Species Diversity Research Articles

Rapid climate change increases diversity and homogenizes composition of coastal fish at high latitudes.

Rapid warming at high latitudes triggers poleward shifts of species' distributions that impact marine biodiversity. In the open sea, the documented redistributions of fish lead to a borealization of Arctic fauna. A climate-driven borealization and increased species diversity at high latitudes are also expected in coastal fish communities, but they have not been previously documented on a large, biogeographic scale. Here, we investigate the impact of temperature change over the last 25 years on fish communities along the coast of Norway. The study area, spanning different ecoclimatic zones between 62° and 71° N, harbors over 200 species of boreal and Arctic fish. Several of these fish species are harvested by coastal and indigenous communities, influencing settlement geography and livelihood. The long-term data on coastal water temperatures and fish species were obtained from monitoring stations and scientific surveys. Water temperature measured at three fixed sampling stations distributed along the coast show increased temperatures during the study period. The fish species distribution and abundance data were obtained from the annually standardized scientific bottom trawl survey program. Fish species richness, which was highest in the south, increased with warming first in the south and then, gradually, further north, eventually affecting biodiversity in the whole study area. Fish community composition showed a distinct latitudinal pattern early in the study, with Arctic fish species confined to the north and boreal species dominating the south. The poleward shifts eventually eroded this zoogeographic pattern, resulting in more boreal fish species in the north and an increased homogenization of species composition along the Norwegian coast. The climate-driven reorganization of fish communities affects coastal ecosystems that are exposed to fisheries, aquaculture, and other rapidly expanding human activities, stressing the urgent need for a climate adaptation of integrated coastal management.

Metagenomic analysis of microbial consortia native to the Amazon, Highlands, and Galapagos regions of Ecuador with potential for wastewater remediation.

Native microbial consortia have been proposed for biological wastewater treatment, but their diversity and function remain poorly understood. This study investigated three native microalgae-bacteria consortia collected from the Amazon, Highlands, and Galapagos regions of Ecuador to assess their metagenomes and wastewater remediation potential. The consortia were evaluated for 12 days under light (LC) and continuous dark conditions (CDC) to measure their capacity for nutrient and organic matter removal from synthetic wastewater (SWW). Overall, all three consortia demonstrated higher nutrient removal efficiencies under LC than CDC, with the Amazon and Galapagos consortia outperforming the Highlands consortium in nutrient removal capabilities. Despite differences in α- and β-diversity, microbial species diversity within and between consortia did not directly correlate with their nutrient removal capabilities. However, all three consortia were enriched with core taxonomic groups associated with wastewater remediation activities. Our analyses further revealed higher abundances for nutrient removing microorganisms in the Amazon and Galapagos consortia compared with the Highland consortium. Finally, this study also uncovered the contribution of novel microbial groups that enhance wastewater bioremediation processes. These groups have not previously been reported as part of the core microbial groups commonly found in wastewater communities, thereby highlighting the potential of investigating microbial consortia isolated from ecosystems of megadiverse countries like Ecuador.

Phytoplankton and zooplankton paleocommunity change before and during the onset of the Lau Extinction Event (Ludlow, Silurian)

The Ludlow epoch of the Silurian period was a time of significant geobiological perturbations, the most significant being the mid-Ludfordian Lau Event and associated huge positive carbon isotopic excursion. On the other hand, the impact of the Lau Event on ecosystems is far from understood, with the majority of studies being concentrated on conodonts, graptolites, and brachiopods. Therefore, here we present the high-resolution Gorstian to mid-Ludfordian Baubliai-2 core section record of the phytoplankton (acritarch and green algae) change from the deep shelfal facies belt of the Silurian Baltic Sedimentary Basin. Seven distinct phytoplankton assemblages are distinguished. The general feature of the assemblage change is an overarching trend toward higher relative abundances of the green algae disaster taxon Leiosphaeridia spp., which peaked during the Lau Event. The absolute abundance variability of the various components of the plankton including the hyper-abundant Leiosphaeridia spp. and Tasmanites spp. revealed the presence of consistent 0.93 Ma cyclicity. The diversity of phytoplankton is directly correlated with graptolite species diversity, which suggests common driving mechanisms of evolution for different components of the plankton community. The recurrence and joint recurrence plots and recurrence quantification analysis revealed a coordinated evolution of phytoplankton and graptolite diversities. The Lau Event interval stood out as a distinct coordinated low diversity state in both phytoplankton and in graptolites. Similar anomalous community states were previously detected in benthic communities (brachiopods), and in communities of pelagic predators (conodonts). Therefore, the current evidence suggests that the Lau Event had a significant impact across the whole range of communities and ecosystems.

Asymmetric reactors as an innovative approach for optimum microbial fuel cells performance

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) exhibit asymmetric overpotentials and redox potentials/rates at the cathode and anode. However, the impact of this asymmetric on power density and anode microbial community remains poorly understood. In this study, asymmetric reactors were designed for H-type MFCs to investigate this configuration. Contrary to the initial expectation of increased MFC power output with larger cathode volumes, it was unexpectedly found that the small-cathode reactor outperformed the large-cathode reactor, achieving a 61 % increase in maximum power density. Electrochemical characterization revealed a slightly lower charge transfer resistance (29.34 Ω) in the small-cathode reactor with carbon-felt anode biofilm in PBS. Moreover, 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that the small-cathode reactor harbored a higher proportion of anaerobic bacteria (83 %), lower species diversity, and a higher abundance of exoelectrogens. Additionally, higher abundances of key gene modules (top eight), such as quinone oxidoreductase and citrate cycle, were observed in the small-cathode reactor. The anode biofilms in both reactors also synthesized some vitamins, such as menaquinone and thiamine. Furthermore, compared to the large-cathode reactor, each set of the small-cathode reactor saved ¥ 20, 23 g of borosilicate, and 55 mL of cathode electrolytes. This study sheds light on the interplay between reactor conformation and performance, contributing to the development of low-cost, high-performance MFCs for real field conditions.

Impact of exotic plantation on native Grassland Biodiversity: A 30-Year analysis in Tanzania’s southern highlands

Exotic trees have been introduced in various parts of the world for commercial and environmental reasons such as restoring degraded land and regulating the climate. Despite their economic benefits, they have been found to cause habitat loss and fragmentation, affect soil nutrient cycling, and deplete water quality and quantity. This study examined the extent of land use and land cover changes over the past 30 years, as well as the influence of exotic plant species on native grassland plant composition and diversity in Tanzania’s southern highlands. Drivers and the extent of changes were studied using Landsat imagery in 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020. The study examined understory native plant species in 12 study sites, including grasslands as control sites near exotic plantations. The study used transects and rectangular plots to compare native plant species with those in exotic tree plantations. Trees with a stem diameter at breast height (DBH) of 10 cm or more were documented in 25 x 20 m plots, while shrubs with a DBH of 5 cm or more but less than 10 cm were recorded in 5 x 2 m sub-plots and grass as well as herbs were recorded in sub-sub plots of 2 x 0.5 m. The native plant composition and diversity were compared among exotic plantations (pine, eucalyptus and black wattle) and neighbouring grasslands. The generalised linear model (GLM) calculated the species abundance, while the native plant diversity in exotic plantations and grasslands was compared using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The study found that native species diversity is negatively impacted by exotic tree plantations, which displace natural grasslands (p < 0.05). Thus, wild medicinal plants, edible foods and habitats for flora and fauna, including pollinators, have decreased. The study recommends that afforestation and reforestation should emphasise native tree species for nature conservation.

Drivers of plant diversification along an altitudinal gradient in the alpine desert grassland, Northern Tibetan Plateau

Revealing alpine plant diversity patterns can contribute to conserving mountain plant diversity. However, the spatial variation in the ecological niche and diversity patterns of the plant community and the mechanism by which it maintains itself in alpine desert grasslands remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a field investigation across altitudinal gradients (3093, 3296, 3549, and 3790m) in the northern Tibetan Plateau and compared species composition, diversity indices, Levins' niche breadth, and Pianka's niche overlap. The results showed that perennial herbs replaced semi-shrubs and xermesophytes and mesophytes replaced xerophytes with increasing altitude. The plant community heights decreased with altitude. The cover of the herb layer increased with altitude, whereas that of the shrub layer was hump-shaped. Species diversity indices (Patrick, Pielou, Shannon-Wiener, and Simpson) increased with increasing altitude. Sympegma regelii (1.05), Leymus chinensis (1.03), and Reaumuria kaschgarica (0.94) had larger niche breadths and were widespread. Species with a high niche overlap occupied a considerable proportion at higher altitudes, indicating strong interactions among species. The redundancy analysis revealed that altitude, soil water content, soil organic matter content, and pH were the main factors driving changes in plant diversity (P = 0.036, F = 3.7). Our study illustrated that environmental filtering and biotic interactions jointly shape plant composition and diversity in alpine desert grasslands along altitudinal gradients.

Features and evaluation of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients from two referral hospitals in Iran

ObjectivesThe present study aimed to assess the features, clinical characteristics, and species diversity among patients admitted to referral Hospitals for SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia and mucormycosis in Tehran, Iran, and the relationship between seasonal and species diversity was considered. MethodsConfirmed COVID-19 patients with a positive reverse-transcriptase real-time (rRT-PCR) test for SARS-CoV2 were primarily included based on clinically suspected mucormycosis infection and confirmed by histopathology and mycology examination of biopsy specimens. The PCR technique was performed by the amplification of the high-affinity iron permease 1 (FTR1) gene for identification and discrimination between Rhizopus arrhizus and non- Rhizopus arrhizus isolates. In contrast, species identification of non-Rhizopus arrhizus was performed by sequencing of ITS rDNA region. ResultsRhino-sino-orbital mucormycosis was identified in the majority of cases (n = 33), with 66 % and 34 % of the cases involving male and female patients, respectively. Rhizopus arrhizus was found to be the most prevalent (84.6 %), followed by Mucor circinelloides (7.6 %). Rhizopus arrhizus was the most prevalent species and present in all the seasons; however, Mucor circinelloides was only present in the autumn. The overall mortality of the total population was 24.6 % (16/ 65); the mortality rates occurring in patients diagnosed with rhino-sino-orbital infection and rhino-sinusal form were 21.4 % and 25 %, respectively. ConclusionCAM can be a serious complication of severe COVID-19, especially in patients with uncontrolled diabetes. It is important to monitor the epidemiology of mucormycosis to raise awareness of the disease and improve diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, particularly in the setting of pandemic.

Calculating functional diversity metrics using neighbor‐joining trees

The study of functional diversity (FD) provides ways to understand phenomena as complex as community assembly or the dynamics of biodiversity change under multiple pressures. Different frameworks are used to quantify FD, either based on dissimilarity matrices (e.g. Rao entropy, functional dendrograms) or multidimensional spaces (e.g. convex hulls, kernel‐density hypervolumes), each with their own strengths and limits. Frameworks based on dissimilarity matrices either do not enable the measurement of all components of FD (i.e. richness, divergence, and regularity), or result in the distortion of the functional space. Frameworks based on multidimensional spaces do not allow for comparisons with phylogenetic diversity (PD) measures and can be sensitive to outliers.We propose the use of neighbor‐joining trees (NJ) to represent and quantify FD in a way that combines the strengths of current frameworks without many of their weaknesses. Importantly, our approach is uniquely suited for studies that compare FD with PD, as both share the use of trees (NJ or others) and the same mathematical principles.We test the ability of this novel framework to represent the initial functional distances between species with minimal functional space distortion and sensitivity to outliers. The results using NJ are compared with conventional functional dendrograms, convex hulls, and kernel‐density hypervolumes using both simulated and empirical datasets.Using NJ, we demonstrate that it is possible to combine much of the flexibility provided by multidimensional spaces with the simplicity of tree‐based representations. Moreover, the method is directly comparable with taxonomic diversity (TD) and PD measures, and enables quantification of the richness, divergence and regularity of the functional space.

A toxicant-taxis reaction–diffusion model for the interaction between two species and a toxicant in an aquatic ecosystem

In this paper, we develop a toxicant-taxis reaction–diffusion model that describes the interaction dynamics between two species and a toxicant in a polluted aquatic ecosystem. We analyze the existence and stability of the equilibria of the corresponding space-absent ordinary differential equation system. We then perform linear stability analysis for our reaction–diffusion system to obtain sufficient conditions on model parameters under which the stable spatially homogeneous steady states become unstable. Numerical simulations are performed to illustrate that spatially inhomogeneous patterns and spatiotemporal patterns between the two species and the toxicant will typically emerge. We also numerically analyze the effects of spatially varying toxicant input and the intensity of toxicant-taxis on the population persistence and species diversity. It turns out that heterogeneous toxicant inputs and substantial toxicant taxis can boost the coexistence of two species, thereby promoting species diversity in ecosystems. By comparing the impact of a toxicant on a single species versus its impact on two species, we find that the collective sharing of the toxic burden among multiple species proves advantageous for biodiversity.

Isolating Indigenous Metal Resistant Gram-Positive Bacteria: Assessing Their Selenite Reduction Potential

The objective of this study is to isolate gram-positive bacilli from soil and to study the effects of physiological parameters on their heavy metal resistance. High levels of metals in the soil can have major toxic effects on soil microorganisms and may cause a great change in the species diversity and population sizes of soil microbes. In current study soil samples were collected from the agriculture drainage water and soil in Lahore. After the selection of sixty gram-positive strains, their biochemical and metabolic profile was structured and all were auxin producing. The isolates were resistant to multiple heavy metals including Ni. Pb, Cr, Li and Hg. Their selenite reduction was estimated at varyingpH, Temperature and concentrations of selenite and all were resistant upto 3000 ?g/ml, However, their efficacy of reducing selenite was majorly affected by set physiological parameters.

A Comparative Study on Microbial Air Quality of Radiology and Patient Waiting Rooms of a Full-Equipped Hospital in Aydın Province

Every year many patients die due to hospital-acquired infections. These infections also put the lives of healthcare workers at risk. Additionally, hospitals are one of the main reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance. In this study, the effect of X-rays on species diversity and functions and antimicrobial resistance were observed. Metagenome analysis was performed on air samples taken from the x-ray room (radiation exposure) and the waiting room (non-radiation area) to examine whether the radiation affected the species present in the air. The diversity of microorganisms was analysed based on phylum, genus, and species levels. Functional profiling and resistance screening were also performed. X-ray radiation was found to have a major effect at the phylum level. It was observed that Proteobacteria species almost dominated the microbiome in the x-ray room (99%) while Actinobacteria species dominated the microbiome in the waiting room (84%). No significant differences were observed between the two areas in functional profiling. A total of thirty-eight functions were observed, twenty-four of which were overlapping. Antimicrobial resistance was not as diverse as expected. Only beta-lactam, penicillin, tetracycline, and lincomycin resistance genes were present (2364 reads belonging to four different genes). According to the results, it was observed that X-rays affected the air microbiome, as expected. A decrease in the number of microorganisms was expected, but it was also observed that the dominant microorganism types changed. On the other hand, no significant difference was found in terms of functional profiling and no significant antimicrobial resistance was observed.

Cost-effort analysis of Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) and environmental DNA (eDNA) in monitoring marine ecological communities.

Monitoring the diversity and distribution of species in an ecosystem is essential to assess the success of restoration strategies. Implementing biomonitoring methods, which provide a comprehensive assessment of species diversity and mitigate biases in data collection, holds significant importance in biodiversity research. Additionally, ensuring that these methods are cost-efficient and require minimal effort is crucial for effective environmental monitoring. In this study we compare the efficiency of species detection, the cost and the effort of two non-destructive sampling techniques: Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) and environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to survey marine vertebrate species. Comparisons were conducted along the Sussex coast upon the introduction of the Nearshore Trawling Byelaw. This Byelaw aims to boost the recovery of the dense kelp beds and the associated biodiversity that existed in the 1980s. We show that overall BRUV surveys are more affordable than eDNA, however, eDNA detects almost three times as many species as BRUV. eDNA and BRUV surveys are comparable in terms of effort required for each method, unless eDNA analysis is carried out externally, in which case eDNA requires less effort for the lead researchers. Furthermore, we show that increased eDNA replication yields more informative results on community structure. We found that using both methods in conjunction provides a more complete view of biodiversity, with BRUV data supplementing eDNA monitoring by recording species missed by eDNA and by providing additional environmental and life history metrics. The results from this study will serve as a baseline of the marine vertebrate community in Sussex Bay allowing future biodiversity monitoring research projects to understand community structure as the ecosystem recovers following the removal of trawling fishing pressure. Although this study was regional, the findings presented herein have relevance to marine biodiversity and conservation monitoring programs around the globe.

Effect of Honey Type on Chemical and Sensory Quality of Kratom Herbal Tea (Mitragyna speciosa)

Indonesia has a lot of large forests with a diversity of plant species. That diversity of plants can potentially be used as medicinal plants. Indonesians have long identified many plants with medicinal benefits as an effort to overcome various health problems, one of the plant is the kratom (Mitragyna speciosa). Kratom leaves are consumed as tea by brewing it with hot water. Some Kapuas Hulu people use sweeteners such as honey, to reduce the bitterness of kratom. The mixture of kratom herbal tea added with sweet honey is expected to produce sensory and functional attribute which will affect consumers in choosing products. This experiment used a Randomized Block Design (RBD). Statistical analysis of research data using ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) test with a rate of 5%. The results of the sensory research of kratom herbal tea showed a significant effect on taste, but no significant effect on aroma and color, namely the color value of 2.08, aroma 2.28 and taste 2.25. The addition of honey variations to kratom herbal tea included vitamin C, flavonoids, alkaloids, and antioxidants, which was vitamin C content ranges from 8.9-13.5 mg/100 g, flavonoids 15.2-27.56 mg QE/ml, alkaloids 53.1-55.4% and antioxidant activity 39.1-80.1%.

Incredible Host Diversity and Regional Potential Distribution of an Oriental Parasitic Plant (Taxillus yadoriki)

This study investigates the host diversity and characteristics of the rare parasitic plant Silverberry-like taxillus (Taxillus yadoriki). Seogwipo, Jeju Island, where T. yadoriki grows naturally, was examined to clarify the diversity of host species, their location, and the part of the tree where T. yadoriki is attached. A total of 687 host trees were found. Taxillus yadoriki was intensively distributed in the lowlands below 200 m a.s.l. The host trees belonged to 40 species, four varieties, three cultivars, and two hybrids from 32 genera and 21 families, of which 23 taxa were identified as host plants for the first time in this study. Incredibly, this plant was found to be able to parasitize a variety of plants from 12 orders. Taxillus yadoriki was found to be parasitic in three orders of Gymnosperms, Ginkgoales, Cupressales, and Pinales, as well as nine orders of Angiosperms, including Magnoliales, Rosales, and Ericales. Rosaceae was the most diverse at 18.0%, and most species were broad-leaved and arboreal. Among them, Cryptomeria japonica and Litsea japonica had the highest frequency of parasitization and T. yadoriki was mainly attached to the upper part of the main tree and the main branch; as a result, T. yadoriki was distributed and showed specificity in the position of disturbance on the host. T. yadoriki’s specific distribution model was built as a Maxent program. The area under the curve of the receiver operation characteristic was 0.948 ± 0.026 (mean ± standard deviation), and the performance of the constructed model was excellent. Of the total eight environmental factors, density of artistic forest and meant temperature of coldest quarter accounted for 75.3% of the total importance, which was the main distribution determinant of species. In the average distribution probability map of T. yadoriki, the critical probability for determining distribution was calculated to be 0.2898 ± 0.1018. Accordingly, the distribution of species is predicted to expand from Jeju Island to the entire southern and southeastern coasts.

Exploration of mosses in urban-bogor habitats: Species identification, diversity and uniformity

This research focuses on the exploration of moss in the Bogor urban habitat, to explore the identification of moss types, measuring the level of diversity, and assessing the level of uniformity in the context of the urban environment. Data collection at the research location was divided into 3 stations with different environmental parameters. The method used in this research was an exploratory survey using the belt transect technique. The sampling method is purposive sampling with the help of a quadratic plot. The results of this research found 20 moss species identified on the green belt of Jalan Pajajaran, Bogor with a diversity index for the three stations respectively, namely 2.45; 2.02; and 1.78 which is classified into the medium category, and the uniformity index for the three stations respectively is 0.835; 0.814; 0.811 which is classified as high. These results show that the moss found can live by adapting to environmental factors in urban areas such as fluctuating temperature, humidity, and light intensity.

Trichoderma virens and Pseudomonas chlororaphis Differentially Regulate Maize Resistance to Anthracnose Leaf Blight and Insect Herbivores When Grown in Sterile versus Non-Sterile Soils.

Soil-borne Trichoderma spp. have been extensively studied for their biocontrol activities against pathogens and growth promotion ability in plants. However, the beneficial effect of Trichoderma on inducing resistance against insect herbivores has been underexplored. Among diverse Trichoderma species, consistent with previous reports, we showed that root colonization by T. virens triggered induced systemic resistance (ISR) to the leaf-infecting hemibiotrophic fungal pathogens Colletotrichum graminicola. Whether T. virens induces ISR to insect pests has not been tested before. In this study, we investigated whether T. virens affects jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and defense against fall armyworm (FAW) and western corn rootworm (WCR). Unexpectedly, the results showed that T. virens colonization of maize seedlings grown in autoclaved soil suppressed wound-induced production of JA, resulting in reduced resistance to FAW. Similarly, the bacterial endophyte Pseudomonas chlororaphis 30-84 was found to suppress systemic resistance to FAW due to reduced JA. Further comparative analyses of the systemic effects of these endophytes when applied in sterile or non-sterile field soil showed that both T. virens and P. chlororaphis 30-84 triggered ISR against C. graminicola in both soil conditions, but only suppressed JA production and resistance to FAW in sterile soil, while no significant impact was observed when applied in non-sterile soil. In contrast to the effect on FAW defense, T. virens colonization of maize roots suppressed WCR larvae survival and weight gain. This is the first report suggesting the potential role of T. virens as a biocontrol agent against WCR.

The gene “degrees of kevin bacon” (dokb) regulates a social network behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster

Social networks are a mathematical representation of interactions among individuals which are prevalent across various animal species. Studies of human populations have shown the breadth of what can spread throughout a social network: obesity, smoking cessation, happiness, drug use and divorce. ‘Betweenness centrality’ is a key property of social networks that indicates an individual’s importance in facilitating communication and cohesion within the network. Heritability of betweenness centrality has been suggested in several species, however the genetic regulation of this property remains enigmatic. Here, we demonstrate that the gene CG14109, referred to as degrees of kevin bacon (dokb), influences betweenness centrality in Drosophila melanogaster. We identify strain-specific alleles of dokb with distinct amino acid sequences and when the dokb allele is exchanged between strains, flies exhibit the betweenness centrality pattern dictated by the donor allele. By inserting a GAL4 reporter into the dokb locus, we confirm that dokb is expressed in the central nervous system. These findings define a novel genetic entry point to study social network structure and thereby establish gene-to-social structure relationships. While dokb sequence homology is exclusive to Diptera, we anticipate that dokb-associated molecular pathways could unveil convergent neural mechanisms of social behaviour that apply in diverse animal species.

Me31B: a key repressor in germline regulation and beyond.

Maternally Expressed at 31B (Me31B), an evolutionarily conserved ATP-dependent RNA helicase, plays an important role in the development of the germline across diverse animal species. Its cellular functionality has been posited as a translational repressor, participating in various RNA metabolism pathways to intricately regulate the spatiotemporal expression of RNAs. Despite its evident significance, the precise role and mechanistic underpinnings of Me31B remain insufficiently understood. This article endeavors to comprehensively review historic and recent research on Me31B, distill the major findings, discern generalizable patterns in Me31B's functions across different research contexts, and provide insights into its fundamental role and mechanism of action. The primary focus of this article centers on elucidating the role of Drosophila Me31B within the germline, while concurrently delving into pertinent research on its orthologs within other species and cellular systems.

The Arrow Macambira (Encholirium spectabile: Bromeliaceae) as an Important Habitat for the Arthropod Fauna in Rocky Outcrops of the Brazilian Semi-Arid Region.

Bromeliads play a vital role in preserving biodiversity in the Neotropical region. To understand their impact on arthropod diversity in Brazil's semi-arid region, we studied the rupicolous bromeliad Encholirium spectabile. From 2011 to 2018, we observed the arthropod fauna in E. spectabile clumps, documenting the associated taxa, their abundance, and interactions. We also investigated how seasonality affects arthropod richness and composition during the dry and rainy seasons. Over the observation period, 15 orders and 57 arthropod families were recorded in association with E. spectabile. Insecta dominated, followed by predatory chelicerates. Eight usage categories were identified, with Shelter being the most prevalent, followed by Predators, Nesters, and Nectarivores. Significant differences in taxonomic richness were noted between rainy and dry seasons, with the rainy season exhibiting higher diversity. Seasonal variation was also observed in species composition. Clumps of E. spectabile emerged as crucial habitats for surrounding arthropod fauna. This research underscores the importance of non-phylotelm bromeliads, particularly in high abiotic stress environments like semi-arid regions. The taxonomic diversity observed aligns with findings from diverse environments, shedding light on the relevance of E. spectabile for associated arthropod fauna. These results prompt further exploration of non-phylotelm bromeliads in semi-arid settings, providing a fresh perspective on their significance in shaping arthropod communities.

Host influence on the eukaryotic virome of sympatric mosquitoes and abundance of diverse viruses with a broad host range.

Mosquitoes harbor a large diversity of eukaryotic viruses. Those viromes probably influence mosquito physiology and the transmission of human pathogens. Nevertheless, their ecology remains largely unstudied. Here, we address two key questions in virome ecology. First, we assessed the influence of mosquito species on virome taxonomic diversity and relative abundance. Contrary to most previous studies, the potential effect of the habitat was explicitly included. Thousands of individuals of Culex poicilipes and Culex tritaeniorhynchus, two vectors of viral diseases, were concomitantly sampled in three habitats over two years. A total of 95 viral taxa from 25 families were identified with meta-transcriptomics, with 75% of taxa shared by both mosquitoes. Viromes significantly differed by mosquito species but not by habitat. Differences were largely due to changes in relative abundance of shared taxa. Then, we studied the diversity of viruses with a broad host range. We searched for viral taxa shared by the two Culex species and Aedes vexans, another disease vector, present in one of the habitats. Twenty-six out of the 163 viral taxa were found in the three mosquitoes. These taxa encompassed 14 families. A database analysis supported broad host ranges for many of those viruses, as well as a widespread geographical distribution. Thus, the viromes of mosquitoes from the same genera mainly differed in the relative abundance of shared taxa, whereas differences in viral diversity dominated between mosquito genera. Whether this new model of virome diversity and structure applies to other mosquito communities remains to be determined.