Search

Species richness is a frequently used measure of biodiversity. The compilation of a complete species list is an often unattainable goal. Estimators of species richness have been developed to overcome this problem. While the use of these estimators is becoming increasingly popular, working with the observed number of species is still common practice.To assess whether patterns of beetle communities based on observed numbers may be compared among each other, we compared patterns from observed and estimated numbers of species for beetle communities in the canopy of the Leipzig floodplain forest. These patterns were species richness and the number of shared species among three tree species and two canopy strata.We tested the applicability of the asymptotic Chao1 estimator and the estimate provided by the nonasymptotic rarefaction–extrapolation method for all tree species and both upper canopy and lower canopy. In the majority of cases, the ranking patterns of species richness for host tree species and strata were the same for the observed and estimated number of species. The ranking patterns of the number of species shared among host tree species and strata, however, were significantly different between observed and estimated values.Our results indicate that the observed number of species under‐represents species richness and the number of shared species. However, ranking comparisons of published patterns based on the number of observed species may be acceptable for species richness but likely not reliable for the number of shared species. Further studies are needed to corroborate this conclusion. We encourage to use estimators and to provide open access to data to allow comparative assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For centuries, tail duplications in reptiles have attracted human curiosity, and publications on anecdotal observations of supernumerary tails have grown considerably over recent years. However, there is no recent review on the occurrence of supernumerary tails in reptiles and the consequent effects on individuals. We provide new data on the frequency of supernumerary tails, including unprecedented frequencies and observations of tail triplication and quintuplication, from our own studies in arid Australia and from literature reviews. Our observations include data for a gecko species (Gehyra variegata) and three species of skinks (Eremiascincus richardsonii, Lerista punctatovittata, Morethia boulengeri) for which supernumerary tails have not been reported so far. We assume that hyperregeneration (following injuries inflicted by predators, sharp-edged window glass, and unknown factors) was the cause for the cases observed by us. Our review spans two millennia of published works describing supernumerary tails in 146 identified species of reptiles and up to 16 unidentified species. We assess the taxonomic and geographic distributions and the microhabitats of these 146 species, while also commenting on the potential causes and effects of supernumerary tails. The identified species belong to 16 families of lizards, one of amphisbaenians, three of snakes, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), three turtle families, and one family of crocodiles. The geographic patterns of supernumerary tails are difficult to interpret due to an imbalance in published works from the major geographic areas. The vast majority of the species affected have a terrestrial lifestyle, followed by arboreal species. The frequency of supernumerary tails is low, with multiple tails having been reported only for 59 individuals, including our new data. Little is known about the effects of supernumerary tails on their carriers. In our study, there was no indication of them affecting mobility or increasing mortality. Some authors reported handicapped movement, whereas others did not find such effects, and both males and females with tail bifurcation/duplication were able to mate successfully. Most cases of supernumerary tails are likely to be due to hyperregeneration as a reaction to injuries or incomplete breaks of vertebral fracture planes. However, only one study statistically identified the culprits as predatory mammals. In captivity, such injuries were also inflicted through attacks by conspecifics and during copulation. The few cases in natural populations that were not due to hyperregeneration were presumably caused by unknown teratogenic factors to which the individuals were exposed during ontogeny; in one case this was most likely to be radioactive contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on a deformed Lissotriton vulgaris captured on June 18, 2018 in a minnow trap in a pond formed by the flooding of a former clay mining area. Topics discussed include ectromely with parts of left hind leg missing exhibited by one male, hypothesis on the potential reasons for tail duplications in amphibians, and number of ponds that were included in the investigation in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Background Lacerta viridis and Lacerta bilineata are sister species of European green lizards (eastern and western clades, respectively) that, until recently, were grouped together as the L. viridis complex. Genetic incompatibilities were observed between lacertid populations through crossing experiments, which led to the delineation of two separate species within the L. viridis complex. The population history of these sister species and processes driving divergence are unknown. We constructed the first high-quality de novo genome assemblies for both L. viridis and L. bilineata through Illumina and PacBio sequencing, with annotation support provided from transcriptome sequencing of several tissues. To estimate gene flow between the two species and identify factors involved in reproductive isolation, we studied their evolutionary history, identified genomic rearrangements, detected signatures of selection on non-coding RNA, and on protein-coding genes. Findings Here we show that gene flow was primarily unidirectional from L. bilineata to L. viridis after their split at least 1.15 million years ago. We detected positive selection of the non-coding repertoire; mutations in transcription factors; accumulation of divergence through inversions; selection on genes involved in neural development, reproduction, and behavior, as well as in ultraviolet-response, possibly driven by sexual selection, whose contribution to reproductive isolation between these lacertid species needs to be further evaluated. Conclusion The combination of short and long sequence reads resulted in one of the most complete lizard genome assemblies. The characterization of a diverse array of genomic features provided valuable insights into the demographic history of divergence among European green lizards, as well as key species differences, some of which are candidates that could have played a role in speciation. In addition, our study generated valuable genomic resources that can be used to address conservation-related issues in lacertids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Within the scope of the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration (HMC), the ADVANCE project - Advanced metadata standards for biodiversity survey and monitoring data: supporting of research and conservation - aimed at supporting rich metadata generation with interoperable metadata standards and semantic artefacts that facilitate data access, integration and reuse across terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms. HMC's mission is to facilitate the discovery, access, machine-readability, and reuse of research data across and beyond the Helmholtz Association., New Information: We revised, adapted and expanded existing metadata schemas, vocabularies and thesauri to build a FAIR metadata schema and a metadata entry form built on it for users to provide their metadata instances focused on biodiversity monitoring data. The schema is FAIR because it is both machine-interpretable and follows domain-relevant community standards. This report provides a general overview of the project results and instructions on how to access, re-use and complete the metadata form., (Juliana Menger, Barbara Magagna, Klaus Henle, Alexander Harpke, Mark Frenzel, Johannes Rick, Karen Wiltshire, Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth.)