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The grasslands and shrub areas of the Patagonian steppe are the most frequent habitat for the "Near Threatened" armadillo, known as pichi (Zaedyus pichiy). Dense exotic conifer plantations are replacing the steppe in Argentinean northern Patagonia. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of conifer afforestation on the occurrence and food availability in a Z. pichiy population in north-western Patagonia. Fifteen sites in the native steppe and 50 in exotic pine plantations were sampled. We recorded the number of signs of pichi's presence and the diversity of invertebrates. Signs of Z. pichiy presence decreased in pine afforestation compared to the native steppe. Additionally, we found a decrease in the abundance, richness, diversity, and biomass of arthropods in pine plantations. Therefore, the presence of pine plantations in the steppe reduces the main food items of Z. pichiy and also eliminates the native steppe vegetation structure that provides preferred places to dig burrows. Pine monocultures do not provide a suitable habitat for Z. pichiy and may exacerbate the degradation of an already disturbed environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroinvertebrates occupy an important trophic level in riverine ecosystems based on their composition and diversity. In this study, we explored the biodiversity pattern of macroinvertebrates in relation to environmental parameters in a bid to assess the water quality of the Uwagbe River, Nigeria. Sampling was carried out in three well marked stations from March 2018 to February 2020 following standard procedures. The physico-chemical parameters recorded were within the acceptable limit by World Health Organization and Federal Environmental Protection Agency of Nigeria standards except the pH and DO of Stations 2 and 3 and BOD of Station 3. The Principal Component Analysis showed pH and DO to be positively associated with Station 1. 13 orders of macroinvertebrates, comprising of 32 families, 45 taxa and 4,796 individuals were recorded. The most dominant order was Diptera (26.7%) while the least was Arachnida (0.1%). The most predominant taxon was Lumbricus sp. (7.9%), while the least was Aeschna sp. (4.3%). Diversity indices showed that Station 1 had the highest indices for Margalef index, Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H), Equitability index (E) and Simpsons' dominance index while Station 3 had indices with the lowest values. Canonical Correspondence Analysis ordination showed that chloride, alkalinity, BOD, nitrate, phosphate and water depth were strongly correlated with families such as Lumbricidae, Chironomidae, Potamonautidae, Tabanidae and Palaemonidae in Station 3. DO and pH were strongly associated with Amphipodae, Hydrophilidae, Gerridae and Libellulidae families in Station 1. The study revealed the significance of the utility of macroinvertebrates community structure and its relationship with environmental factors in assessing the level of perturbation in riverine ecosystems. The results provide insight on how river managers can put in place appropriate conservation processes to forestall the incessant level of perturbation occurring in riverine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simplification of agricultural environments is linked to declines in biodiversity. Improving the floral diversity within and around these areas may result in more robust and diverse ecosystems. We investigated how floral resource abundance, diversity, and species composition in a cranberry agricultural system correlated to the abundance and overall invertebrate diversity and to the abundance and diversity of specific invertebrate groups of agricultural importance (e.g. parasitoids, phytophagous taxa, pollinators and predators). This study focused on habitats immediately surrounding cranberry production and included grassy dikes under a managed system (‘dike’), and semi‐natural areas growing on the surrounding support land (‘semi‐natural’). Floral resource availability and diversity tended to be similar between habitats, while invertebrate richness, diversity and composition differed. As the availability of floral resources increased, invertebrate abundance increased but diversity decreased. Overall invertebrate community composition differed with the specific species and availability of floral resources. The habitat type and floral resource composition impacted some agriculturally important groups, as pollinator abundance was higher in the semi‐natural habitat, and parasitoid abundance varied with floral resource composition across both habitats. These results suggest that managing the structural and floral resource diversity associated with agroecosystems can help support local biodiversity. However, these systems may disproportionately benefit more common taxonomic groups. The difference in responses of individual taxonomic groups also highlights the potential tradeoffs of focusing on only a subset of biodiversity aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-made debris is entering the ocean at alarming rates. These artificial structures are becoming habitats for small marine taxa known as cryptofauna. Cryptofauna are among the most essential reef taxa; however, little is known about these organisms, let alone their fate considering degrading coral reefs and increasing anthropogenic disturbance. The current study explores differences in naturally occurring cryptofauna biodiversity compared to those inhabiting benthic marine debris. To explore this difference, we measured invertebrate diversity from autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS) located on patch reefs along the middle Florida Keys reef tract. ARMS were used as a proxy for natural structure to compare to marine debris removed from five reef locations. Plastic debris was the most abundant of all the debris material collected. Wood and concrete were identified as covariates since they are sourced from wooden lobster traps. Taxa diversity varied significantly between ARMS and debris, indicating that each structural unit contained significantly different and diverse communities. The most influential taxa identified included commensal shrimps, hermit crabs, brittle stars, segmented worms, and several families of crabs. Additionally, while functional richness increased with taxa richness for ARMS communities, debris communities showed decreasing functional richness and high functional similarity, suggesting a specialization of debris-specific taxa. Overall, these data assist in better understanding of the marine community ecology surrounding anthropogenic marine debris for future debris removal and management practices for comprehensive reef health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic invertebrate community composition was sampled over 10 months in ephemeral and permanent pools along the upper segment of an ephemeral stream in Central Texas. A total of 67 total taxa were documented during this study. The highest numbers of taxa by total count found during the study were Hyalella, Chironomidae, Physa, and Caenis with total counts ranging from 1957 to 7437 individuals. Taxa with total moderate counts ranging between 209 and 856 individuals were Oligochaeta, Helobdella, Corbicula, Cyclopoida, Planorbis, and Berosus. Twelve different functional feeding groups were observed with collector-gathers-shredder accounting for 29.1%. The Pollution Tolerance Level was highest from 6 to 9 and peaked at 8 for both permanent and ephemeral pools indicating poor water quality. Based on the Hilsenhoff Family Biotic Index (FBI), the FBI was estimated to 7.47 and 7.53 for permanent and ephemeral pools, respectively, indicating poor water quality high in organic matter. Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa were represented by 5.3 and 18.2% of the total counts in permanent and ephemeral pools, respectively. All other taxa, excluding EPT taxa, represented 94.7 and 81.8% of the total counts in permanent and ephemeral pools, respectively. Our results indicate the runoff from adjacent urban areas resulted in reduced water quality within the pools based on aquatic invertebrate taxa. With reduced protection of ephemeral streams under the 2023 Supreme Court WOTUS decision, water quality and biodiversity will continue to decline and impact perennial river water quality longitudinally during flow events. [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]

Invertebrates account for over 90% of all described species and provide crucial ecosystem services. Land clearing, including the removal of abiotic habitat features, threatens invertebrate biodiversity, making environmental restoration crucial for conservation. However, little is known about the effects of abiotic restoration compared to the restoration of biotic features. To determine if rock addition increased invertebrate biodiversity, we introduced 120 t of rocks to 10 sites across five grassland reserves in the Australian Capital Territory in a before‐after‐control‐impact design. We sampled invertebrates using pitfall traps before treatment in 2016 and after rock addition in 2019 (during record‐breaking drought). We recorded 29,164 individual invertebrates from 19 orders and undertook a functional trait‐based analysis of rock effects on the invertebrate community. No effects of rock addition were observed on the probability of occurrence, richness, diversity, community similarity, or abundance of any taxonomic or functional group. The abundance of snare‐building spiders and large ants was higher in the control plots at the end of the experiment. These abundance responses in 2019 did not differ from the control or treatment plots in 2016. Thus, some combination of drought and rock addition appears to have neutralized a positive temporal change that was evident without rocks. Despite a regionwide, replicated restoration effort and an extensive functional analysis of invertebrate communities, very little positive response to rock addition was recorded. Rock addition did not have a negative effect on grassland invertebrate biodiversity and may still be beneficial to the long‐term conservation and restoration of vertebrate and invertebrate communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basal resource quality can have strong bottom-up effects on consumer taxonomic and functional diversity, particularly at smaller spatial scales within an ecoregion. However, these effects may be attenuated at broader scales among ecoregions and in more environmentally dynamic systems where abiotic constraints may exert stronger controls on consumer diversity. To examine broader-scale functional diversity responses among ecoregions to varying elemental and hydrological environments, we investigated the relationship between functional diversity of benthic macroinvertebrate communities, periphyton resource stoichiometry, and flow regime. We used data from 27 lotic sites managed by the National Ecological Observatory Network over a 4-y period between 2016 and 2019. Contrary to our predictions, periphyton C∶P ratio was not a strong predictor of variation in functional diversity among these streams. However, invertebrate density decreased with increased algal C∶P, suggesting that increased resource P availability can support higher consumer abundance. In contrast to periphyton stoichiometry, infrequent high-magnitude flows (indicated by short-term hydrograph skewness) predicted functional richness, and long-term high flow unpredictability was a predictor of all metrics of functional diversity. Specifically, hydrologically unpredictable sites had low functional diversity and were dominated by functional trait states like small body size, fast seasonal development, and univoltinism. These results indicate that across a broad gradient of environmental predictability, aspects of flow regime can constrain insect life histories and have greater impact than basal resource stoichiometry on functional trait diversity. Our finding that aquatic invertebrate functional and taxonomic diversity are constrained by flow variation at a continental scale advances our understanding of how human-dominated hydrologic regimes may further influence broad-scale patterns of community structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic macrophytes serve as shelter and a direct source of food for invertebrates, in addition to indirectly providing items such as algae, detritus, and microorganisms. Thus, aquatic macrophytes act as habitat structuring elements, requiring a distinction between habitat complexity (physical formations such as fractal dimensions, density and biomass) and habitat heterogeneity (diversity of these structures). Here we explore the effects of habitat complexity and habitat heterogeneity on the invertebrate community.We collected macrophytes and invertebrates from 28 sampling sites along a 13.7‐km stretch of the Baía River in Brazil, and examined specific groups (insects, microcrustaceans, and other invertebrates). Environmental variables in the sites were also measured. We aimed to explore the effects of habitat complexity (measured by macrophyte biomass) and habitat heterogeneity (evaluated through macrophyte functional diversity) on the richness and abundance of invertebrates.We found that overall invertebrate richness was positively influenced solely by habitat heterogeneity. For invertebrate abundance, intermediate habitat complexity had more invertebrates, while habitat heterogeneity had a positive impact. Environmental variables influenced only the abundance. For specific groups, insect richness was positively influenced by habitat heterogeneity, while insect abundance decreased with high complexity and increased with high heterogeneity. Microcrustacean abundance was positively influenced by habitat complexity. Richness and abundance of other invertebrates was positively influenced by habitat heterogeneity.Invertebrates prefer macrophyte stands with intermediate complexity and high heterogeneity. Abundance is linked to structural complexity and heterogeneity, while species richness is more strongly associated with heterogeneity. Furthermore, the impact of these factors varies among invertebrate groups.These findings emphasise the importance of integrating a broad range of metrics, such as macrophyte biomass and functional diversity, to gain a thorough understanding of invertebrate community dynamics in future studies. Additionally, our study demonstrates that preserving macrophyte stands with high heterogeneity significantly enhances the diversity of associated invertebrate species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mangrove forests are highly productive ecosystems that serve as biodiversity points, containing many organisations, contributing to carbon storage, improving water quality and providing ecosystem goods and services to improve local means of subsistence. These resilient ecosystems are characterised by their morphological modification and their particular respiratory structures (pneumatophores), which allow them to proliferate in salt-rich environments. Mangroves play a crucial role in maintaining invertebrate and fishery resources, providing shelter and nutrients to a diverse range of species. However, mangrove ecosystems are threatened by anthropogenic activities such as the extraction of building materials, firewood, crushing plants and salt manufacturing, resulting in the disintegration of ecosystems and the loss of inhabitants. This study aimed to determine the abundance and diversity of macro-benthic invertebrates on the different parts (roots, stems and leaves) of common mangrove species of the Mbegani coast, along the Indian Ocean using a completely randomised design. Results: The sampling was done using a 1 m2 quadrat focussed on the three mangrove parts, viz. roots, stems and leaves. The results showed that the highest percentage of macro-invertebrates were recorded on Bruguera gymnorhiza (66.8%), followed by Avicennia marina (20.8%) and the least were Ceriops tagal (12.4%), such variation differed significantly between the three mangrove species across the selected plots (F(2,524) = 5.71, p = 0.035). The stems (54.4%) inhabited a large number of macro-invertebrates, followed by roots (32.8%) and the least were leaves (12.8%), which varied significantly between the three mangrove parts sampled across the selected mangrove species (F(2,524) = 7.25; p = 0.008). The majority of macro-invertebrates were planktonic feeders stuck on stems or herbivores shuttling between the roots and leaves of the plants. Macro-invertebrates recorded on Bruguiera gymnorhiza were more diverse than those found in C. tagal. The findings emphasise the importance of macro-invertebrates in the ecological balance of mangrove ecosystems. Conclusion: The study concludes that mangroves in the Mbegani ecosystem have a high potential for biodiversity and are important for the coastal community and the ecosystem of the Bagamoyo District. The results contribute to coastal resources management programmes and future surveillance activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trophic relationships between bats (Chiroptera) and Lake Baikal biota have been assessed based on microscopic studies of Myotis petax feces (n = 22). From 82 to 86% of samples had fragments of exoskeletons of caddis flies (Trichoptera) and dipterans (Diptera). These taxa include mainly aquatic and semiaquatic species. Many species from these taxa are endemic to Lake Baikal. Terrestrial insects are found in studied samples less frequently (Hymenoptera 41%, Neuroptera 27%, and Heteroptera 9%). Morphological analysis has revealed fragments of Baikal amphipods in two fecal samples of M. pretax. Further molecular studies will make it possible to detect greater invertebrate taxa diversity in fecal samples of bats feeding near Lake Baikal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floodplains are crucial components of river landscape, essential for the biodiversity and ecological integrity of large rivers. However, they are often overlooked and underestimated when assessing the ecological status of the main river channel.The main objective of this study was to identify the most relevant scheme for assessing the ecological status of side arms in the Danube floodplain (Slovakia) based on benthic invertebrates.The calculation of ecological status for the Danube main channel was adapted to the environmental conditions of the floodplain as a measure of the evaluation accuracy of six taxonomically different floodplain indexes. The study was based on a comprehensive survey of benthic invertebrate diversity conducted at 19 sampling sites, covering eupotamal and parapotamal side arms.Three floodplain indexes that significantly correlated with ecological status were categorised based on predicted values in relation to status class thresholds. The floodplain index based on Polychaeta, Oligochaeta, Mysida, Isopoda and Amphipoda (FI_P) showed the best result, aligning closely with the commonly used classification of lateral habitats. Although it divides the eupotamon into two subclasses, a main channel and a side arm, the inclusion of two different eupotamal habitats in the classification supports the geomorphological variability of side arms and their degree of ecological succession.The shortcomings of the assessment based on the lateral habitat classification scheme are discussed, emphasising the importance of applying this method for the assessment of floodplain waters and their conservation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands in the Oil Sands Region of Alberta are vulnerable to direct and indirect effects of human development including land disturbance, hydrologic alteration, and addition of contaminants. Nineteen wetlands in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region were monitored over a five-year period to evaluate differences in water quality and benthic invertebrate composition between sites near to and further afield from surface mining operations. Concentrations of dissolved sulphate, dissolved iron, total dibenzothiophenes and specific conductance were significantly higher in wetlands near to surface mining operations. In addition, beta diversity of wetland invertebrates was higher in wetlands further afield of the industrial centre. Drivers of benthic assemblage differences among sites include specific conductance and pH. Conductance was positively correlated with Caenidae (Ephemeroptera) abundance and pH was negatively correlated with abundance of Naididae (Annelida). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change threatens species and ecosystems globally, including forest ecosystems that support rich invertebrate diversity. Saproxylic beetles, that depend on old-growth trees and deadwood, are facing increasing pressure. Consequently, conserving these beetles has become a priority for EU Member States. We developed ensemble species distribution models for five saproxylic beetles for current and three future time horizons under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and two Global Circulation Models. We used a systematic conservation planning approach to assess the effectiveness and resilience to climate change of the Romanian Natura 2000 network for saproxylic beetles while identifying areas for prospective protected area expansion to meet EU conservation targets. Our study revealed that under all scenarios and time horizons, the saproxylic beetles may lose over 80% of their suitable habitat and restrict their distribution to higher elevations. According to the conservation prioritization analysis, we found that, when considering 30% of the landscape as being protected, an average of 85% of species distribution is retained within priority areas overlapping the Carpathian Mountains, while for the current protected area coverage (18% of Romania's terrestrial area), the existing Natura 2000 network does not perform satisfactorily, with only ~ 30% of the saproxylic species distributions falling within the network. Our results corroborate previous findings on saproxylic beetle range shifts and contractions due to climate change. Furthermore, our findings question the effectiveness of the current Natura 2000 network, as it is currently inadequate for protecting these species. To achieve the goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 of protecting at least 30% of the EU's territory, we advocate the expansion of the Natura 2000 sites to future suitable saproxylic beetle habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing areas of arable land, which is often heavily managed, negatively affect biological diversity in many ways, decreasing species richness and abundance. There is a substantial social demand for implementing agricultural management practices to preserve biological diversity locally. Here, we present the results of studies on the invertebrate diversity of woodland islets, which are small areas of forests surrounded by arable fields. Studies on invertebrate taxa show high values of diversity indices within such forest remnants, with a predominant presence of hymenopterans, collembolans, beetles, and spiders, which serve many ecosystem services, such as pollination or predation. A low abundance of herbivores and a high abundance of agile predators make such small woods a potential habitat for natural pest enemies. The results indicate a potential role for such woodland islets isolated from each other by a distance of ca. 1 km as an efficient substitute for extensive field management since they allow the maintenance of invertebrate diversity in the agricultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of resources varies across a species distributional range, and a low‐productivity area can make a species more vulnerable. We investigated the invertebrate composition and prey choice of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in low‐productivity rivers in northeast Iceland, which is one of the species' most northerly distributions. By sampling benthic and drift invertebrate populations, we found that prey availability was similar within and between rivers. Gut content samples showed that the main prey choice for juvenile S. salar was the Chironomidae. The type of food items consumed varied across different weight groups of S. salar, with smaller juveniles having more diverse diet. S. salar did not have a selection preference for chironomids, which indicates that they were eating the highly available prey in their environment, rather than hunting high biomass items such as terrestrial invertebrates and large Dipterans. Estimates of dietary niche showed that S. salar in these low‐productivity rivers relied on consuming what was most readily available, the chironomids, and that they must share resources with other salmonid species. This may be due to the low diversity of freshwater invertebrates (fewer prey options), whereas S. salar in nutrient‐rich rivers could rely more on terrestrial invertebrates as an additional subsidy in their diet. In conclusion, with limited prey choices, juvenile S. salar in nutrient‐poor rivers, especially in a biogeographically isolated region with low species diversity, may increase in vulnerability and decrease in adaptability to environmental change. Management methods that increase benthic prey abundance and diversity are recommended for conserving the S. salar population in a nutrient‐poor river. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ice stored in caves is a widespread yet neglected cryospheric component. The cold-adapted biodiversity of ice caves has received very little attention from research, despite the potential abundance of endemic troglobiotic and cryophilic species and their consequent sensitivity to the changing climate. In this study, we investigated the invertebrate diversity of two ice caves in Northeastern Italy (Bus delle Taccole and Caverna del Sieson, Veneto Region). During 2022 and 2023, we sampled, using pitfall traps, the invertebrates dwelling at different locations in each cave: the shaft base, an intermediate hall, and the cave bottom. At each cave location, we also collected ice samples, on which we measured the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (δ18O, δ2H), and monitored the air temperature with data-loggers. The two caves had different invertebrate communities, both dominated by a combination of troglobiotic and cryophilic taxa. Despite a low taxonomic richness, which was higher at Taccole (15 taxa) than at Sieson (11 taxa), both caves hosted rare/endemic species, four of which are not described yet. At each cave, the ice water isotopic signatures differed among cave locations, suggesting the ice had formed under different climatic conditions, and/or resulted from different frequencies of thawing/freezing events. The occurrence of summer melt at both caves suggests that these unique ecosystems will quickly disappear, along with their specialized and unique biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cross-hybridization of American chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.) with Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima Bl.) is a promising strategy for restoring a blight-resistant strain of this keystone species to the Appalachian mountains. To assess the ecological impacts of hybridization on invertebrate communities, we conducted a study across chestnut plots with varying degrees of hybridization (75%, 94%, or 100% American chestnut). Our findings indicate American chestnut hybridization impacted invertebrate communities above- and belowground. Aboveground insect community composition, insect herbivory, gall infestation, and belowground invertebrate diversity were all altered. While some of these differences could be explained by different growth habits or environmental differences, stark differences in Asian chestnut gall wasp infestation (Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu.) suggest a genetic component. These results suggest that chestnut hybridization, and particularly expanded restoration efforts using chestnut hybrids, could impact invertebrate communities above- and belowground in addition to pest dynamics. Understanding these effects is crucial for successful chestnut restoration and ecosystem management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world becomes more urbanized, multiple stressors act in complex ways, but their effects remain poorly studied in coastal island streams. Due to the small length and isolation and the limited amount of freshwater available in the islands, these ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures. Here, we investigated the effects of urbanization on taxonomic and functional diversity of aquatic invertebrate of a subtropical coastal island. Benthic invertebrate communities were sampled using litter bags (10 mm mesh) containing mixtures of leaf litter that were colonized in the stream bottom over 30 days. We hypothesized that invertebrate communities would show alteration in taxonomic and functional composition over the urbanization gradient. Based on the invertebrate communities and their biological traits, we computed the taxonomic richness and four functional diversity indices. Significant changes in taxonomic, functional richness, evenness, and dispersion were observed. Sites with low urbanization (< 5% urbanized area) had a higher proportion of taxa with gill respiration than sites with high level of urbanization (> 15% urbanized area) had higher proportion of taxa with tegument respiration. Sites with medium (15–5% urbanized area) and high urbanization levels exhibited higher proportions of scrapers and collector–gatherers, whereas sites with low urbanization had higher proportions of shredders and collector–filters. Our results show that urbanization changed the benthic communities and their biological traits. These changes can determine variations in the ecosystem processes and compromise the ecosystem services they supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding which factors shape and maintain biodiversity is essential to understand how ecosystems respond to crises. Biodiversity observed in ecological communities is a result of the interaction of various factors which can be classified as either neutral‐ or niche‐based. The importance of these processes has been debated, but many scientists believe that both processes are important. Here, we use unique ecosystems in groundwater‐filled lava caves near Lake Mývatn, to examine the importance of neutral‐ versus niche‐based factors for shaping invertebrate communities. We studied diversity in benthic and epibenthic invertebrate communities and related them to ecological variables. We hypothesized that if neutral processes are the main drivers of community structure we would not see any clear relationship between the structure of community within caves and ecological factors. If niche‐based processes are important we should see clear relationships between community structure and variation in ecological variables across caves. Both communities were species poor, with low densities of invertebrates, showing the resource limited and oligotrophic nature of these systems. Unusually for Icelandic freshwater ecosystems, the benthic communities were not dominated by Chironomidae (Diptera) larvae, but rather by crustaceans, mainly Cladocera. The epibenthic communities were not shaped by environmental variables, suggesting that they may have been structured primarily by neutral processes. The benthic communities were shaped by the availability of energy, and to some extent pH, suggesting that niche‐based processes were important drivers of community structure, although neutral processes may still be relevant. The results suggest that both processes are important for invertebrate communities in freshwater, and research should focus on understanding both of these processes. The ponds we studied are representative of a number of freshwater ecosystems that are extremely vulnerable for human disturbance, making it even more important to understand how their biodiversity is shaped and maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transposable elements (TEs) of eukaryotes—retrotransposons and DNA transposons—are nucleotide sequences that can move from locus to locus of the genome, as well as between the genomes of different organisms. L31 DNA transposons are an ancient and diverse group belonging to the large IS630/Tc1/mariner group. L31 transposons are not widespread and are present in a limited number of taxa. In addition to the sequence encoding the DDE/D transposase, L31 transposons carry another ORF (ORF2). Detailed analysis of L31 elements in the genomes of six-rayed corals has provided detailed information on the distribution, diversity, and structure of the elements. Two large groups, L31-duo and L31-uno, were identified, differing in both catalytic domain pattern and structure. As a result of reconstruction of the evolution of L31 transposons, it was suggested that six-rayed corals received L31 transposons from bivalves. The split-off group L31-uno may have been obtained by mollusks as a result of horizontal transfer from corals. Studies of TE distribution and diversity in marine invertebrates will contribute to a better understanding of the evolutionary processes of TEs and their role in the evolutionary history of species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On a global scale, species biodiversity is declining rapidly, including that of terrestrial invertebrates. Environmental heterogeneity is viewed as a key factor promoting biodiversity, and previous studies have shown how beavers can have a profound effect on both habitat heterogeneity and abundance and diversity of a plethora of water-related and terrestrial organisms. However, less is known about the effects of beavers and successional stages on the terrestrial invertebrate community. Here, we review existing knowledge and outline research trajectories to improve our understanding of how beavers affect the terrestrial invertebrate community with special focus on the importance of each successional stage that beavers provide on terrestrial invertebrates. Although beavers can have a large impact on the terrestrial invertebrate community, more studies are needed that take into consideration successional stages and with standardized sampling designs. A better understanding of how beaver activity affects the terrestrial invertebrate community can help in conservation of endangered species and restoration of biodiversity in terrestrial habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, terrestrial invertebrates are in decline, in part due to habitat fragmentation. Footpaths provide nature-based recreation to the public but can present small-scale spatially continuous changes in forest dynamics. However, their effects on terrestrial invertebrate communities are unknown. Pitfall trapping was undertaken to identify whether terrestrial invertebrate communities were disrupted by a popular recreational footpath in Blean Woods, an ancient UK woodland. The study identified 720 invertebrates across 36 taxa from 20 footpath edge and forest interior traps. It was found that footpaths did not significantly affect terrestrial invertebrate communities. There was no difference in the taxonomic abundance, richness, and diversity; invertebrate trait abundance and richness; or invertebrate community composition between the footpath edge and woodland interior traps. Thus, footpaths in Blean Woods do not disturb the terrestrial invertebrate community, and therefore present a sustainable mechanism for facilitating public engagement with conservation in a nationally important protected ancient woodland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an increasingly useful method for detecting pelagic animals in the ocean but typically requires large water volumes to sample diverse assemblages. Ship-based pelagic sampling programs that could implement eDNA methods generally have restrictive water budgets. Studies that quantify how eDNA methods perform on low water volumes in the ocean are limited, especially in deep-sea habitats with low animal biomass and poorly described species assemblages. Using 12S rRNA and COI gene primers, we quantified assemblages comprised of micronekton, coastal forage fishes, and zooplankton from low volume eDNA seawater samples (n = 436, 380–1800 mL) collected at depths of 0–2200 m in the southern California Current. We compared diversity in eDNA samples to concurrently collected pelagic trawl samples (n = 27), detecting a higher diversity of vertebrate and invertebrate groups in the eDNA samples. Differences in assemblage composition could be explained by variability in size-selectivity among methods and DNA primer suitability across taxonomic groups. The number of reads and amplicon sequences variants (ASVs) did not vary substantially among shallow (<200 m) and deep samples (>600 m), but the proportion of invertebrate ASVs that could be assigned a species-level identification decreased with sampling depth. Using hierarchical clustering, we resolved horizontal and vertical variability in marine animal assemblages from samples characterized by a relatively low diversity of ecologically important species. Low volume eDNA samples will quantify greater taxonomic diversity as reference libraries, especially for deep-dwelling invertebrate species, continue to expand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground‐dwelling invertebrates are vital for soil biodiversity and function maintenance. Contemporary biodiversity assessment necessitates novel and automatic monitoring methods because of the threat of sharp reductions in soil biodiversity in farmlands worldwide. Using infrared camera traps (ICTs) is an effective method for assessing richness and abundance of ground‐dwelling invertebrates. However, the influence that the shooting area of ICTs has on the diversity of ground‐dwelling invertebrates has not been strongly considered during survey design. In this study, data from six ICTs with two shooting areas (A1, 38.48 cm2; A2, 400 cm2) were used to investigate ground‐dwelling invertebrates in a farm in a city on the Eastern Coast of China from 20: 00 on July 31 to 00:00 on September 29, 2022. Over the course of 59 days and 1420 h, invertebrates within 9 taxa, 2447 individuals, and 112,909 ind./m2 were observed from 222,912 images. Our results show that ICTs with relatively large shooting areas recorded relatively high taxonomic richness and abundance of total ground‐dwelling invertebrates, relatively high abundance of the dominant taxon, and relatively high daily and hourly abundance of most taxa. The shooting areas of ICTs significantly affected the recorded taxonomic richness and abundance of ground‐dwelling invertebrates throughout the experimental period and at fine temporal resolutions. Overall, these results suggest that the shooting areas of ICTs should be considered when designing experiments, and ICTs with relatively large shooting areas are more favorable for monitoring the diversity of ground‐dwelling invertebrates. This study further provides an automatic tool and high‐quality data for biodiversity monitoring and protection in farmlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal mining activity contributes to energy security and employment occupation, but is associated with environmental deterioration. Coal combustion leads to GHG emissions, while coal mining results in the generation of saline effluents. These effluents are discharged in inland surface waters, applying significant pressure on their quality, with a negative impact on aquatic life and the economy of a region. This study includes water samples that were analyzed in order to investigate the organic compounds, heavy metals, and other physicochemical parameters. Biological monitoring was done according to the Water Framework Directive methodology. The results from an aquatic area in Southern Poland, which indirectly receives coal mine effluents, indicate elevated salinity with excessive chlorides, sulfates, and sodium ions. The water quality of another non-polluted aquatic area was also assessed to examine the impact of indirect coal mine wastewater discharge on this area. The high salinity levels hinder the use of river water for drinking, agricultural, or industrial purposes. The results obtained show high pressure on the ecological status of streams and rivers that receive mine effluents, and on the density and diversity of aquatic invertebrates. This pressure is clearly visible in the structure of benthic communities and in invertebrate diversity. It also contributes to the appearance of invasive species and increasing water salinity. Limiting discharges of mine water transporting large loads of saline substances would reduce the negative impact on the quality of river waters and biological life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest litter decomposition is an essential component of global carbon and nutrient turnover. Invertebrates play important roles in litter decomposition, but the regional pattern of their effects is poorly understood. We examined 476 case studies across 93 sites and performed a meta‐analysis to estimate regional effects of invertebrates on forest litter decomposition. We then assessed how invertebrate diversity, climate and soil pH drive regional variations in invertebrate‐mediated decomposition. We found that (1) invertebrate contributions to litter decomposition are 1.4 times higher in tropical and subtropical forests than in forests elsewhere, with an overall contribution of 31% to global forest litter decomposition; and (2) termite diversity, together with warm, humid and acidic environments in the tropics and subtropics are positively associated with forest litter decomposition by invertebrates. Our results demonstrate the significant difference in invertebrate effects on mediating forest litter decomposition among regions. We demonstrate, also, the significance of termites in driving litter mass loss in the tropics and subtropics. These results are particularly pertinent in the tropics and subtropics where climate change and human disturbance threaten invertebrate biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytotelmata bromeliads provide microhabitats for many organisms and maintain high aquatic diversity within Neotropical forests. However, they are more vulnerable to different environmental stressors that shape community structure. While most studies have been carried out in large rainforests, gaps remain about the bromeliad-dwelling community for the wettest points in the Caatinga domain (Brazilian semiarid region). Here, we investigated the influence of abiotic and temporal variables and bromeliad size on community structure between urban and forest sectors. Between 2014 and 2017, we randomly selected 20 urban and 40 forest bromeliads and compared functional groups of invertebrates for richness, abundance, and diversity. We recorded 41 morphospecies, especially Rotifera (19) and Insecta (13). Urban bromeliads exhibited higher richness of filter-feeder, while forest fragment bromeliads were dominated by predators, shredders, and gatherers. We did not observe differences in community structure regarding bromeliad size. However, the wetter period exhibited higher species richness, and higher diversity was associated with the highest rainfall. This study presents for the first time a list of aquatic microinvertebrate species and the influence of environmental parameters on the community structure associated with bromeliads of Caatinga. We have also expanded the list of species associated with phytotelmata in the Neotropical region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stoneworts (Charales) are green algae that represent an important food resource for many waterbird species in Europe and elsewhere. Browsing avian herbivores (e.g. swan, goose, duck and coot species) consume Charales plant vegetative parts, by head‐dipping, up‐ending or diving. A lower fibre content and longer growing season may make Charales as attractive to such herbivores as sympatric submerged higher plant species in some circumstances. Charales respond to environmental stress (e.g. drought) by producing abundant diaspores, in the form of oospores (sexual) and bulbils (asexual), both rich in starch, generating abundant food for waterbirds at critical stages in their annual migratory cycles. Waterbirds feed on these by diving (e.g. common pochard Aythya ferina and red‐crested pochard Netta rufina) or by filtering from the water column (e.g. dabbling duck species), ensuring dispersal of sexually produced and vegetative diaspores locally (because of predator swamping) and remotely (through endo‐ and ectozoochorous dispersal by long‐distance migratory waterbirds). Greater invertebrate density and diversity associated with Charales canopies enhances their attractiveness over other submerged macrophyte beds to diving predators [e.g. tufted duck Aythya fuligula, common pochard and Eurasian coot Fulica atra (hereafter coot)]. Fish fry preying on these invertebrates use such vegetation as predator cover, in turn providing prey for avian piscivores such as grebes and cormorants. Abundant Charales contribute to maintaining a transparent water column due to canopy density, nutrient effects, dampening of sedimentation/remobilisation of suspended matter and nutrients and allelopathic effects on other plants (especially phytoplankton). Shallow, relatively eutrophic waters can flip between clear‐water high‐biodiversity (where Charales thrive) and turbid species‐poor depauperate stable states (lacking Charales). Shifts between turbid conditions and rich submerged Charales beds have profound elevating effects on aquatic diversity, to which waterbirds show rapid aggregative responses, making them ideal indicator species of ecological change; in the case of Charales specialists (such as red‐crested and common pochard), indicators of the presence and abundance of these plants. Large‐bodied colonial nesting birds (e.g. cormorants, gulls, heron and egrets) aggregating along lake shores contribute high N and P loadings to water bodies sensitive to such external and internal inputs and can cause local eutrophication and potential loss of Charales. Despite variation from complete seasonal removal of Charales biomass to undetectable grazing effects by herbivorous birds, evidence suggests little effect of avian grazing on biomass accumulation or the stability of community composition (under otherwise stable conditions), but we urge more research on this under‐researched topic. We also lack investigations of the relative foraging profitability of different Charales organs to waterbirds and the degree of viability of gyrogonites (fertilised and calcified oospores), vegetative bulbils and plant fragments after passage through the guts of waterbirds. We especially need to understand better how much the carbonate armour of these organs affects their viability/dispersal via waterbirds and urge more research on these neglected plants and their relationships and interactions with other organisms in the aquatic biota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban gardening is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S., in metro and nonmetro communities alike, to address rapid urbanization and food insecurity. Urban gardens are incredibly diverse systems, and likely have equally diverse invertebrate communities. To support this growing trend, more information is needed on invertebrate communities that impact crop production. The primary objective of this study was to describe invertebrate community composition at 10 urban community gardens across two counties in Indiana. We also aimed to identify possible mechanisms that determine community assemblages, such as garden size, surrounding land use, ground cover management, and crop diversity. Using pitfall traps, sticky cards, and in-situ visual assessments, we determined that herbivores represent the dominant feeding guild at community gardens, and herbivore counts were highest on zucchini and tomato. However, sentinel prey releases suggested that predators and parasitoids are important regulators of pest populations. Overall, the assemblage of feeding guilds was similar across sites, suggesting a common metapopulation present in the surrounding landscape. On-farm practices that had the greatest influence on insect diversity were crop diversity, the presence of floral resources, and ground cover management. Insect diversity was positively correlated with crop diversity, and pollination activity was associated with flowering crops, namely dill. Parasitoid counts on sticky cards were often associated with sites that had more ground cover, such as straw mulch. This study provides useful insights on the dominant invertebrate groups present at urban community gardens in Indiana and accessible on-farm practices to improve farm biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Northern ecosystems are strongly influenced by herbivores that differ in their impacts on the ecosystem. Yet the role of herbivore diversity in shaping the structure and functioning of tundra ecosystems has been overlooked. With climate and land-use changes causing rapid shifts in Arctic species assemblages, a better understanding of the consequences of herbivore diversity changes for tundra ecosystem functioning is urgently needed. This systematic review synthesizes available evidence on the effects of herbivore diversity on different processes, functions, and properties of tundra ecosystems. Methods: Following a published protocol, our systematic review combined primary field studies retrieved from bibliographic databases, search engines and specialist websites that compared tundra ecosystem responses to different levels of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivore diversity. We used the number of functional groups of herbivores (i.e., functional group richness) as a measure of the diversity of the herbivore assemblage. We screened titles, abstracts, and full texts of studies using pre-defined eligibility criteria. We critically appraised the validity of the studies, tested the influence of different moderators, and conducted sensitivity analyses. Quantitative synthesis (i.e., calculation of effect sizes) was performed for ecosystem responses reported by at least five articles and meta-regressions including the effects of potential modifiers for those reported by at least 10 articles. Review findings: The literature searches retrieved 5944 articles. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts, 201 articles including 3713 studies (i.e., individual comparisons) were deemed relevant for the systematic review, with 2844 of these studies included in quantitative syntheses. The available evidence base on the effects of herbivore diversity on tundra ecosystems is concentrated around well-established research locations and focuses mainly on the impacts of vertebrate herbivores on vegetation. Overall, greater herbivore diversity led to increased abundance of feeding marks by herbivores and soil temperature, and to reduced total abundance of plants, graminoids, forbs, and litter, plant leaf size, plant height, and moss depth, but the effects of herbivore diversity were difficult to tease apart from those of excluding vertebrate herbivores. The effects of different functional groups of herbivores on graminoid and lichen abundance compensated each other, leading to no net effects when herbivore effects were combined. In turn, smaller herbivores and large-bodied herbivores only reduced plant height when occurring together but not when occurring separately. Greater herbivore diversity increased plant diversity in graminoid tundra but not in other habitat types. Conclusions: This systematic review underscores the importance of herbivore diversity in shaping the structure and function of Arctic ecosystems, with different functional groups of herbivores exerting additive or compensatory effects that can be modulated by environmental conditions. Still, many challenges remain to fully understand the complex impacts of herbivore diversity on tundra ecosystems. Future studies should explicitly address the role of herbivore diversity beyond presence-absence, targeting a broader range of ecosystem responses and explicitly including invertebrate herbivores. A better understanding of the role of herbivore diversity will enhance our ability to predict whether and where shifts in herbivore assemblages might mitigate or further amplify the impacts of environmental change on Arctic ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water diversion and pollution are two pervasive stressors for river ecosystems that often co‐occur. The individual effects of both stressors on river communities and energy transfer across the food webs are well described; however, how they interact remains unknown. We hypothesised that low‐to‐moderate nutrient pollution gradient would cause a mild increase in invertebrate driven herbivory and water diversion a strong reduction in detritivory, whereas their joint effect would reduce invertebrate abundance and diversity, as well as total energy fluxes (from basal resources to invertebrates and fish). We also expected a shift in body size spectra slope with increased energy transfer between trophic levels with moderate pollution, but not with water diversion.To test these hypotheses, we selected four rivers across a range of nutrient pollution levels (a proxy of water quality) subject to similar water diversion schemes and compared food webs upstream and downstream of their diversion weirs.Both stressors changed the availability of basal food resources. Nutrient pollution induced changes in the green food web (i.e., biofilm‐based) by enhancing biofilm stocks, whereas water diversion affected the brown food web (i.e., detritus‐based) by decreasing stocks of detritus.The propagation of the effects to higher trophic levels differed with each stressor: pollution increased the homogeneity of community within the reach, whereas water diversion made communities more heterogeneous. Moreover, pollution induced changes within omnivores, increasing herbivory and carnivory, whereas diversion reduced the total energy fluxes through a decrease in detritivory, especially with pollution.Although most of the variables studied seemed to be more sensitive to water diversion, pollution often accentuated the response, being the interaction between both stressors more explanatory than any of the two stressors on its own.The effects of water diversion on diversity and energy flow through food webs are more detrimental to moderately polluted rivers than to systems with high quality water.We show that the use of tools merging knowledge on trophic relationships among species and their metabolic requirements enables disturbances to be detected that would otherwise go unnoticed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of field studies into the soil biota in conditionally undisturbed territories located in the northern part of Cisbaikalia (central ecological zone). This territory is characterized by high landscape diversity, which is due to the peculiarities of the relief and local climatic conditions associated with it. Thus, in a relatively small area of the territory there are various geosystems from meadow–marsh to mountain–steppe. Soil zoocenoses are accordingly also diverse, and the structure of the population and the average number and biomass make it possible to evaluate communities by taxonomic diversity. This indicator characterizes not only the state of the soil mezopopulation, but also its resistance to external influences. In conditions of limited economic activity, this territory can be a kind of testing ground for comparative analysis and assessment of the restoration potential of soil zoocenoses. Taxonomic diversity was calculated using Margalef's index, which makes it possible to link two characteristics, the abundance and the number of taxa per unit area. Based on the calculations, five categories of taxonomic diversity of soil invertebrates (from very low to high) were distinguished. Taking into consideration the high landscape diversity of the territory, the spatial distribution of soil mezopopulation reflects the full range of zoocenoses in the region. The numerical characteristics of the mezopopulation of soils are influenced by the hydroclimatic conditions of the territory which, in turn, depend on the terrain. Results from investigating the soil mezofauna aimed at assessing the taxonomic diversity in the spatial aspect are intended to be used as a basis for cartographic modeling in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Body size is a key functional trait governing how an animal community transforms resources and conditions into performance, abundance, and fitness. Here we use the National Ecological Observatory Network of pitfall traps to explore how an ecosystem's plant productivity, temperature, and growing season length accounts for the range of body size across 99 ground invertebrate communities. The 19‐fold continental variation in mean body size failed to covary with latitude, while common ordinal subtaxa grew smaller (e.g., myriapods) to larger (e.g., acari) from Puerto Rico to Alaska. Communities with a larger mean size arose when winters were longer and gross primary productivity was high. The diversity of body sizes in a community (measured as the CV) varied ninefold and decreased with latitude (r2 = 0.24) consistently across common orders. Size‐diverse communities were less likely in ecosystems with long winters (suggesting constraints on the time to build, r2 = 0.34) and those with high invertebrate activity (and hence trap catch, r2 = 0.12). Body size distributions thus appeared to arise from conflicting combinations of constraint (i.e., the ability to build large bodies) and performance (utility of large size in surviving long winters). As warming promotes growing season length, populations of larger, rarer individuals may benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The melting cryosphere adds heterogeneity to the abiotic and biotic characteristics of many high latitude and montane rivers. However, climate change threatens the cryosphere's persistence in many regions. While existing research has explored the impacts of cryospheric loss on the diversity and structure of freshwater communities, implications for functional traits of communities, such as production of aquatic invertebrates, remain unresolved. Here, we quantified aquatic invertebrate community structure and secondary production in southeast Alaska (USA) streams that represent a meltwater to non‐meltwater gradient, including streams fed primarily by: (1) glacier‐melt, (2) snowmelt, (3) rainfall, and (4) a combination of these sources. We found alpha diversity was highest in the snow‐fed stream and lowest in the glacier‐fed stream. Annual secondary production was also lowest in the glacier‐fed stream (0.56 g ash‐free dry mass m−2), but 2–5 times higher in the other stream types primarily due to greater production of shared taxa that were found in all streams. However, despite low invertebrate diversity and productivity, the glacier‐fed stream hosted distinct species assemblages associated with unique cycles of stream flow, water temperature, turbidity, and nutrient concentrations, which contributed to higher beta diversity between streams. Our findings suggest that the loss of glacier‐melt contributions to rivers may result in increased freshwater invertebrate production but reduced beta diversity, which could have implications for community stability and the capacity of landscapes to support higher‐level consumers, including fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wetlands of Marais breton (MB) and Marais poitevin (MP) on the French Atlantic coast are commonly used by several duck species, especially as stopover sites during the prenuptial migration. Understanding the ecological requirements of Anatidae at spring stopover sites is important to define appropriate management actions that might have a carry over effect on the subsequent reproduction success. This study focused on the Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata), a species that regularly visits the two marshes during spring and fall migrations and is highly dependent on freshwater invertebrates as the food resource. Fifteen Northern Shovelers were equipped with GPS/GSM tags and monitored during their stopover in both marshes in 2020 and 2021. The aims of the study were to understand the habitat use on stopover sites and relate home range (HR) size with characteristics of the feeding habitats (such as freshwater invertebrates' density and diversity). The HR area of the studied individuals was mainly constituted of ponds in MB (83% of the HR) and wet meadows in MP (71% of the HR). The Northern Shovelers equipped with tag spent more than 72 consecutive hours in 31 wetlands, using them during the day, at night or all day. The diurnal visited sites were deep ponds that were sparsely vegetated and dominated by microcrustaceans, whereas the nocturnal visited sites were wet meadows or ponds with high aquatic vegetation cover and high invertebrate taxonomic diversity. The 31 described sites appeared to be rich in freshwater invertebrates, with no significant difference in invertebrate densities between the diurnal and nocturnal sites. HR sizes were highly homogenous between the two study sites (MB and MP), between sexes or between age classes. In conclusion, according to this study, an appropriate HR for the Northern Shoveler at spring stopover is 8.49 ± 5.95 km² (mean ± standard error). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive fine sediment (particles <2 mm) deposition in freshwater systems is a pervasive stressor worldwide. However, understanding of ecological response to excess fine sediment in river systems at the global scale is limited. Here, we aim to address whether there is a consistent response to increasing levels of deposited fine sediment by freshwater invertebrates across multiple geographic regions (Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and the UK). Results indicate ecological responses are not globally consistent and are instead dependent on both the region and the facet of invertebrate diversity considered, that is, taxonomic or functional trait structure. Invertebrate communities of Australia were most sensitive to deposited fine sediment, with the greatest rate of change in communities occurring when fine sediment cover was low (below 25% of the reach). Communities in the UK displayed a greater tolerance with most compositional change occurring between 30% and 60% cover. In both New Zealand and Brazil, which included the most heavily sedimented sampled streams, the communities were more tolerant or demonstrated ambiguous responses, likely due to historic environmental filtering of invertebrate communities. We conclude that ecological responses to fine sediment are not generalisable globally and are dependent on landscape filters with regional context and historic land management playing important roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhodoliths, formed by free‐living coralline algae, are distributed worldwide, and the rhodolith beds (RBs) that they form are recognized as structurally complex habitats. In the Mediterranean, they are generally distributed in the mesophotic zone, at depths of 30–100 m; so far, only a few shallow RBs (<2 m) have been reported (e.g. Îles Kuriat, Tunisia, and Stagnone Marsala, Italy).Here a shallow‐water RB located in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (south‐eastern Italy, Mediterranean Sea) is described. The diversity of associated invertebrates, the rhodolith‐forming algal species, the type of sediments, and the bed extent are characterized.The RB investigated extends over 5 ha at depths of 0.5–1.5 m. The rhodoliths vary in shape and size, from pralines to large spherical structures, and are formed by a single species, Neogoniolithon brassica‐florida, growing around nuclei of both natural and anthropogenic origin. The associated fauna consisted of 158 taxa, 79 (50%) of which were new basin records. The associated diversity was approximately twice that of the underlying and nearby sediments.The structural complexity of the RBs promotes biodiversity and provides shelter, food, and a breeding ground for numerous species, including seahorses, which are a conservation priority in this basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterizing the spatial structure of taxonomic and functional diversity (FD) of marine organisms across regional and latitudinal scales is essential for improving our understanding of the processes driving species richness and those that may constrain or enhance the set of species traits that define the functional structure of communities. Here, we present the functional diversity of coastal invertebrate macrofaunal species along the south‐eastern Pacific from 7°N to 56°S, describe spatial variation of species traits, and examine the relationship with environmental variables. For that, we defined the functional traits and distribution ranges of 2350 marine macroinvertebrates calculated eight metrics of FD. Random forest regression was applied to identify significant relationships between FD and six environmental variables. Finally, functional β‐turnover was estimated to detect alongshore shifts in functional structure and their coincidence with biogeographical domains. Our results show, in contrast with taxonomic richness that measures of trait differences, functional space and functional specialisation increase with latitude, while functional evenness exhibits a non‐linear shape, peaking at mid latitudes. Functional redundancy decreased significantly poleward, while indicators of vulnerability increase. In contrast to taxonomic richness, FD was tightly connected to variables indicative of stress and productivity, such as dissolved oxygen and nutrients. Sea surface temperature and coastal area best explained the increased FD redundancy and richness towards the tropics. The high spatial correlation between taxonomic and functional turnover suggests environmental filters play an important role in the functional structure of the seascape. Our findings suggest that processes favouring taxonomic richness are latitudinally divergent from those favouring functional diversity. Correlations with environmental variables suggest that increased sea surface temperature and measures of stability increase redundancy, while variations in dissolved oxygen and nutrients positively affect functional diversification. Moreover, the functional diversity patterns suggest low resilience of high latitude coastal ecosystems, which are heavily exploited and threatened by climate change, hence highlighting the urgent need for effective conservation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sown field margins can improve the conservation of biodiversity in rural areas and can contribute to the aesthetics of rural landscapes, thereby potentially increasing public support for agri-environmental measures. However, these two functions do not necessarily coincide. This raises the question whether field margins that are appreciated for their contribution to landscape aesthetics also deliver on the conservation of biodiversity. We conducted choice experiments with different groups of citizens and collected biodiversity data in the Netherlands, to investigate if the number of colors and vegetation cover in field margins increased respondents' appreciation for them, and how these visual cues correlated with taxonomic diversity and abundance of plants and invertebrates in those field margins. Using manipulated photos, we also assessed whether the presence of colorful field margins in a range of different rural landscapes increased respondents' appreciation of those landscapes. Respondents preferred colorful margins with high vegetation cover and showed a preference for green rural landscapes with colorful field margins. The presence of colorful field margins increased landscape aesthetics most in the least appreciated landscapes. The number of colors correlated positively with the diversity of sown and spontaneous plant species, and overall invertebrate abundance and abundance of predatory invertebrates, but was not related to invertebrate diversity. Our results show for the first time that colorful field margins support both public appreciation and diversity of plants and abundance of ground-dwelling invertebrates, with potential advantages to farmers in terms of natural pest control, at least in intensively used agricultural landscapes. However, management practices to maintain a high number of colors over time may be detrimental for invertebrate diversity. To optimize the different functions, we recommend that field margin layouts should consist of a perennial part that is allowed to develop over time, in combination with a part that is managed for its colorfulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the sensitivity of invertebrates to environmental changes, their presence can serve as an indicator of coral reef health and water quality. This study seeks to ascertain the abundance of invertebrates, the structure of the invertebrate community, and their relationship with coral cover and water quality parameters in the waters of Sempu Strait. The belt transect method and the underwater photo transect (UPT) are used to determine the abundance of invertebrates and coral cover, respectively. Temperature, pH, DO, salinity, and water clarity are measured for water quality. According to the study's findings, seven of the nine invertebrate species were found. Between October 2021 and May 2022, seven of nine invertebrate biota categories, 733 species, and 606 species dominated by Diadema sea urchins were observed every two months. The invertebrate abundance ranged from 0.024 to 0.512. A low and imbalanced invertebrate diversity ranges from 0.078 to 0.493 (H' < 1). The range of the equality index (E < 0.4) is between 0.04 and 0.22, indicating a low community index. There are three levels of dominance index values: low, medium, and high. Due to their abundance, Diadema sea urchins dominate the Sempu Strait, particularly near the Jetty Station with its port activity. Coverage of coral reefs varies between 6% and 21.3%, indicating low and damaged corals. The correlation between coral cover and invertebrate abundance is moderate in Banyu Tawar and Rumah Apung (0.480 to 0.490), whereas it is weak in Waru-Waru, Watu Meja, and Jetty (-0.037-0.225). The abundance of invertebrates has a weak link with values ranging from -0.037 to -0.283 for water clarity, temperature, salinity, DO, and pH, but it has a strong correlation with a value of 0.610 for current velocity. The environment, including human activities and water quality, has a significant impact on macroinvertebrate communities. Environmentally tolerant macroinvertebrates will outcompete the vulnerable ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clearing of woodlands is used by graziers to promote pasture production, even though understanding of impacts of clearing on native fauna is lacking. We evaluate impacts of clearing on biodiversity by comparing invertebrates associated with ground-layer vegetation of cleared woodlands (grasslands) to that of nearby uncleared woodlands. Two replicates of grasslands consisting of pastures dominated by introduced grasses were compared with two woodlands at each of four locations. The adjacent riparian forest to each grassland and woodland site allowed evaluation of the effect of woodland clearing on the adjacent riparian zone. All habitats were grazed. Invertebrates of ground-layer vegetation were sampled using three suction subsamples of 1m2 at each site. Grasslands had significantly lower order richness and abundance of herbivores, pollinators and macroinvertebrates (food for birds) than the woodlands, whereas the riparian forests closely resembled each other in all metrics. Invertebrate assemblages of grasslands also differed significantly from those of the woodlands. BEST analysis showed that groundcover and leaf-litter percentage cover correlated strongest with invertebrate composition. This study has demonstrated that grazing management relying on clearing of fertile grassy woodlands of the rangelands of Central Queensland alters invertebrate diversity and assemblage. Thus, tree clearing not only leads to biodiversity losses in the canopy layer, but also in the ground-layer vegetation. Implications for insect conservation: Pastoralists have the capacity to improve outcomes for invertebrate biodiversity by maintaining groundcover (ground-layer vegetation and litter cover) above 80%, by encouraging native pastures over introduced species such as Buffel Grass and by retaining native woodlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roof retrofits offer a promising avenue to increase greenspace and thus biodiversity in the city. The successful colonisation and establishment of plants and animals on green roofs is limited by the location and context of the green roof. Here we use a before, after, control, impact (BACI) design to monitor the colonisation of a new retrofit roof in Melbourne CBD. We find that colonisation for some taxa occurs rapidly, with honeybees (Apis mellifera) arriving four days after flowers had been planted. Other insect taxa, such as native bees, did not colonise the impact roof but were present on the green roof reference site, which was lower in height and planted with native plants. Invertebrate abundance increased for all sites after the retrofit was built, however this sampling period was in late spring when more insects are expected to be active. Bird richness and abundance didn't change in response to roof greening, but invertebrate richness was significantly higher on reference sites and increased after the green roof retrofit was built for the impact site. There was an apparent 'spill over' effect onto the nearby green roof control, which also increased in invertebrate diversity. Overall, invertebrate composition across roof types was driven by floral density. Floral density and richness increased on the impact roof as vegetation matured, subsequently correlating with higher abundance and richness of invertebrates. We use these findings to discuss colonisation of green roofs and argue for strategic placement of new green roof retrofits to maximise their biodiversity potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shallow littoral areas in lakes are productive and highly diverse ecotonal zones, providing habitats for both invertebrate and vertebrate species. We developed a Bayesian modeling framework to elucidate the relationships between environmental drivers (lake typology, habitat, water chemistry, and latitude) and taxon richness, abundance, as well as the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in littoral macroinvertebrate communities in 95 boreal lakes. PUFAs, particularly arachidonic acid (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are critical micronutrients to maintain normal physiological functions in consumers. Lake typology was a significant predictor for PUFA content in the invertebrate assemblages, which was connected to taxon richness and/or abundance. Benthic communities in large humus-poor or nutrient-rich lakes displayed higher abundance, taxon richness, and more PUFA-rich taxa, whereas those in medium- and large-sized humic (color 30–90 mg Pt/L) and humus-rich lakes (color >90 mg Pt/L) were characterized by decreased abundance and subsequently low PUFA content. The abundance, taxon richness, and nutritional quality of the communities were also strongly related to latitude. Lakes with lower pH were characterized by lower benthic invertebrate diversity and low frequency of taxa with high somatic EPA and DHA content. The complexity of littoral habitats dominated by various macrophyte assemblages creates an environment that favors higher benthic abundance and increased presence of taxonomic groups with high PUFA content. Nutritional quality of benthic invertebrates for upper trophic levels can be modulated by a complex interplay between external stressors and abiotic factors that typically shape the structure of littoral benthic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to gather genetic information using DNA metabarcoding of bulk samples obtained directly from the environment is crucial to determine biodiversity baselines and understand population dynamics in the marine realm. While DNA metabarcoding is effective in evaluating biodiversity at community level, genetic patterns within species are often concealed in metabarcoding studies and overlooked for marine invertebrates. In the present study, we implement recently developed bioinformatics tools to investigate intraspecific genetic variability for invertebrate taxa in the Mediterranean Sea. Using metabarcoding samples from Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) deployed in three locations, we present haplotypes and diversity estimates for 145 unique species. While overall genetic diversity was low, we identified several species with high diversity records and potential cryptic lineages. Further, we emphasize the spatial scale of genetic variability, which was observed from locations to individual sampling units (ARMS). We carried out a population genetic analysis of several important yet understudied species, which highlights the current knowledge gap concerning intraspecific genetic patterns for the target taxa in the Mediterranean basin. Our approach considerably enhances biodiversity monitoring of charismatic and understudied Mediterranean species, which can be incorporated into ARMS surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wildfires of Australia's Black Summer in 2019/2020 caused a massive loss of wildlife and habitats, but the effects of the fire on invertebrate species post-burn are unknown. We hypothesised that the fires would negatively affect the genetic diversity of invertebrate species by impeding movement between populations due to habitat loss. We studied the genetic diversity of a flightless dung beetle, Amphistomus primonactus Matthews 1974, to determine the impact of the wildfires on this species. We examined 90 SNPs from 193 individuals across seven localities impacted by the wildfires in north-eastern New South Wales. We used STRUCTURE to determine the overall population structure of the seven localities. We calculated four within-locality genetic diversity measures (observed heterozygosity (Ho), unbiased expected heterozygosity (uHe), Shannon's Information (1H), and the inbreeding coefficient (FIS). We calculated three between-locality genetic diversity measures (Fixation Index (FST), Hedrick's G"ST, and Shannon's Mutual Information (I). We used partial Mantel tests to compare the between-locality genetic diversity measures with the mean fire intensity along each pairwise linear transect, while accounting for genetic variation due to geographic distance. We compared the within-locality genetic diversity measures to the mean fire intensity at each site. STRUCTURE showed a large degree of intermixing between localities. We found no significant effect of fire on any within-locality genetic diversity measure, or on any between-locality genetic diversity measure. We suggest that the genetic diversity of A. primonactus was not significantly affected by the Black Summer wildfires. Implications for insect conservation: Our results show that the 2019/2020 wildfires had a negligible impact on the genetic structure of A. primonactus. This offers a promising outlook for the species in its recovery from the fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bakırçay is one of the important rivers of Western Anatolia, Türkiye. The objectives of this study are (a) to determine the diversity of benthic invertebrates distributed in Bakırçay, (b) to evaluate the obtained data using various biological indices, (c) to determine the interactions of species with environmental variables, and (d) to estimate the water quality level of the river using BMWP and ASPT analyses. Samplings were carried out at 15 stations between October 2017 and July 2018, seasonally. A total of 11,897 specimens belonging to 136 benthic macroinvertebrate taxa were determined. Diptera and Oligochaeta were the dominant groups with 32 (24%) and 25 taxa (18%), respectively. Station 4 has the highest species richness with 49 taxa (36%). The highest individual number (3421) was at the 14th station. Tubifex tubifex and Physella acuta have the highest dominancy (25.76%) and frequency (51.67) values, respectively. Diversity (H') values of the stations fluctuated between 1.367 (st. 13) and 3.154 (st. 12). Similarity analysis showed that the 3rd and 11th stations have the highest similarity (> 90%), while the 14th station was an outgroup and has 28% similarity ratio. BMWP and ASPT scores gave similar results, and there was no 1st class water quality in the river. On the other hand, the results of the TR-BMWP score suggested that the 1st, 4th, and 6th stations had 1st class water quality. Although some stations are classified as "good conditions," the adverse effects of pollution were mainly observed in the main channel and downstream of the river. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands provide ecosystem services linked to the roles that macroinvertebrates play. These habitats have been highly deteriorated in the last decades. Predicting species assemblages and their response to a changing landscape requires a better understanding of the factors that drive variation in species abundance and distribution in natural conditions. Besides, woody debris support a diverse biota and have been promoted for river rehabilitation, restoration, and management. To assess whether invertebrates colonized the surface of submerged woods, 28 woody debris were collected in wetlands along the Paraná River floodplain. Taxonomic richness, diversity and evenness, and functional diversity of assemblages were explored. To quantify the relative role of environmental (i.e. limnological and wood parameters), spatial, and dispersal traits factors in explaining the composition and diversity of communities, redundancy, and variation partitioning analyses were run. All the substrates were colonized and macroinvertebrates were abundant and diverse. Functional alpha and beta redundancy were low due to a high turnover of species performing different functions, and a low dominance of species. The analysed factors explained around 50% of the variability in the biotic patterns analysed. In the Paraná River, woody debris is probed to be substrates useful for restoring diversity and functions and thus can support important ecosystem services wetlands provide. All the factors analysed partially supported the diversity, composition, and functions, but dispersal, spatial and limnological factors were the most important and strategies should consider them prior to wood characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, titled "Hierarchical Drivers of Cryptic Biodiversity on Coral Reefs," explores the influence of habitat complexity and degradation on biodiversity, species distributions, and ecological functioning in coral reefs. While previous research has focused on large and conspicuous organisms, this study examines the abundance and diversity of invertebrates in reef erosion areas, specifically coral rubble. The researchers investigate the relative influence of broad seascape parameters and physical/biological characteristics at a microhabitat scale to understand the hierarchical organization patterns in rubble communities. The findings of this study are important as modern reefs transition from live-coral dominance to degraded states. [Extracted from the article]

Lowland heath is a priority habitat for conservation, nowadays largely managed for biodiversity. Historically, prescribed burning has been the principal management tool, but there are increasing calls to substitute burning with cutting to improve biodiversity outcomes. However, poor understanding of potential impacts compromises decision making.Our study was carried out in the New Forest National Park, the largest area of lowland heath in Europe. Using a multi‐trophic approach, we compared the ecological impact of prescribed burning with two types of vegetation cutting (swiping and baling) as management tools for biodiversity outcomes for up to 20 years after management. Indicators included: common standards monitoring (CSM) assessment; vegetation species assemblage; below‐ and above‐ground invertebrate biodiversity; and available food resources for two characteristic heathland birds—the Dartford Warbler Sylvia undata and the Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus.When compared with swiped sites, areas managed by prescribed burning resulted in: better habitat condition (assessed by CSM); higher cover of heathers; lower bracken cover; more areas of bare ground. We found no evidence that burning is detrimental for the investigated components of biodiversity.Cutting by swiping did not replicate the benefits of burning. Swiping supported grassland conditions that suit non‐heathland species. Baling resulted in habitat condition similar to prescribed burning but restricted replication of baled sites limited our conclusions. However, swiped sites supported high invertebrate abundance and diversity, including food resources for Dartford Warbler and Nightjar.Synthesis and applications. Removing burning from the management programme is likely to reduce heathland condition. Biodiversity is encouraged by a mosaic of management and more mobile species, such as birds, will exploit the resources provided by several management techniques. Including some cutting in a rotational regime is likely to be beneficial although prescribed burning should form the majority of the management programme, Lowland heathland differs fundamentally from upland heathland/moorland and it is not easy to transfer the results. Current heathland CSM does not adequately assess wider biodiversity on protected areas but is effectively an assessment of vegetation feature condition. Including invertebrates in surveys provides a more nuanced assessment of heathland condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]