2015 Issues

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Graeme Smith

Title: A new Australian species of Acrotelsella (Zygentoma: Lepismatidae); could it be an endangered short range endemic?

Abstract

A new and comparatively attractive species of silverfish from the genus Acrotelsella is described from specimens collected near the summit of a mountain in central Australia. It is unusual in displaying medial combs on some urosternites. Questions are posed as to whether it is a species with a very restricted range that may be endangered by global warming, or simply a reflection of the poor state of knowledge of the Australian silverfish fauna.

Keywords: Thysanura | taxonomy | new species | global warming

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Graeme Smith
Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia and
Federation University Australia,
PO Box 663, Ballarat, Victoria 3353, Australia
le_gbsmith@optusnet.com.au

Miquel Gaju-Ricart, Rafael Molero Baltanás & Carmen Bach de Roca

Title: Forward without wings: Current progress and future perspectives in the study of Microcoryphia and Zygentoma

Abstract

Since the publication of Mendes in 2002, there has been no update on the state of knowledge about Microcoryphia and Zygentoma.
The organizers of the 9^th International Seminar on Apterygota provided us the opportunity to review the knowledge of these orders, which are better known for their taxonomy (although many regions of the world remain unexplored) than for other aspects. Fortunately, the number of scientists interested in aspects other than taxonomy, such as biology, ecology, ethology, ultrastructure, molecular data, etc., has increased and now valuable contributions exist on all these facets. Our review includes the recent knowledge on all these topics as well as an extensive reference list for these aspects, but with a reduced number of taxonomic references.

Keywords: Insecta | review | up to date knowledge | jumping bristletail | silverfish

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Authors

Miquel Gaju-Ricart
Dept. of Zoology, University of Cordoba, Edif. C. Darwin,
Campus de Rabanales, 14014 Córdoba, Spain
ba1garim@uco.es

Rafael Molero Baltanás
Dept. of Zoology, University of Cordoba, Edif. C. Darwin,
Campus de Rabanales, 14014 Córdoba, Spain

Carmen Bach de Roca
Dept. of Animal and Vegetal Biology and Ecology,
Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain

Peter Shaw & Carly M. Benefer

Title: Development of a barcoding database for the UK Collembola: early results

Abstract

We report early results from a project to accumulate COI barcodes from UK Collembola to confirm taxonomy and explore their status at an international level. We validated COI sequences for 48 species of Collembola, ranging from 335–670 bp. Of these, seventeen species matched public sequences of the same name, six species were identifiable but the molecular identity disagreed with the morphological identification, and twenty five species gave no reliable match. The successful matches included accurate matches to BINs from countries far from the UK, including Canada, South Africa and Russia. We suggest that, in many cases, these may have been accidentally transported with horticultural materials.

Keywords: springtail invasion | taxonomy

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Authors

Peter Shaw
Centre for Research in Ecology, Whitelands College,
University of Roehampton SW15 4JD, London, United Kingdom
p.shaw@roehampton.ac.uk

Carly M. Benefer
Plymouth University, School of Biological Sciences,
A414 Portland Square, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, United Kingdom

Vincent Le Bourlot, François Mallard, David Claessen & Thomas Tully

Title: A simple graphical method for displaying structured population dynamics and STdiag, its implementation in an R package

Abstract

In demography, a detailed study of the temporal dynamics of the structure of a population is often required to better understand the processes that underline its overall dynamics and the individual’s life histories. Heatmaps, using time and structure (such as size-structure) as x and y coordinates and density as colours, are efficient tools for displaying the dynamics of a structured population. Such representations (structure-time diagrams) reveal the data at several levels, from general outlook to fine details. Despite its efficiency, this type of visual display has been scarcely used in ecology and demography. Using the example of springtail populations maintained in the laboratory and a woodlouse population studied in the field, we explain why this type of representation can be used to analyse the population dynamics of soil organisms and why it should be more widely used in demography. We also present the R package STdiag (for ‘Structure Time diagram’), an interface to complex graphical functions to easily produce and analyse such ‘structure-time diagrams’ from raw datasets. This package is available for all operating systems via R-Forge. Its syntax and options are described, discussed and illustrated using our case studies. This graphical display is a simple and efficient way to make large demographic datasets coherent and to disclose the underlying, often hidden, demographical processes.

Keywords: Demography | temporal dynamics | long-term studies | graphical display

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Authors

Vincent Le Bourlot
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science – Paris (IEES Paris),
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Paris, France
Environmental Research and Teaching Institute (CERES-ERTI),
École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

François Mallard
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science – Paris (IEES Paris),
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Paris, France

David Claessen
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science – Paris (IEES Paris),
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Paris, France
Environmental Research and Teaching Institute (CERES-ERTI),
École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

Thomas Tully
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Science – Paris (IEES Paris),
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Paris, France
ESPE de l’académie de Paris, Sorbonne Universités,
Paris-Sorbonne Univ Paris 04, Paris, France
thomas.tully@upmc.fr

Michele d’Errico, Marina Mauri, Rosa Taurino, Isabella Lancellotti &
Maria Agnese Sabatini

Title: Effects on Folsomia candida Willem, 1902 of products resulting from anaerobic digestion of biomass tested at different soil pH

Abstract

In recent years, it has become increasingly important to reduce the production and impact of wastes on the environment to save and restore natural resources. A way of disposing industrial, agro-industrial and urban wastes is their treatment by anaerobic digestion, with the production of biogas and residual organic material. The latter is commonly called digestate and can be used in agriculture as fertilizer, soil improver or adsorbent material, but only scarce or no evaluations of its biological effects on soil organisms are presently available. The aim of the present research was to study the effects of digestate, when added to soils with different pH values, on the survival and reproduction of the collembolan Folsomia candida. The digestate investigated in this study was obtained from agro-industrial wastes mixed with biological sludge. We exposed springtails to two different concentrations of digestate (2.5 %, 5 %) in two artificial soils with pH values of 6 and 4.5. The addition of digestate resulted in an increase of experimental-soil pH values, depending on the concentration and original pH value of the artificial soil used. The negative effects of digestate detected on the survival and reproduction of F. candida was mainly attributed to pH values > 6. The high pH value, however, does not explain by itself the strong decrease in number of juveniles in the experimental soil when the highest concentration of digestate was combined with the highest pH value reached. In this case it is possible to assume a combined effect of pH and other digestate characteristics, such as nitrogen content and salinity, currently under study.

Keywords: Collembola | digestate | toxicity test | survival | reproduction

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Authors

Michele d’Errico
Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia,
Via Campi 213/D, 41125 Modena, Italia

Marina Mauri
Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia,
Via Campi 213/D, 41125 Modena, Italia

Rosa Taurino
Dipartimento di Ingegneria “Enzo Ferrari”,
Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia,
Via Vivarelli 10, 41125 Modena, Italia

Isabella Lancellotti
Dipartimento di Ingegneria “Enzo Ferrari”,
Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia,
Via Vivarelli 10, 41125 Modena, Italia

Maria Agnese Sabatini
Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia,
Via Campi 213/D, 41125 Modena, Italia
sabatini@unimore.it

Michael Thomas Marx & Dieter Weber

Title: Cave Collembola from Southwestern Germany

Abstract

Collembola are among the most abundant arthropod and hexapod taxa in cave ecosystems. The springtail fauna of different natural caves and artificially built underground mines and passages from southwest Germany was surveyed using pitfall traps. Altogether, 54 species were determined, of which almost 50 % were classified as eutroglophile to eutroglobiont. These species are strictly bound to a hypogean habitat or, in the case of epigean species, at least able to maintain a permanent subterranean population. Two noteworthy species were found in the artificial gallery ‘Bastion Drusus’ in Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate): Lepidocyrtus violaceus (Geoffroy, 1762) with morphological adaptations and Disparrhopalites patrizii (Cassagnau & Delamare Debouteville, 1953) with a possible anthropogenically driven distribution.

Keywords: springtails | subterranean habitats | troglomorphy | anthropogenic distribution

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Authors

Michael Thomas Marx
Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Institute for Zoology,
Becherweg 13, 55128 Mainz, Germany
marxm@uni-mainz.de

Dieter Weber
Musée national d’histoire naturelle, 25 rue Münster, L-2160, Luxembourg

Peter Shaw

Title: How high do Collembola climb? Studies of vertical migration in arboreal Collembola

Abstract

Two studies were undertaken using inert fibrous pads as a non-destructive approach to sampling microarthropod communities on the bark of broadleaved trees. In the first study, pads were suspended at heights varying from 0–5m elevation in broad leaved trees in London to determine the vertical distribution of Collembola. In the second study, pads were attached to bark with excluders restricting arthropod ingress either from above or below to check directionality of movement. Collembola were found up to 5 m up trees, with clear vertical zonation in density and species composition. Willowsia platani (Nicolet, 1841) was the most heightassociated species, but was only collected in summer. The second study suggested that Willowsia platani mainly climbed upwards, but none of the results were statistically significant.

Keywords: Collembola | bark fauna | epiphyte colonisation | directional migration

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Peter Shaw
Centre for Research in Ecology, Whitelands College,
University of Roehampton SW15 4JD, London, United Kingdom
p.shaw@roehampton.ac.uk

Mahmood Mehrafrooz Mayvan, Masoumeh Shayanmehr & Stefan Scheu

Title: Depth distribution and inter-annual fluctuations in density and diversity of Collembola in an Iranian Hyrcanian forest

Abstract

The Hyrcanian forests as an ancient and one of the most unique temperate deciduous broadleaved forests in the world are located partly in the north of Iran near the Caspian Sea. Collembola as a major group of soil animals have never been studied in the Hyrcanian forests. We investigated the Collembola fauna of the Semeskandeh forest as a part of the Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran (Mazandaran province) in different soil horizons as well as in different seasons to gain insight into the diversity and dynamics of the Collembola community. Samples from leaf litter (O_L,F,H horizons), 0–3 and 3–6 cm of the mineral soil (A_h horizon) were assessed in two-month intervals during one year (2012–2013). A total of 20 species belonging to 16 genera and 9 families were identified. Heteromurus major (Moniez, 1889) was most abundant and the species Lipothrix lubbocki (Tullberg, 1872), Heteraphorura japonica (Yosii, 1967), Sminthurus cf. ghilarovi Stebaeva, 1966, Paralipothrix cf. natalicius (Ellis, 1974), Dicyrtomacf. ghilarovi Bretfeld, 1996 and two Sphaeridia spp. were recorded for the first time for the Iranian Collembola fauna. Abundance of Collembola was highest in leaf litter in winter (January) and lowest in 3–6 cm soil depth in summer (July). Species diversity was highest in winter in leaf litter and low in summer particularly deeper in soil. Overall, the depth distribution of Collembola resembled that of temperate forests, whereby seasonal dynamics differed with highest densities in winter, indicating that reduced moisture in summer functions as a major determinant factor. The results provide for the first time information on the diversity and dynamics of an important decomposer animal taxon in an endangered forest system of southwest Asia.

Keywords: Springtails | population dynamics | Caspian Sea forest

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Authors

Mahmood Mehrafrooz Mayvan
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Crop Sciences,
Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran

Masoumeh Shayanmehr
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Crop Sciences,
Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Iran
Shayanm30@yahoo.com

Stefan Scheu
J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology,
Georg August University Goettingen, Germany

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Francesca Ricci, Laure Bentze, David Montagne, Sabine Houot, Michel Bertrand & Celine Pelosi

Title: Positive effects of alternative cropping systems on terrestrial Oligochaeta (Clitellata, Annelida)

Abstract

Agricultural intensification has reduced soil biodiversity in cultivated fields. Alternative cropping systems have been implemented to limit the harmful environmental effects of intensive conventional systems. This study aims at (i) assessing the impact of alternative systems on abundance and biomass of earthworms and enchytraeids, which are involved in key agroecological functions, and (ii) investigating the relationship between these soil organisms, under field conditions. Field data were collected in spring 2014 in two long-term agricultural sites near Paris, France. In Site 1, two types of organic amendments i.e. animal manure (MAN) and composted sludge (SLU) were compared to a control system (CONT) without organic fertilization. In Site 2, four different cropping systems were compared: a conventional (CONV), an integrated (INT), an organic (ORG) and a living mulch-based cropping system (LIV). They differed mainly in soil tillage, pesticide and fertilizer use, crop rotation and crop biomass production. In both sites, higher earthworm abundance was found in the alternative systems except in the INT system i.e. SLU, MAN vs CONT and LIV, ORG vs CONV, even if differences were not always significant. For enchytraeids, we found no significant effect of organic amendments but a higher abundance in LIV and ORG systems than in CONV and INT systems in Site 2. Positive effects of alternative systems on earthworm and enchytraeid communities could be explained by the organic amendments in Site 1 and the permanent plant cover, the absence of pesticide use and tillage and the crop rotations in Site 2. Finally, no significant correlation was found between enchytraeid and earthworm abundance or biomass. We concluded that under environmental favorable conditions, earthworms and enchytraeids could coexist without competitive exclusion.

Keywords: Enchytraeids | Potworms | Earthworms | Organic matter | Agricultural practices

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Authors

Francesca Ricci
INRA, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78026 Versailles cedex, France
AgroParisTech, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France

Laure Bentze
INRA, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78026 Versailles cedex, France
AgroParisTech, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France

David Montagne
AgroParisTech, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
INRA, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France

Sabine Houot
AgroParisTech, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
INRA, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France

Michel Bertrand
INRA, UMR211 Agronomie INRA AgroParisTech, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
AgroParisTech, UMR211 Agronomie INRA AgroParisTech,
F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France

Celine Pelosi
INRA, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78026 Versailles cedex, France
AgroParisTech, UMR 1402 ECOSYS, F-78850 Thiverval-Grignon, France
celine.pelosi@versailles.inra.fr

Jiří Schlaghamerský

Title: Short note on enchytraeid occurrence in deep layers of urban soils

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Jiří Schlaghamerský
Masaryk University, Faculty of Science,
Department of Botany and Zoology, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
jiris@sci.muni.cz

Jiří Schlaghamerský & René Krawczynski

Title: Does carcass decomposition affect soil-dwelling enchytraeids?

Abstract

Carcass decomposition causes substantial changes in the humidity and chemistry of adjacent soil. Its potential effect on Enchytraeidae (Annelida: Clitellata) has, hitherto, not been studied. This pilot study on the effect of a large vertebrate carcass on enchytraeids was conducted in temperate grassland with sandy soil close to Cottbus (Germany). Soil cores for enchytraeid extraction were taken in June 2013 along four transects of 2.5 m length from the original centre of the carcass. By that time the carcass, exposed in September 2012, had almost entirely decomposed. Soil had been sampled along the transects in February and May 2013 for measurement of chemical characteristics. Enchytraeids were extracted by the wet funnel method (without heating) and identified alive to species. In total, 715 individuals and 8 species were recorded (including Fridericia brunensis, a species known from very few sites). Abundance means had a high variance, and apparent differences were not statistically significant. However, total abundance showed a distinct trend of increase with increasing distance from the carcass site, mostly due to high abundance and dominance of Enchytronia parva. Positive correlation with distance from the carcass was significant for enchytraeids as a group, E. parva and Fridericia spp. Enchytraeids in total and all species or genera tested except Enchytraeus spp. (predominantly E. buchholzi s.l.) had a negative correlation with conductivity. The latter, although not abundant, showed a clear peak at 0.5 m and had a positive correlation with soil pH. Further significant correlations were found between species or genera and pH, phosphate and humus content. In difference to some springtails, enchytraeids at the study site seemed to avoid the vicinity of carcasses, possibly due to high conductivity, ammonium and phosphate ion concentrations and pH of the affected soil. E. buchholzi, an opportunistic, stress-tolerant r-strategist, might be an exception.

Keywords: Enchytraeidae | soil fauna | carrion | grassland

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Authors

Jiří Schlaghamerský
Masaryk University, Faculty of Science,
Department of Botany and Zoology, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
jiris@sci.muni.cz

René Krawczynski
Brandenburg University of Technology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and
Process Engineering,Chair of General Ecology,
Siemens-Halske-Ring 8, 03013 Cottbus, Germany

Jörg Römbke, Rut Collado, Hubert Höfer, Richard Ottermanns, Florian Raub, Martina Ross- Nickoll & Rüdiger M. Schmelz

Title: Species diversity of Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta) in pastures, regenerating secondary forests, and old-growth forests in the southern Mata Atlântica (Brazil)

Abstract

In the framework of the German-Brazilian project SOLOBIOMA (‘Soil biota and biogeochemistry in the Southern Atlantic rainforests of Brazil’), soil invertebrates were sampled in different regeneration stages of forest: pastures, young, medium and advanced secondary forests as well as old-growth forests. Thirty-nine study sites were located in two private nature reserves situated in neighbouring regions of the southern Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) in Paraná, Brazil. All sites were characterized in terms of climate, history of use (age), vegetation, and soil properties. Here we report on the species diversity of pot worms (Oligochaeta: Enchytraeidae) in these sites, sampled with ISO standard methods. At each site ten soil cores of 5.7 cm diameter were taken once between 2003 and 2008, wet extracted and all pot worms identified alive soon after sampling. Most of the 61 species found in this study were new to science. The enchytraeid fauna of the region is dominated by species of the genera Achaeta, Guaranidrilus and Hemienchytraeus. To date, six species of the genus Achaeta, three species of the new genus Xetadrilus and four species of the species-rich genus Guaranidrilus were described by some of the authors. The terrestrial enchytraeid fauna of Paraná is composed partly of (probably) endemic species (e.g. Achaeta paranensis), partly of species with a known wider distribution within South America (e.g. Hemienchytraeus patricii). Species-poor genera are Fridericia, Enchytraeusand Marionina. On average, enchytraeid abundance was low (i.e. less than 5000 ind m^-2). Highest abundance was found in old-growth forests. Species assemblages respond to soil type and vegetation type, and some preferences at the species or genus level could be identified. Due to their small size, low abundance and resulting low biomass enchytraeid worms seem to have little ecological importance in terms of energy flux and nutrient turnover, especially when compared with earthworms. However, due to their species richness they may be useful to indicate the biological status of a site in terms of biological soil quality or perturbation.

Keywords: Pot worms | abundance | Parana | forest regeneration | soil fauna

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Authors

Jörg Römbke
ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Böttgerstr. 2-14, 61435 Flörsheim, Germany
j-roembke@ect.de

Rut Collado
Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology,
University of A Coruña, Alejandro da Sota, 1, 15008 A Coruña, Spain

Hubert Höfer
Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe,
Erbprinzenstr. 13, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany

Richard Ottermanns
Institute for Environmental Research,
RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany

Florian Raub
Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe,
Erbprinzenstr. 13, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany

Martina Ross- Nickoll
Institute for Environmental Research,
RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany

Rüdiger M. Schmelz
ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Böttgerstr. 2-14, 61435 Flörsheim, Germany
Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology,
University of A Coruña, Alejandro da Sota, 1, 15008 A Coruña, Spain

Anneke Beylich, Ulfert Graefe & Dirk-Christian Elsner

Title: Response of microannelids to tillage at soil-monitoring sites in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Abstract

Soil decomposer communities of farmland are strongly influenced by a diversity of management practices. Among these, tillage is one principal disturbance factor for soil fauna. Its effects depend on the frequency, depth and type of tillage practices, but also on soil properties like soil texture. A major scope of biological soil monitoring is to detect long-term changes caused by a change in environmental and anthropogenic factors, including management. Therefore, on soil monitoring sites in addition to the measurement of soil chemical and biological parameters, detailed data on management practices are collected. We analysed results from the assessment of microannelids on soil-monitoring sites in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) in relation to tillage practices. The focus was on the effects of inverting tillage (ploughing) versus non-inverting tillage in the year of sampling and on the impact of the time span between tillage event and sampling of total microannelid abundance, species number and dominance of r-strategists (Enchytraeus-species mainly). The aim was to differentiate short-term effects of tillage from possible long-term effects on which soil-monitoring sites are targeted. Sites were grouped in sandy and loamy sites as varying effects were expected according to soil texture. Grassland sites served as comparison without tillage. They yielded a significantly lower dominance of r-strategists than tilled arable field sites. Concerning the time-span between sampling and tillage, at sandy field sites, the dominance of r-strategists was significantly higher when the soil had been ploughed a few weeks before sampling. Dominance of r-strategists and total abundance of microannelids tended to decrease with increasing time lag since the last ploughing, but this relation was weak. While in sandy soils ploughing seems to be of relative importance for total microannelid abundance and r-strategist dominance, in loamy soils the total number of tillage events seems to be more decisive. No shortterm effects of tillage practices were detected for species number. It was therefore concluded that species number and species composition related parameters are suitable to detect long-term changes of the microannelid population at soil-monitoring sites.

Keywords: Enchytraeids | r-strategists | ploughing | soil monitoring | texture

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Authors

Anneke Beylich
IFAB Institut für Angewandte Bodenbiologie GmbH,
Tornberg 24a, 22337 Hamburg, Germany
anneke.beylich@ifab-hamburg.de

Ulfert Graefe
IFAB Institut für Angewandte Bodenbiologie GmbH,
Tornberg 24a, 22337 Hamburg, Germany

Dirk-Christian Elsner
State Agency for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Areas Schleswig-Holstein,
Department 6: Geology and Soil, Hamburger Chaussee 25, 24220 Flintbek, Germany

Gergely Boros & Klára Dózsa-Farkas

Title: The Enchytraeid fauna of Romania

Abstract

Within a project aiming to study ecosystem services in Transylvania, qualitative soil samples were collected to explore the enchytraeid fauna in the area. Completed these results with data from Dózsa-Farkas’ earlier Romanian collections between 2005 and 2011, 55 species from 10 genera were found from which 1 genus and 36 species were new to the fauna Romania and 3 Fridericia species were to science. Most frequent species were Enchytraeus buchholzi sensu lato, Enchytronia christenseni, Fridericia nemoralis, Buchholzia appendiculata and F. galba. Reviewing the publications of former Romanian zoologists we summarized the known enchytraeid fauna of Romania.

Keywords: Enchytraeidae | Oligochaeta | Transylvania | Carpathians | new species

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Authors

Gergely Boros
Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, MTA Centre for Ecological Research,
2163 Vácrátót, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Hungary
boros.gergo@okologia.mta.hu

Klára Dózsa-Farkas
Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology,
1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, Hungary

Rüdiger M. Schmelz & Rut Collado

Title: Checklist of taxa of Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta): an update

Introduction

The checklist of accepted species of Enchytraeidae in Schmelz & Collado (2012) included 676 species (682 with subspecies). Subsequently, 34 new species and 2 new subspecies were described, and one new genus was erected. Furthermore, several changes in the status of species and genus names occurred (invalidations, revalidations, new combinations). The following lists are meant as a supplement to the checklist in Schmelz & Collado (2012).

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Authors

Rüdiger M. Schmelz
ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Böttgerstr. 2-14, 65439 Flörsheim, Germany
Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology,
University of A Coruña, Alejandro da Sota, 1, 15008 A Coruña, Spain
r.schmelz@ect.de

Rut Collado
Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology,
University of A Coruña, Alejandro da Sota, 1, 15008 A Coruña, Spain

Gerd Alberti & José G. Palacios-Vargas

Title: Additional contribution: Fine structure of the ovary of Schizomus palaciosi (Arachnida: Schizomida)

Abstract

The ovary of Schizomus palaciosi is an unpaired structure located in the medioventral opisthosoma. It consists of a flat tube with compressed lumen. The wall of the ovarian tube is composed of a monolayer of epithelial cells and muscle cells. Early oocytes are embedded in the dorsal wall of the ovarian tube. Here the first growing phase starts increasing the amount of cytoplasm and the size of the nucleus. This increase results in an outward movement (externalization) of the oocyte, i.e., the oocyte grows into a pouch made of the basal lamina of the epithelium and is finally almost completely exposed towards the hemolymphatic space or adjacent tissues. A funicle made of epithelial cells connects the oocyte with the ovarian tube. Now, solitary vitellogenesis starts and the oocyte becomes much larger (second growth phase) depositing a complex protein yolk and lipid yolk in the cell body. In the outward stages, the funicle cells facing the oocyte secrete material that is deliverd into the space between funicle and oocyte. Thus it is added to the simple basal lamina of the ovarian epithelium which first formed the pouch alone. The pouch thus consists finally of two more or less distinct layers. A vitelline envelope which is deposited between pouch and oocyte in most Chelicerata as a primary egg shell parallel to vitellogenesis was not observed. Fine structure of the cell types involved are dealt with for the first time for a schizomid species. Results are discussed under comparative and functional aspects.

Keywords: externalization | short-tailed whip-scorpions | oogenesis | ultrastructure

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Authors

Gerd Alberti
Dept. General and Systematic Zoology, Zoological Institute and Museum,
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt- University Greifswald, J.-S.-Bach-Str. 11-12, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
alberti@uni-greifswald.de

José G. Palacios-Vargas
Lab. Ecología y Sistemática de Microartrópodos, Dep. Ecología y Recursos Naturales,
Fac. Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 México, D. F., México

 

Johannes Sikorski

Title: The Prokaryotic Biology of Soil

Abstract

Prokaryotes (‘Bacteria’ and ‘Archaea’) are the most dominant and diverse form of life in soil and are indispensable for soil ecology and Earth system processes. This review addresses and interrelates the breadth of microbial biology in the global context of soil biology primarily for a readership less familiar with (soil) microbiology. First, the basic properties of prokaryotes and their major differences to macro-organisms are introduced. Further, technologies to study soil microbiology such as high-throughput next-generation sequencing and associated computational challenges are addressed. A brief insight into the principles of microbial systematics and taxonomy is provided. Second, the complexity and activity of microbial communities and the principles of their assembly are discussed, with a focus on the spatial distance of a few μm which is the scale at which prokaryotes perceive their environment. The interactions of prokaryotes with plant roots and soil fauna such as earthworms are addressed. Further, the role, resistance and resilience of prokaryotic soil communities in the light of anthropogenic disturbances such as global warming, elevated CO2 and massive nitrogen and phosphorous fertilization is discussed. Finally, current discussions triggered by the above-addressed complexity of microbes in soil on whether microbial ecology needs a theory that is different from that of macroecology are viewed.

Keywords: spatial microbial ecology | nutrient cycling | high-throughput sequencing | OTU | ecological theory

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Johannes Sikorski
Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures,
Inhoffenstr. 7 B, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany;
johannes.sikorski@dsmz.de

Christian W. Hädicke, Stephan M. Blank, Hans Pohl, Carsten H. G. Müller & Andy Sombke

Title: Sensing the world without antennae and eyes: external structure and distribution of sensilla in Eosentomon pinetorum Szeptycki, 1984 and on the protarsus of Acerentomon franzi Nosek, 1965 (Hexapoda: Protura)

Abstract

Protura are miniaturized soil arthropods with an enigmatic biology. Among mandibulate arthropods, Protura are outstanding due to the absence of antennae. This study provides the first detailed investigation on external cuticular sensilla in two proturan species using scanning electron microscopy. The fine structure and distribution of cuticular sensilla on the protarsus as well as putative sensory structures on the body surface are described. Distinct differences in quality and quantity are evident between different proturan taxa. Potential consequences of These observations on the proturan biology are discussed.

Keywords: Protura | sensilla | SEM

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Authors

Christian W. Hädicke
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University of Greifswald, Zoological Institute and Museum,
Cytology and Evolutionary Biology,
Soldmannstraße 23, 17487 Greifswald, Germany;
christian-haedicke@gmx.de

Stephan M. Blank
Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut,
Eberswalder Straße 90, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany

Hans Pohl
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Spezielle Zoologie
und Evolutionsbiologie mit Phyletischem Museum,
Erbertstraße 1, 07743 Jena, Germany

Carsten H. G. Müller
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University of Greifswald, Zoological Institute and Museum,
Cytology and Evolutionary Biology,
Soldmannstraße 23, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
University of Arizona, Department of Neuroscience,
Strausfeld Lab, 1040 E 4th Str, Tucson (AZ) 85721, U.S.A.

Andy Sombke
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University of Greifswald, Zoological Institute and Museum,
Cytology and Evolutionary Biology,
Soldmannstraße 23, 17487 Greifswald, Germany

Maria Cleide de Mendonça, Gabriel Costa Queiroz & Tatiana Cristina da Silveira

Title: Two new species of Proisotoma Börner, 1901 from Southeastern Brazil (Collembola: Isotomidae)

Abstract

Two new species of Proisotoma from different Biological Conservation Unities of southeastern Brazil are described: P. douglasi sp. nov., found in Parque Nacional de Itatiaia (Rio de Janeiro State) and P. copiosa sp. nov., from Sooretama Biological Reserve (Espírito Santo State). We observed a presence of spine chaetae on antennae of males and 2 chaetae inserted on papillae laterally on tibiotarsus III in males and females in P. copiosa sp. nov.

Keywords: Atlantic Forest | Biodiversity | Brazilian Páramos | Taxonomy

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Authors

Maria Cleide de Mendonça
Departamento de Entomologia, Museu Nacional,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro,
Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil;
cleidecollembola@gmail.com

Gabriel Costa Queiroz
Departamento de Entomologia, Museu Nacional,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro,
Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil

Tatiana Cristina da Silveira
Departamento de Entomologia, Museu Nacional,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro,
Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, 20940-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil

Johannes Frisch

Title: A new species of Scopaeus Erichson, 1839 (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Paederinae) from Socotra Island, with distributional and phylogeographical notes on related species

Abstract

Scopaeus socotrensis sp. n. is described from Socotra Island, Yemen, and compared to S. asirensis Frisch, 2007, S. pakistanensis Frisch, 2007, and S. stramineus Frisch, 2007. These species constitute the S. asirensis lineage of the S. gracilis species group in the Middle East judging from their male genital characters, which are illustrated, and their distribution pattern, which is mapped. Additional diagnostic characters are presented for S. asirensis, S. pakistanensis, and S. stramineus. New Country records are published for S. asirensis (Yemen) and S. stramineus (Oman). A recent first record of S. asirensis from Socotra is based on S. socotrensis sp. n. and thus rejected. The phylogeography of the S. asirensis lineage is discussed.

Keywords: Scopaeina | Middle East | Arabian Peninsula | Iran | taxonomy

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Johannes Frisch
Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and
Biodiversity at the Humboldt-University,
Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany;
johannes.frisch@mfn-berlin.de