Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals

Biodiversity conservation in cities is complicated by the many anthropogenic stressors and by climate change amplification in urban environments. Low-mobility taxa sensitive to soil sealing, pollution and drought, such as soil microarthropods, are especially vulnerable to the impacts of urbanization, and urban green areas are pivotal for their preservation. When planning management actions for urban soil fauna, however, it should be considered that local, landscape and climate variables may interact in complex ways. In this study, we sampled soil microarthropods in 15 urban green areas of Bologna, Northern Italy, testing how their communities were affected by local habitat (urban parks v. urban farms), soil clay content, percentage of green areas in the landscape and seasonality (dry v. wet season). In terms of abundance and diversity, soil fauna was more sensitive to the dry season in farms than in parks. Both the percentage of green areas and soil clay content, however, were able to partially buffer the impact of the dry season, likely because of temperature mitigation and improved soil moisture, respectively. Additionally, clay reduced soil biological quality in highly urbanized landscapes, possibly due to a higher level of contaminants, whose toxicity is amplified by clay. Finally, the morphological and molecular approaches used to characterize microarthropod taxonomic richness gave markedly different results, suggesting that these methods are complementary. Overall, our results underline the importance of a widespread network of green areas for the conservation of urban soil microarthropods in a climate change context, especially when considering urban farms and clay-rich soils.

The morphological identification of chiggers has traditionally been the primary method used in taxonomic research on these mites. However, this approach is often inadequate and can lead to incorrect conclusions. The difficulties in identifying these mites primarily arise from the limited resolution of morphological traits used for diagnosis at both the genus and species levels. As a result, there is an increasing need to rely on additional criteria, particularly molecular analyses, to confirm the status of various genera and species. This study aimed to clarify the taxonomic status of species within Hirsutiella, particularly focusing on Hirsutiella willmanni, which has been considered a synonym of H. zachvatkini by some researchers. The larvae were collected from Clethrionomys glareolus, at various locations across Poland, following previous literature reports of the presence of both Hirsutiella species in the country. Based on an integrative approach that includes morphological as well as molecular data, specifically from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and large ribosomal subunit (28S rRNA) markers, we confirm the separate species identity of H. zachvatkini and H. willmanni. The results confirm the higher effectiveness of the 28S gene in distinguishing between chigger species. The larvae of H. willmanni are redescribed, accompanied by a revised diagnosis of larvae of H. zachvatkini. Genetic differentiation between populations of H. zachvatkini from the Carpathians, Sudetes, and the lowland and upland areas north of the mountain ranges has been revealed.

The wide range of fossil insect sites in Poland is of significant importance in understanding the evolution of the inland European faunas. Poland has been the site of many such discoveries, including the Early Jurassic Odrowąż, where specimens have been found with complete bodies and wings, the Late Jurassic Owadów-Brzezinki, and the Triassic Pałęgi clay-pit, which contains fossilised insects. This paper presents a short review of insect fossil sites in Polish sediments, with location maps. The table provides detailed information about these sites, taking into account the taxonomic affiliation of the specimens and their age.

Hybridization is a common phenomenon in birds. Woodpeckers (Picidae) are no exception, as approximately 20% of species are known to hybridize and, for many others, interspecific mating is suspected. However, the mechanisms and consequences (phenotypic and genetic) of hybridization are understood for only a fraction of woodpecker species. Here, we conduct a systematic review on the literature that deals with hybridization in woodpeckers and examine the available geographical and genetic data. According to the published data, most woodpeckers that hybridize inhabit the Neotropics, followed by the Nearctic and the Palaearctic. Hybridization appears to be less common in the Afrotropic and Indotropic regions. Indeed, it seems that the irregular distribution of woodpecker hybridization is determined by geo‐climatic constraints and is most likely biased by evolutionary history. As expected, hybrids are usually found among closely related congeneric pairs of species, although members of 60% of hybridizing woodpecker pairs do not seem to be closest relatives of each other. Closely related woodpeckers show similarities in their respective reproductive biology, ecology and ethology, and so had less time for genetic incompatibilities to build up. Hybridization plays a substantial role in woodpecker evolution and ecology; therefore, this phenomenon deserves further study using genomics and citizen science.

Omnivory is increasingly recognized as a dynamic stabilizing force under environmental change. Despite its ubiquity across ecosystems, trophic levels and spatiotemporal scales, our empirical understanding of how omnivores respond to changing conditions in terrestrial ecosystems is limited. Here we combine macroecological and paleoecological approaches across seven bear species-the largest terrestrial carnivores-and discover they dynamically adapt their trophic position in food webs to resource availability. Throughout their ranges, bears shift to carnivory in unproductive ecosystems with short growing seasons and to herbivory in productive ecosystems with long growing seasons. In line with this, isotopic evidence from the Late Pleistocene and Holocene reveals a sharp decrease in the trophic position of the European brown bear in response to increasing net primary productivity and growing season length. These findings reveal a mechanism of trophic rewiring that alters the functional role of large carnivores in ecosystems and may simultaneously stabilize food web dynamics under global change.

Understanding how geography and forest management shape genetic diversity is pivotal for the conservation of saproxylic beetles, the key indicators of forest ecosystem integrity. Using a multi-species Double Digest Restriction-site Associated DNA sequencing approach, we analyzed genome-scale SNP variation in 12 saproxylic beetle species (rare and common, incl. pests) differing in abundance, ecology, and mobility across central European forests, with respect to both geographic location and forest status. Analyses of distance-based redundancy test, molecular variance, and population structure consistently revealed that geography is the main determinant of genetic differentiation, with clear east-west clustering in several species. Forest status represented in four levels (commercial not protected, nature reserve, primeval not protected, and primeval protected) exerted a secondary but detectable effect in a subset of taxa, especially among rare and habitat-specialized species. For these species, populations from primeval protected sites showed distinct genetic structure compared to those from commercial stands. Our results highlight that regional connectivity, maintaining gene flow across a large spatial scale, should be prioritized in conservation planning, complemented by the protection of primeval forest refugia and the maintenance of structural complexity in commercial forests. By integrating high-resolution genomic data with geographical and management context, this study provides actionable insights into the processes shaping genetic structure in forest-dependent insects and underscores the importance of incorporating genetic monitoring into sustainable forest biodiversity management.

Sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) are medically important insects with an interesting, but poorly understood, evolutionary history. The abundance and diversity of inclusions of these flies in Myanmar (Burmese) amber provide valuable data on their geological history. In this study, a new genus and species of sand fly, Longiphlebes excelsior gen. et sp. nov., is described based on an inclusion from Cretaceous Kachin amber (northern Myanmar). The systematic position of the new genus is discussed, and its morphological characters are compared with those of selected extant and fossil Phlebotominae taxa. The morphology of the genitalia, head, and wing suggests a closer relationship to recent Old World Phlebotominae fauna than to the more derived fossil genera such as Phlebotomites or the phlebotomid-like Eophlebotomus. This discovery broadens our understanding of Cretaceous sand flies, especially their evolution and diversity.

The protocol is dedicated to detecting and quantifying Nosema ceranae infection level in individual honeybees (Apis mellifera). It relies on real-time PCR (qPCR) absolute quantification of the pathogen’s Hsp70 gene. Because Hsp70 is present in a single copy per spore, the number of Hsp70 copies can be directly translated into number of spores. The qPCR protocol relies on SYBR Green chemistry. The target is a 65 base pairs fragment of the Hsp70 gene. For absolute quantification, each reaction plate includes a standard curve, based on serial dilutions of the amplified broader Hsp70 fragment than the target fragment (824 bp). The method’s sensitivity is 800 copies per bee.

In the presented study, we re-investigated the soil-dwelling clawless tardigrade species Apodibius nuntius (Binda, 1984) using an integrative taxonomic approach. Our analysis is based on detailed morphological comparisons between three populations from three different countries: Mozambique (type population), Australia and Uganda. The first two populations comprise historical specimens deposited in museum collections, whereas the third one is newly found and reported for the first time in this study. In addition to morphological analysis, we constructed a phylogenetic tree of Isohypsibioidea using two ribosomal gene fragments (18S rRNA and 28S rRNA). The obtained results enabled us to establish a new genus, Sinunguibius gen. nov., which is assigned to the family Hexapodibiidae. The new genus constitutes the second known genus within Eutardigrada characterized by a complete absence of claws. The main morphological chacter that differentiates the new genus from the also clawless genus Apodibius is the number of placoids in the pharynx. Our results suggest that the complete loss of claws is a convergent trait that occurs in at least two families: Doryphoribiidae and Hexapodibiidae. The inclusion of the new genus within the family Hexapodibiidae required a corresponding amendment to its family diagnosis.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-17679-7.

Loin des yeux, loin du cœur? Ixalidiidae, une nouvelle famille des acridiens forestiers africains (Orthoptera, Acridoidea) révélée par la phylogénie moléculaire et la morphologie des genitalia. Cet article présente la phylogénie de niveau supérieur la plus complète à ce jour des Acridomorpha, basée sur des données moléculaires, montrant clairement que les genres Mazaea Stål, 1876, Ixalidium Gerstäcker, 1869, Tangana Ramme, 1929 et Rowellacris Ritchie & Hemp n. gen., précédemment attribués aux Acrididae, appartiennent à un seul clade, constituant une famille monophylétique, jusqu'alors insoupçonnée, que nous nommons Ixalidiidae Hemp, Song & Ritchie n. fam. Cet article combine la phylogénie moléculaire, la morphotaxonomie, la cytogénétique et la bioacoustique pour caractériser cette nouvelle famille, et présente une table de caractères complète comme contexte pour son placement au sein des Acridoidea. La famille des Ixalidiidae Hemp, Song & Ritchie n. fam. comprend actuellement cinq genres, deux d'Afrique occidentale et centrale: Mazaea et Barombia Karsch, 1891 et trois des forêts d'altitude et côtières de Tanzanie et du Kenya: Ixalidium, Tangana et Rowellacris Ritchie & Hemp n. gen. Trois espèces initialement décrites dans Ixalidium sont transférées dans Rowellacris Ritchie & Hemp n. gen.: R. usambarica (Ramme, 1929) n. comb. (comme espèce type), R. transiens (Ramme, 1929) n. comb. et R. obscuripes (Miller, 1929) n. comb., R. usambarica et R. obscuripes sont rappelés de la synonymie sous Ixalidium haematoscelis Gerstäcker, 1869. Le genre monotypique Eubocoana Sjöstedt, 1931 est mis en synonymie avec Mazaea et le mâle précédemment inconnu de Mazaea tristis (Sjöstedt, 1931) n. comb. est décrit. Des lectotypes sont désignés pour Barombia tuberculosa Karsch, 1891 et pour Ixalidium haematoscelis Gerstäcker, 1869. L'article décrit la morphologie diversifiée et inhabituelle des genitalia mâles et femelles et documente le nombre exceptionnel de chromosomes des Ixalidiidae Hemp, Song & Ritchie n. fam. et la communication par tambourinage chez Rowellacris Ritchie & Hemp n. gen et Tangana. Une relation de groupe frère inattendue entre les Ixalidiidae Hemp, Song & Ritchie n. fam. africains et les Tristiridae sud-américains révélée par la phylogénie moléculaire montre l'existence d'un ancêtre commun dans l'ouest du Gondwana (Atlantica), antérieur à la séparation définitive de l'Amérique du Sud et de l'Afrique, vers le début de la fin du Crétacé, il y a 100 millions d'années.