Revising the geographic distribution of western European <i>Forficula</i> (Dermaptera) using mtDNA data

BackgroundThe use of mitochondrial DNA data in phylogenetics is controversial, yet studies that combine mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data (mtDNA and nucDNA) to estimate phylogeny are common, especially in vertebrates. Surprisingly, the consequences of combining these data types are largely unexplored, and many fundamental questions remain unaddressed in the literature. For example, how much do trees from mtDNA and nucDNA differ? How are topological conflicts between these data types typically resolved in the combined-data tree? What determines whether a node will be resolved in favor of mtDNA or nucDNA, and are there any generalities that can be made regarding resolution of mtDNA-nucDNA conflicts in combined-data trees? Here, we address these and related questions using new and published nucDNA and mtDNA data for Plethodon salamanders and published data from 13 other vertebrate clades (including fish, frogs, lizards, birds, turtles, and mammals).ResultsWe find widespread discordance between trees from mtDNA and nucDNA (30-70% of nodes disagree per clade), but this discordance is typically not strongly supported. Despite often having larger numbers of variable characters, mtDNA data do not typically dominate combined-data analyses, and combined-data trees often share more nodes with trees from nucDNA alone. There is no relationship between the proportion of nodes shared between combined-data and mtDNA trees and relative numbers of variable characters or levels of homoplasy in the mtDNA and nucDNA data sets. Congruence between trees from mtDNA and nucDNA is higher on branches that are longer and deeper in the combined-data tree, but whether a conflicting node will be resolved in favor mtDNA or nucDNA is unrelated to branch length. Conflicts that are resolved in favor of nucDNA tend to occur at deeper nodes in the combined-data tree. In contrast to these overall trends, we find that Plethodon have an unusually large number of strongly supported conflicts between data types, which are generally resolved in favor of mtDNA in the combined-data tree (despite the large number of nuclear loci sampled).ConclusionsOverall, our results from 14 vertebrate clades show that combined-data analyses are not necessarily dominated by the more variable mtDNA data sets. However, given cases like Plethodon, there is also the need for routine checking of incongruence between mtDNA and nucDNA data and its impacts on combined-data analyses.

Iberus gualtieranus is a species complex of land snails that is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. The species taxonomy of the group is based merely on the basis of shell morphology, but validity of the existing taxonomy is uncertain. Using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data (cytochrome oxidase I and 16S rRNA sequences) we were able to validate the observed phylogenetic taxa within the I. gualtieranus s.l. complex by means of the analysis of specimens of the different morphospecies, together with the study of topotypes. Strong incongruences were obtained between morphology and molecular data. The Iberus alonensis morphospecies comprised several genetically divergent but morphologically cryptic lineages. Considering (1) the allopatric distribution of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs), (2) the morphological differentiation, (3) the possible occurrence of hybridization among the different lineages, and (4) the strong differentiation of the mtDNA phylogroups, we suggest the main lineages obtained, for the time being, may be treated as evolutionary species. The robust phylogenetic reconstruction obtained allows us to consider I. alonensis s.s., Iberus campesinus, Iberus carthaginiensis, and Iberus gualtieranus s.s. as valid species. Two additional unnominated taxa of the alonensis shell type have also been identified. Further subdivisions are also considered, including Iberus gualtieranus mariae and Iberus gualtieranus ornatissimus. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 154, 722-737. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: 16S - COI - gastropoda - helicidae - Iberian Peninsula - molecular phylogeny - morphospecies concept.

Taulas (or Tables) are Megalithic unique monuments that are found only in Menorca Island (Balearic Is, Spain). Their construction age is uncertain but it is associated to Talayotic culture and it is assigned to the 1st millennium BC without solid objective bases: particularly when the only one similar structure found in the World are those of Gobekli Tepe in Antolia (Turkey) constructed about 10,000 years ago. In the present paper, we have found Paleolithic /Neolithic Lineal scripts in the East Taula recint of So Na Caçana Minorca megalithic complex It was established that one of the few cultural features that maintained these scripts in Megaliths, rocks and stones at least in Balearic Islands (Menorca), Iberia, Canary Islands and South Sahara for such a long time could be the Mother Godess religion. On the other hand, this Megalithic Lineal script could also be Iberian signary precursor: our studies suggest that some of these scripts were included later in the Iberia-Tartessian signary at least. We have used the Iberian relationship with live Basque language for proposed a simple translation of these Megalithic signs in the context of the Mother Godess religion. Finally, it is postulated that a “green” Sahara migration of climate exiled people in the process of Sahara desertification after 10,000 years BC is responsible for many writing, language and genetic traits of the Mediterranean area, including Canary Islands and Balearic Archipelago, Also, So Na Caçana means in Menorca Island own language “The property of the She-Hunter”.

Cann et al. have claimed on the basis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data that our direct ancestral Homo sapiens evolved in the African continent and spread to other continents, followed by the total replacement of the indigenous population. Their “Out-of-Africa” model is based on the assumption that mtDNA inheritance is simply maternal. Recent findings suggest the possibility that in between-population, e.g. African and Asian, mating, the African paternal mtDNA was transferred to the egg cell of an Asian together with Y-chromosomal DNA in the human past. Considering that Y-chromos- omal DNA and mtDNA sequences of African origin coexist together with Asian X-chromos- omal and autosomal DNA sequences in a current Asian, the observations by Cann et al. suggest the full/near full replacement of mtDNA in the human past, but do not necessarily imply the total replacement of indigenous populations with African migrants.

Ostracods are common microcrustaceans in inland waters, widely used as (palaeo-) environmental indicators. Information on their species distribution worldwide is extremely fragmentary, and usually biased towards some regions, hampering attaining a general view of their biogeography. The Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and Macaronesia are considered biodiversity hotspots as part of the Mediterranean Region, whose non-marine ostracod fauna was reviewed in the 1990s accounting for 88 species. Most of these data were included in the NODE database (Non-marine Ostracod Distribution in Europe). Here, we present IMOST (Ibero-Balearic and Macaronesian OSTracod database), a non-marine ostracod database for the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic and Macaronesian Islands, incorporating data included in NODE plus many new records from recently published studies and new unpublished observations. Our database stores data in separated and standardised spreadsheets, one for each data source. Moreover, the database also offers updated, reviewed and accurate coordinates of the cited occurrence and taxonomic identification. According to the data compiled in IMOST, we updated the list of non-marine ostracods in the studied region from 88 to 118 species. Nevertheless, we expect that the actual number of species for the included regions should be higher, considering other Mediterranean countries with smaller areas but more extensive surveys (e.g. 152 species in Italy). The updated database is instrumental for our understanding of the biodiversity and biogeographic patterns of these organisms in this hotspot, as well as for analysing their species-environment relationships in a context of global changes.

The first faunistic review of the caddisflies (Trichoptera) from the Iberian Peninsula, using as a reference the Limnofauna Europaea, was presented in 1987 and included 267 species. A comprehensive faunistic, nomenclatorial and systematically revised checklist of the Iberian caddsiflies was given in 1992 and included 294 species for the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Since 1992 our knowledge of the faunistic composition of some peninsular areas, especially of the meridional half and the Mediterranean region have considerably improved. It is now possible to update significantly the knowledge of caddisflies in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. We critically reviewed the literature data and supplemented these with our recent new records. We also take into consideration some unpublished collections of the authors from different Iberian regions. The checklist now contains 342 species (327, 185, 60 and 18 species from the Spanish mainland, the Portuguese mainland, Andorra, and the Balearic Islands, respectively), belonging to 75 genera and 22 families. Together, 4 families, i.e., Limnephilidae (23.7%), Hydroptilidae (14.9%), Leptoceridae (10.5%) and Rhyacophilidae (9.3 %), comprise 57% of the Iberian fauna.

Se revisan las especies de hemerobidos presentes en la fauna de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares donde, hasta la fecha, esta representada por 40 especies pertenecientes a 7 generos. Tras una diagnosis de la familia y algunos elementos sobre su historial paleontologico y su distribucion, se aportan unos datos generales sobre su morfologia y su biologia, sus estadios juveniles y comportamiento, y se comenta una breve introduccion sobre la historia en el conocimiento de la familia, y en particular en la Peninsula Iberica y Baleares. Se incluye una lista de las especies pertenecientes a su fauna, una clave de identificacion de los generos, subgeneros y especies citadas en la Peninsula Iberica y Baleares, y una clave de sus larvas a nivel generico. De cada una de estas especies se recopilan y se anotan todas las referencias bibliograficas existentes relativas a las especies de la zona estudiada, tanto con la denominacion actualmente aceptada, como de sus sinonimias y/o cualquier otra combinacion nomenclatural bajo las cuales han sido citadas. Tambien de cada una de las especies se anotan los datos conocidos y los ahora anotados sobre su distribucion general, aspectos de su morfologia externa y genital, asi como de su variabilidad, estadios juveniles, biologia, fenologia y distribucion altitudinal y geografica en la peninsula y archipielago balear, en base a un total de 5.338 ejemplares estudiados y aportando nuevo material inedito de 10 especies (con 341 nuevos ejemplares estudiados).

The taxonomy of North American crayfishes has recently experienced a boom in interest as these crustaceans have become increasingly imperiled. Improving taxonomic resolution can inform and facilitate conservation efforts but has proven challenging for crayfishes due to the limited number of molecular tools available to resolve species complexes and delimit species. The burrowing crayfish LacunicambarusHobbs, 1969 has a particularly convoluted taxonomic history that epitomizes many of the challenges of crayfish taxonomy. Recent studies using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data to resolve this genus have had mixed results: mtDNA data have successfully resolved species-clades within Lacunicambarus but have failed to resolve interspecific relationships. This has precluded research on evolutionary history and biogeography. Our goal was to resolve the phylogeny of Lacunicambarus using anchored hybrid enrichment (AHE) data, a new source of additional molecular markers for estimating phylogenetic relationships. We present the best resolved phylogeny for Lacunicambarus to date and explore discrepancies between this phylogeny and past ones based on mtDNA data. We use this new phylogeny to explore interspecific relationships within Lacunicambarus and redescribe L. erythrodactylus (Simon & Morris, 2014) and L. nebrascensis (Girard, 1852) comb. nov. Our study demonstrates the tremendous contributions that next-generation sequencing methods like AHE can make to crayfish taxonomy and conservation.

Genetic structure and species relationships were studied in three closely related mosquito species, Anopheles dirus A, C and D in Thailand using 11 microsatellite loci and compared with previous mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data on the same populations. All three species were well differentiated from each other at the microsatellite loci. Given the almost complete absence of mtDNA differentiation between An. dirus A and D, this endorses the previous suggestion of mtDNA introgression between these species. The high degree of differentiation between the northern and southern population of An. dirus C (RST = 0.401), in agreement with mtDNA data, is suggestive of incipient species. The lack of genetic structure indicated by microsatellites in four populations of An. dirus A across northern Thailand also concurs with mtDNA data. However, in An. dirus D a limited but significant level of structure was detected by microsatellites over ~400 km in northern Thailand, whereas the mtDNA detected no population differentiation over a much larger area (>1200 km). There is prior evidence for population expansion in the mtDNA. If this is due to a selective sweep originating in An. dirus D, the microsatellite data may indicate greater barriers to gene flow within An. dirus D than in species A. Alternatively, there may have been historical introgression of mtDNA and subsequent demographic expansion which occurred first in An. dirus D so enabling it to accumulate some population differentiation. In the latter case the lack of migration-drift equilibrium precludes the inference of absolute or relative values of gene flow in An. dirus A and D.

The island of Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands (Spain) located in the western Mediterranean, is characterised by a contrasting geology and landscape with two major geographic domains: (1) a southern region called Migjorn, comprised of Late Miocene calcarenites and limestones, and (2) a northern region known as Tramuntana, which is composed of folded and faulted Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Tertiary (Oligocene) siliceous and calcareous rocks. Both domains are lined by numerous pocket beaches exhibiting a high variety of surficial sediment assemblages. Grain-size and compositional analyses revealed that cliff erosion and nearshore Posidonia oceanica meadows are the main sources of sediments consisting mostly of medium- to coarse-grained carbonate sands of marine biogenic origin, with variable amounts of terrigenous rock fragments and quartz. Based on distinctly different contributions of bioclastic material, biogenic carbonates and quartz, 320 sediment samples from 64 beaches were grouped into different facies associations dominated by either (1) biogenic sands, (2) biogenic sands with terrigenous contributions or (3) terrigenous sands with quartz. Nevertheless, there is a marked regional variability in sediment texture and composition. Thus, variable mixtures of carbonate and siliciclastic sediments characterise the beaches of the northern region, whereas the beaches of the southern region are composed mostly of carbonate sands of marine biogenic origin. An exception is the central sector of the south coast, which is enriched in quartz sand (~10 %); this can be related to outcrops of quartz-rich basement rock and also to rocks exposed in some northern drainage basins captured by southern streams since the Plio-Quaternary.

This study analyses daily maximum and minimum temperature extremes in the Mediterranean basin using the EOBS and ERA5-Land datasets for the period 2011–2023. EOBS is a daily gridded land-only observational dataset over Europe while ERA5-Land is a global climate reanalysis dataset with hourly resolution and global coverage, both with a spatial resolution of 0.1°x0.1°.In this study, climatic extremes were analysed. All values exceeding the 90th percentile of the data distribution or falling below the 10th percentile were used to identify extreme warm and cold temperatures, respectively. The main objective is to compare the distributions of temperature extremes for the two datasets to identify differences in the amount and magnitude.The analysis was conducted on five climatic sub-regions of the Mediterranean Basin, including the Iberian Peninsula, Southern France–Balearic Islands, Northeastern Mediterranean, and the Southeastern Mediterranean with Turkey.Preliminary results reveal that the number of temperature extreme detected simultaneously by the two datasets is about 80%. The best agreement between EOBS and ERA5-Land is found in the regions densely covered by near-surface measurement stations. More specifically, EOBS identifies more intense warm extremes than ERA5-Land, with most of the values ranging between 31–34 °C. For warm extremes, EOBS also captures a broader range of extreme temperature values compared to ERA5-Land in some areas, such as the Iberian Peninsula and the Southeastern Mediterranean. In both datasets, the values are characterized by temperatures ≥40°C, which represent 20% of the value above the percentile threshold. For cold extremes, the two distributions show a good agreement with approximately 25% of the values ​​on average between -4°C and 0°C, in areas such as the Iberian Peninsula and the Western Mediterranean, while lower values between -10°C e -6°C are observed in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the Iberian Peninsula and Western Mediterranean, EOBS shows a higher cumulative probability for values lower than -10 °C, while ERA5-Land has a higher cumulative probability in the range from 0°C to -2 °C. In the Northeastern Mediterranean, the cumulative probability for temperatures < -10 °C is approximately 25% for both datasets.Further consideration will be presented regarding the influence of orography on the differences observed between ERA5-Land and EOBS, to better understand the representation of climatic extremes in both datasets.

Synoptic patterns triggering tornadic storms on the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands

Ampelographic descriptions, a set of 20 nuclear microsatellite loci (nuSSR), five chloroplast microsatellites (cSSR), as well as historical references have been used to identify 66 accessions of Vitis vinifera L. The plant material included major and minor varieties under risk of extinction, collected in the Balearic Islands, and now conserved in two germplasm repositories site in Spain. The 66 samples analyzed corresponded to 32 different genotypes, several unique genotypes were found, three of them remaining unknown. Some synonyms and homonyms were found in the Mediterranean basin, highlighting that the dispersal of some varieties are related with historical human movements and migrations occurred in three several periods, (1) around seventh century related to Islam expansion, (2) around thirteen to fifteenth centuries and (3) in the nineteenth century related to phylloxera crisis. Some parentages were identified, being the cultivar Callet Cas Concos a key variety in several crosses, confirming the high value of unknown varieties for parentage analysis. Several grouping methods confirm the existence of two gene pools.

Problematic taxa, often referred to as species complexes, are common among freshwater organisms. Understanding their species composition, distribution and history is key to integrating these taxa into many ecological disciplines. We investigated the taxonomy and biogeography of the Proasellus coxalis species complex (PCC), a diversified and functionally important group of asellid isopods (Pancrustacea) in freshwaters of the Mediterranean Basin and central Europe. We used phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses from specimens collected at 143 localities across the range of the PCC to document its diversity, phylogenetic position and historical biogeography. First, we used molecular species delimitation methods based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene to identify molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) representing putative species within that complex. Second, we used three additional genes—the 16S mitochondrial rDNA, FASTKD4 nuclear and 28S nuclear rDNA genes—to generate a four‐gene dated phylogeny of Asellidae to test the monophyly and phylogenetic position of the PCC. Third, we applied statistical ancestral reconstruction methods to the four‐gene dated phylogeny of the PCC to infer its biogeographic history. Fourth, we used Bayesian phylogeographic diffusion models based on the COI and 16S genes to reconstruct the range dynamics of the only widely distributed MOTU in this species complex. We identified ≥ 25 MOTUs within the PCC. The eastern Mediterranean Basin, including the Pontic‐Mediterranean and Italian peninsulas, contained numerous narrowly distributed MOTUs. In contrast, central Europe, northern Italy, the Dinarides, the Iberian peninsula and northwestern Africa were colonised by a single MOTU, which we term P. banyulensis. The four‐gene phylogeny of the Asellidae clustered all PCC MOTUs into a well‐supported monophyletic group, which we term the P. coxalis clade. Ancestral reconstruction methods indicated that the clade originated during the early Miocene in the southern Hellenides, at that time part of the Balkanian‐Anatolian landmass. From there, it dispersed and diverged mainly during the Miocene, through the eastern Mediterranean Basin, including the Italian peninsula. Bayesian phylogeographic diffusion models revealed that central Europe and the western Mediterranean Basin were recently colonised from Italian populations of P. banyulensis. During the Pleistocene, multiple waves of colonisation of that species followed each other from central Italy, the most northerly (Germany, Sweden) and southerly (southern Spain, Morocco and Algeria) regions being colonised last. We resolved major taxonomic, phylogenetic and biogeographic uncertainties that have marked more than a century of research on the PCC. Our updated understanding of this complex is that of a species‐rich clade that has long diversified in the eastern Mediterranean Basin, but of which a single species—P. banyulensis—has recently colonised central Europe and the western Mediterranean Basin from Italian refugia. In central Europe, this species adds to two other widespread species—Asellus aquaticus from Pannonian refugia and P. meridianus, most probably from Iberian refugia—to produce mixed asellid communities.

Evidence in Eastern Spain and in the Balearic Islands indicates that during the building period of the megaliths and thereafter the inhabitants of this region developed a considerable limestone technology. This technology embraced an empirical knowledge of carbonate chemistry and karst geology which enabled them to quarry large limestone blocks to gain a maximum of usable material with a minimum of effort. It appears that one of the quarrying methods used was based on the chemical dissociation by fire of standing stone blocks at their attachment points, a technique hitherto unknown or unreported in the literature. Throughout the interval of megalith occupation there is evidence of the exploitation of limestone for a wide variety of purposes, including the making of objects such as containers, querns, and funereal vessels. Ultimately, their experiments led to a unique burial practice in which the dead were cremated by means of quicklime.The quarrying methods used by the Iberian megalith builders are described below. Most of the specifics of their methods will be drawn from one well studied site, Son Carla on the island of Menorca, but similar quarries have been identified at numerous sites in the Balearic Islands and at Sisante in La Mancha on the mainland.