, 19���21 proximal minor teeth and 23���25 distal minor teeth. Rami length is 19.86��0.24 �� m. This species is one of the three eyeless and oviparous Embata species. Its external habitus is similar to Macrotrachela cancrophila (Piovanelli, 1903), also described from the gill chamber of Italian freshwater crabs. These species are easily distinguished by their different number of toes: three in Macrotrachela, and four in Embata. Also, the trophi of E. parasitica are smaller than those of M. cancrophila [rami length of about 20 �� m in E. parasitica, about 27 �� m in M. cancrophila (Piovanelli, 1903a: 346)]. Embata parasitica is known from Europe and North America (Donner, 1965), living epizoic on various aquatic animals, such as Asellus aquaticus (Linnaeus, 1758), Gammarus pulex (Linnaeus, 1758) and caddis-fly larvae (May, 1989). We succeeded in maintaining a reproductive population using a feeding suspension of finely ground fish pellets (Friskies �� for goldfish). As for A. telphusae, we observed fungi on the surface of the body of this species (figure 16)., Published as part of Fontaneto, D., Segers, H. & Melone, G., 2004, Epizoic rotifers (Rotifera: Monogononta, Bdelloidea) from the gill chambers of Potamon fluviatile (Herbst, 1785), pp. 1225-1232 in Journal of Natural History 38 (10) on pages 1230-1231, DOI: 10.1080/0022293031000155197, http://zenodo.org/record/4658504