Unexpected Species Research Articles

The impact of stellar companion UV photons on the chemistry of the circumstellar environments of AGB stars

ABSTRACT Spherical asymmetries are prevalent within the outflows of AGB stars. Since binary interaction with a stellar or planetary companion is thought to be the underlying mechanism behind large-scale structures, we included the effects of UV radiation originating from a stellar companion in our chemical kinetics model. The one-dimensional model provides a first approximation of its effects on the chemistry throughout the outflow. The presence of a close-by stellar companion can strongly influence the chemistry within the entire outflow. Its impact depends on the intensity of the radiation (set by the stellar radius and blackbody temperature) and on the extinction, the UV radiation experiences (set by the outflow density, density structure, and assumed radius of dust formation). Parent species can be photodissociated by the companion, initiating a rich photon-driven chemistry in the inner parts of the outflow. The outcome depends on the balance between two-body reactions and photoreactions. If two-body reactions dominate, chemical complexity within the outflow increases. This can make the abundance profiles of daughters appear like those of parents, with a larger inner abundance and a Gaussian decline. If photoreactions dominate, the outflow can appear molecule-poor. We model three stellar companions. The impact of a red dwarf companion is limited. Solar-like companions show the largest effect, followed by a white dwarf. A stellar companion can also lead to the formation of unexpected species. The outflow’s molecular content, especially combined with abundance profiles, can indicate a stellar companion’s presence. Our results pave the way for further outflow-specific (three-dimensional) model development.

A surface-promoted redox reaction occurs spontaneously on solvating inorganic aerosol surfaces.

A surface-promoted sulfate-reducing ammonium oxidation reaction was discovered to spontaneously take place on common inorganic aerosol surfaces undergoing solvation. Several key intermediate species—including elemental sulfur (S0), bisulfide (HS−), nitrous acid (HONO), and aqueous ammonia [NH3(aq)]—were identified as reaction components associated with the solvation process. Depth profiles of relative species abundance showed the surface propensity of key species. The species assignments and depth profile features were supported by classical and first-principles molecular dynamics calculations, and a detailed mechanism was proposed to describe the processes that led to unexpected products during salt solvation. This discovery revealed chemistry that is distinctly linked to a solvating surface and has great potential to illuminate current puzzles within heterogeneous chemistry.

Protected areas enter a new era of uncertain challenges: extinction of a non‐exigent falcon in Doñana National Park

Protected areas are supposed to maintain viable populations of plant and animal taxa and shield them from anthropogenic threats, but this role is increasingly under scrutiny. Here, we document the alarming extinction of a small falcon, the Eurasian hobby Falco subbuteo, in Doñana National Park, an iconic protected area renowned for its rich predator community. Hobbies were originally abundant at 50–60 pairs and acted as unique specialist hunters of swifts and dragonflies. This diet implies a unique niche within the raptor assemblage and frequent ranging over agricultural areas surrounding the park. The high density of other raptors likely constrained habitat availability. Predation was the main cause of breeding failure, and hatching and breeding success were always low, especially in drought years, and declined progressively through time. The extinction occurred rapidly after 2000 with several clues suggesting the synergistic contribution of prey depletion, farmland intensification, chemical contamination, predation and climate warming. Lack of detailed monitoring prevented a clear assessment of the relative role of these factors, but most of them seemed traceable to farming practices and climate change, i.e. large-scale drivers generated outside the Park. The documented extinction is alarming because this species is not particularly exigent, it may imply widespread declines of other species, and because this loss adds to the imminent local extinction of another raptor with profoundly different requirements, suggesting mounting, broad-level pressures affecting the whole ecosystem. This unforseen, rapid extinction in a Park that dedicates much effort to raptor management offers broad-scale reflections. Climate change and growing anthropogenic pressures will make unexpected species losses increasingly common in protected areas, which will face growing difficulties in identifying decline-drivers and in performing their protective task. Increased knowledge, quality monitoring and rapid management action will be needed for protected areas to deliver their role, but this will require increased funding.

Adenovirus Diversity in Fur Seal and Penguin Colonies of South America.

Adenoviruses are medium size nonenveloped viruses with a trend of coevolution with their hosts. We surveyed South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) and Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) for adenoviruses at two sites from 2009 to 2012. Despite the common pattern of host specificity, some of the adenoviruses in our study were present in samples from unexpected host species. We identified mastadenoviruses, aviadenoviruses, and siadenoviruses in A. australis from Peru and Chile and in S. humboldti from Peru. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) significantly reduces the productivity of the Humboldt upwelling system, which can change trophic and other ecological interactions, facilitating exposure to new pathogens. One aviadenovirus was detected in both the penguins and the fur seals, an interclass distance. This finding occurred only during the 2009 ENSO and not in 2010 or 2012. Further studies of viral diversity in sites with high-density mixed species populations are necessary to better understand viral evolution and the effect of environmental change on viral evolution and host specificity.

Evolving the capacity for socially guided vocal learning in songbirds: a preliminary study.

Socially guided vocal learning, the ability to use contingent reactions from social partners to guide immature vocalizations to more mature forms, is thought to be a rare ability known to be used only by humans, marmosets and two unrelated songbird species (brown-headed cowbirds and zebra finches). However, this learning strategy has never been investigated in the vast majority of species that are known to modify their vocalizations over development. We propose a novel, preliminary evolutionary modelling approach that uses ecological, reproductive and developmental traits to predict which species may incorporate social influences as part of their vocal learning system. We demonstrate our model using data from 28 passerines. We found three highly predictive traits: temporal overlap between sensory (memorization) and sensorimotor (practice) phases of song learning, song used for mate attraction, and social gregariousness outside the breeding season. Species with these traits were distributed throughout the clade, suggesting that a trait-based approach may yield new insights into the evolution of learning strategies that cannot be gleaned from phylogenetic relatedness alone. Our model suggests several previously uninvestigated and unexpected species as likely socially guided vocal learners and offers new insight into the evolution and development of vocal learning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.

Comparison of {O,S}- vs {N,S}-donor ligands in PtNi heterobimetallic lantern complexes

A pair of thiocarboxylate lantern complexes, [PtNi(SAc)4(L)] (L = pyCN (2), HpipCN (3)) and three new {N,S} chelated mercaptopyridine lantern complexes [PtNi(mpyS)4(L)] (L = H2O (4), MeCN (5), pyCN (6)) have been synthesized and characterized by SCXRD, 1H NMR and UV–vis spectroscopies, as well as elemental analysis and RT solution magnetization. A detailed structural comparison was made of the {O,S} and {N,S} donor systems that demonstrates that the stronger field mercaptopyridine ligand decreases the Pt (donor) – M (acceptor) character within the lantern, reducing the Pt(II) Lewis acidity and therefore preventing the formation of intermolecular interactions in Ni(II) complexes 4–6. An unexpected pentameric species [Pt(PtNi(mpyS)4(Cl))2] (7) was also formed, albeit in very low quantities, that showed the importance of the choice of Ni(II) starting material. Additionally, the development of an improved air- and water-stable synthesis for the formation of the homoleptic, [Pt2(pyS)4], is reported.

The diversity of saproxylic beetles’ community from the Natural Reserve Voievodeasa Forest, North-Eastern Romania

Nature reserves harbour considerable richness and diversity of saproxylic organisms since dead wood is preserved in situ, this being also the case of Voivodeasa beech-spruce-fir forest in North-Eastern Romania, the area investigated under the present research. Flight interception traps were employed to capture insects during a vegetation season with the goal to characterize saproxylic Coleoptera community in terms of diversity and several other structural features. Among the captured insects, the majority pertained to obligate saproxylic species (217 species). However, the unexpected high species richness corresponded to an area with modest representation of deadwood due to previous status of commercial forest. The identified beetles were members of different habitat-guilds depending on what type of substrate they colonized: recently dead wood (23%), decomposed dead wood (41%), wood inhabiting fungi (34%) and treehollow detritus (2%). According to their trophic position, the identified saproxylic beetles pertained to the following guilds: xylophagous (40%), mycetophagous (39%), predatory (14%), and species relying on other food resources. The observed richness corresponded to the case of hyperdiverse communities where sampling never leads to the stabilization of species richness under a realistic sampling scheme. The diversity profiles constructed on Shannon, Gini-Simpson, Berger-Parker and evenness indices for the pooled inventory and for separate samples across the vegetation season indicated the aggregated saproxylic community as highly diverse and highly uneven, with rich representation of rare species, dominated by few abundant species. We assembled four bipartite, unweighted, and undirected networks to approach the temporal changes across the sampling period extended over one vegetation season. The topology of beetles’ community and of the three main trophic guilds (xylophagous, mycetophagous and predatory) networks linked to time sequences are characterized by high connectance, high nestedness and modularity, with the exception of the mycetophagous sub-network not displaying significant modularity. Among the identified species, 13% indicate high degree of naturalness of the Voievodeasa forest. 62 of the identified species are included in the Red List of European Saproxylic Beetles of which five are near threatened (Protaetia fieberi, Cucujus cinnaberinus, Crepidophorus mutilatus, Ceruchus chrysomelinus, Prostomis mandibularis), Ischnodes sanguinolentus is vulnerable and Rhysodes sulcatus is an endangered species. During the study, two Coleoptera species, new for Romanian insect fauna were identified: Denticollis interpositus Roubal, 1941 and Hylis procerulus (Mannerheim 1823).

The diversity of saproxylic beetles’ from the Natural Reserve Voievodeasa forest, North-Eastern Romania

Nature reserves harbor considerable richness and diversity of saproxylic organisms since dead wood is preserved in situ , this being also the case of Voivodeasa beech-spruce-fir forest in North-Eastern Romania, the area investigated under the present research. The employed sampling design consisted in 20 flight interception traps placed in a square grid (100 x 100 m). The beetle content of the traps was collected every two weeks, from May to September. The number of intercepted beetles reached 13,554 individuals, of which 7,174 individuals (assigned to 336 species placed in 217 genera and 58 families) were identified at species level and 6,390 individuals, at genus or family level. The majority of the identified species were obligate saproxylic species (217 species). However, the unexpected high species richness corresponded to an area with modest representation of deadwood due to previous status of commercial forest. The identified beetles were members of different habitat-guilds depending on what type of substrate they colonize: recently dead wood (23%), decomposed dead wood (41%), wood inhabiting fungi (34%) and tree-hollow detritus (2%). According to their trophic position, the identified saproxylic beetles pertained to the following guilds: xylophagous (40%), mycetophagous (39%), predatory (14%), and species relying on other food resources (5%). Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling ordination using Bray-Curtis distance, performed to compare the saproxylic beetles’community at different sampling dates across the vegetation season suggested that species turn-over took place in the time window of one month. The analysis of abundance/dominance structure of the saproxylic beetle community employing classical community indices (abundance, dominance, constancy and Dzuba index) showed that 7% of the species were abundant, and 68% were rare, Fisher’s log series fitting the distribution of abundances. In terms of constancy, 11% were eu-constant and 62% - accidental species. Considering the dominance, only 0.4% represented eu-dominant species while 89% were sub-recedent species. According to Dzuba ecological significance index, four species were characteristic for the saproxylic beetle community: Ptilinus pecticornis, Enicmus rugosus, Cis rugulosus and Taphorychus bicolor , most of the identified species being accessory or accidental (33% and 65%). PCA ordination performed on abundance constancy, dominance and ecological significance scores, showed that all indices were highly correlated with PC1 and further testing using multivariate regression with dominance held as independent variable, showed high correlation among indices. Species ranked according to these indices as rare, accidental or accesory clustered separatelly in the ordination space while dominant and eu-dominant species established another distinct cluster. Species richness estimation based on Chao 1 nonparametric index exceeded the observed richness of saproxylic beetles (estimated number of species = 266.67, observed number of species = 217). Inspection of the individual-based rarefaction curve showed that the number of species did not stabilize after pooling all captured individuals in all samples across the sampling period. The observed richness corresponds to the case of hyperdiverse communities where sampling never leads to the stabilization of species richness under a realistic sampling scheme. Species diversity: The rank-abundance curves constructed on aggregated catches and catches of saproxylic beetles at different sampling dates showed variation in terms of species richness and eveness, with species re-ordering across the sampling period. The diversity profiles constructed on Shannon, Gini-Simpson, Berger-Parker and eveness indices for the pooled sample and for separate samples across the vegetation season indicated the aggregated saproxylic community as highly diverse and also highly uneven, with rich representation of rare species, dominated by few abundant species contrasting the community at the end of the vegetation season characterized by high eveness and few species. Network structure: We assembled four bipartite, unweighted, and undirected networks to approach the temporal changes across the sampling period extended over one vegetation season using the specific metrics derived from the community network analysis: connectance, nestedness, average degree, modularity. The networks corresponded to aggregated community of saproxylic beetles and to xylophagous, mycetophagous and predatory guilds. The topology of beetles’ community and of the three main trophc guilds networks linked to time sequences are characterized by high connectance, high nestedness and modularity, with the exception of the mycetophgous sub-network not displaying significant modularity. The topologies reflect the temporal partition of the ecological niche, with nestedness and modularity relating to species’phenologies during the adult stage. Among the identified species, 13% indicate high degree of naturalness of the Voievodeasa forest: of these, 9 species are old-growth forests relicts. Other 62 species are included in the Red List of European Saproxylic Beetles of which five are near threatened ( Protaetia fieberi, Cucujus cinnaberinus, Crepidophorus mutilatus, Ceruchus chrysomelinus, Prostomis mandibularis ), Ischnodes sanguinolentus is vulnerable and Rhysodes sulcatus is an endangered species. During the study, two Coleoptera species, new for Romanian insect fauna were identified: Denticollis interpositus Roubal, 1941 and Hylis procerulus (Mannerheim 1823).

The value of quantitative environmental DNA analyses for the management of invasive and endangered native fish

Abstract Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring is a useful tool for species detection but its use in addressing management questions remains scarce. One factor limiting the use of eDNA as a routine monitoring tool is uncertainty around the potential of eDNA data to estimate species abundance. While several confounding factors limit the ability of eDNA data to estimate absolute abundances at large spatial and temporal scales, eDNA data have the potential to estimate relative species abundances patterns at smaller scales, and this information can assist management. Environmental DNA and conventional monitoring surveys were conducted in the Abercrombie River catchment (Australia) where an incursion of the invasive redfin perch (Perca fluviatulis) threatens the survival of a population of endangered Macquarie perch (Macquaria australasica). Species‐specific assays were used to quantify eDNA concentrations from water samples and estimate the relative abundance of both species. Electrofishing and fyke netting surveys were used to validate key observations from the eDNA survey. Environmental DNA of both species was detected at all sites except one, where redfin perch DNA was not detected. Between species comparisons of eDNA concentrations revealed a clear negative relationship between the eDNA concentrations of both species, consistent with other evidence of redfin perch having a negative impact on Macquarie perch populations. Between site comparisons of redfin perch eDNA concentrations showed evidence of a novel incursion of the species in the upper reaches of the Abercrombie River and conventional monitoring in the following year confirmed the pattern of increased redfin perch abundances from downstream to upstream sites. Relative comparisons of eDNA concentrations of aquatic species can be used to assess species interactions and reveal unexpected species abundance patterns (e.g. allowing inferences of novel incursions of invasive species). This information is critical to evaluate current, and design future, management strategies. Consequently, while deriving absolute species abundances from quantitative eDNA data may remain challenging, the use of quantitative eDNA surveys can provide relative abundance patterns valuable to the conservation and management of invasive and endangered species. The quantitative nature of eDNA survey data has been debated extensively in the current literature because of potential confounding influences. Current study results show that these confounding influences may be less problematic at small spatial scales and quantitative eDNA data can be effective to monitor relative species abundances patterns.

Some additional comments on the Ananteridae or ‘Ananteris group’ and description of a new species of Ananteris Thorell from Central Brazil (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Some additional comments are proposed on the historical aspects of the subfamily Ananterinae (sensu Pocock 1900). The worldwide pattern of distribution of the elements associated with this subfamily is briefly discussed. The biogeographic patterns presented by extant and fossil elements of this subfamily confirm not only the characteristics of a group presenting a typical Gondwanian distribution, but may also correspond to older Pangaean patterns. One unexpected new species is described for the genus Ananteris Thorell from the State of Goiás in Central Brazil, Ananteris martensi sp. n., suggesting that the diversity levels of the Cerrados formations are most certainly higher than what is normally admitted.

Near-Ambient-Temperature Dehydrogenative Synthesis of the Amide Bond: Mechanistic Insight and Applications.

The current existing methods for the amide bond synthesis via acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling of amines and alcohols all require high reaction temperatures for effective catalysis, typically involving reflux in toluene, limiting their potential practical applications. Herein, we report a system for this reaction that proceeds under mild conditions (reflux in diethyl ether, boiling point 34.6 °C) using ruthenium PNNH complexes. The low-temperature activity stems from the ability of Ru–PNNH complexes to activate alcohol and hemiaminals at near-ambient temperatures through the assistance of the terminal N–H proton. Mechanistic studies reveal the presence of an unexpected aldehyde-bound ruthenium species during the reaction, which is also the catalytic resting state. We further utilize the low-temperature activity to synthesize several simple amide bond-containing commercially available pharmaceutical drugs from the corresponding amines and alcohols via the dehydrogenative coupling method.

A new record of the Jinga shrimp Metapenaeus affinis (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) (Decapoda, Penaeidae), on the Egyptian Coasts, the Mediterranean Sea

An unexpected new Metapenaeus shrimp species has arrived to the coastal water of Alexandria City, Egypt. Morphological and molecular studies were conducted for its identification. The results revealed that it is the Indo-West Pacific species, Metapenaeus affinis (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), which is considered as a new addition to the already present local penaeidaespecies; Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricius, 1798) and Metapenaeus stebbingi (Nobili, 1904). Large numbers of Metapenaeus affinis were observed and collected by the Egyptian fishermen from the coastal waters of Alexandria City, Egypt, during the study period (2020–2021), which indicates its establishment in the area. A recommendation was presented for further studies regarding the suggested ways of introduction and the prediction for future new species appearance. Such phenomenon requires international efforts to deal with the non-indigenous species’ entries that are recently intensified on the global and regional level.

Unexpected genomic, biosynthetic and species diversity of Streptomyces bacteria from bats in Arizona and New Mexico, USA

BackgroundAntibiotic-producing Streptomyces bacteria are ubiquitous in nature, yet most studies of its diversity have focused on free-living strains inhabiting diverse soil environments and those in symbiotic relationship with invertebrates.ResultsWe studied the draft genomes of 73 Streptomyces isolates sampled from the skin (wing and tail membranes) and fur surfaces of bats collected in Arizona and New Mexico. We uncovered large genomic variation and biosynthetic potential, even among closely related strains. The isolates, which were initially identified as three distinct species based on sequence variation in the 16S rRNA locus, could be distinguished as 41 different species based on genome-wide average nucleotide identity. Of the 32 biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) classes detected, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, siderophores, and terpenes were present in all genomes. On average, Streptomyces genomes carried 14 distinct classes of BGCs (range = 9–20). Results also revealed large inter- and intra-species variation in gene content (single nucleotide polymorphisms, accessory genes and singletons) and BGCs, further contributing to the overall genetic diversity present in bat-associated Streptomyces. Finally, we show that genome-wide recombination has partly contributed to the large genomic variation among strains of the same species.ConclusionsOur study provides an initial genomic assessment of bat-associated Streptomyces that will be critical to prioritizing those strains with the greatest ability to produce novel antibiotics. It also highlights the need to recognize within-species variation as an important factor in genetic manipulation studies, diversity estimates and drug discovery efforts in Streptomyces.

Interference-free calibration with first-order instrumental data and multivariate curve resolution. When and why?

The possibility of building an interference-free calibration with first-order instrumental data with multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-squares (MCR-ALS) has been a recent topic of interest. When the protocols were successful, MCR-ALS proved to be suitable for the extraction of chemically meaningful information from first-order calibration datasets, even in the presence of unexpected species, i.e., constituents present in the test samples but absent in the calibration set. This may represent an interesting advantage over classical first-order models, e.g. partial least-squares regression (PLS). However, the predictive capacity of MCR-ALS models can be severely affected by rotational ambiguity (RA), which is usually present in first-order datasets when interferents occur, and has not been always characterized in the published analytical protocols. The aim of this report is to discuss important issues regarding MCR-ALS modelling of first-order data for a calibration scenario with a single analyte and one interferent through simulated and experimental data. Specifically, the question of when and why MCR-ALS allows one to build interference-free calibration models with first-order data is studied in terms of signal overlapping, extent of RA, and especially the role of ALS initialization procedures in prediction performance. The aim is to alert analytical chemists that interference-free MCR-ALS with first-order data may not always be successful.

Challenges in assessing the Neotropical fishes using DNA metabarcoding

Species richness is a metric of biodiversity usually used in fish community assessment for monitoring programs. This metric is often obtained using traditional fisheries methods that rely on capture of target organisms, resulting in underestimation of fish species. DNA metabarcoding has been recognized as a powerful noninvasive alternative tool for fish biomonitoring and management. Despite the increasing popularity of this method for the assessment of aquatic megadiverse ecosystems, its implementation for studying the highly diverse Neotropical ichthyofauna still presents some challenges. One of them is to devise what primer set could reliably amplify the DNA of all fish species from a megadiverse river basin and have enough resolution to identify them. In order to identify and overcome these drawbacks, we have investigated the efficiency of the metabarcoding approach on Neotropical fishes using a mock sample containing genomic DNA of 18 fish species from the Jequitinhonha River basin, Eastern Brazil. We compared three primer sets targeting the 12S rRNA gene: two universal and widely used markers for fish metabarcoding [MiFish (~170bp) and Teleo_1 (~60bp)], and NeoFish (~190bp), recently developed by our research group specifically for the identification of Neotropical fishes (Milan et al., 2020). Two samples amplified using three primers were sequenced in a single multiplexed Illumina MiniSeq run, using normalized and non-normalized pools. Bioinformatic analyses were performed using a DADA2/Phyloseq based pipeline to perform filtering steps and to assign Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs). We used a custom 12S reference sequence database that included 190 specimens representing 101 species and 70 genera from the Jequitinhonha and São Francisco river basins. A total of 187 ASVs were recovered: 79, 66 and 42 for NeoFish, MiFish and Teleo_1, respectively. ASVs of unexpected species were identified for both pools (Fig. 1), though each of these ASVs had an abundance of less than 50 copies. In addition, species of the Hoplias and Prochilodus genera could not be identified at the species level, due to identical sequences within each genus, possibly because of the insufficient variation within the 12S region recovered by these primers’ amplicons. Unexpectedly, although a single individual of each species was placed in the pools, more than one ASV was identified for some species, likely caused by PCR biases. Overall, all primer sets displayed similar taxonomic resolution for the DNA pools and recovered all species, except for NeoFish, which could not detect Steindachneridion amblyurum due to an incompatibility in the 3’ of the NeoFish forward primer and Teleo_1, which could not identify Steindachnerina elegans. These results highlight the need of reliable databases in order to enable the full assignment of ASVs and OTUs to species level, and the importance of calibrating the DNA metabarcoding approach with mock samples to identify weaknesses and pivotal steps prior to the application on large scale DNA based biodiversity evaluation, that can help with the complex task of conserving the megadiverse Neotropical ichthyofauna.

Far from home: Genetic variability of Knipowitschia sp. from Italy revealed unexpected species in coastal lagoons of the Tyrrhenian coast

Coastal lagoons are resilient and productive ecosystems that support high biological and habitat diversity, but are increasingly affected by several threats due to human exploitation. Many resident species of these environments show a restricted geographical range and a strict association with specific habitats, thus they could represent ecological indicators of these ecosystems. Data on the genetic variability distribution in populations of these species are crucial to identify the presence of different evolutionary units across their geographical distribution ranges and to plan actions for their management and conservation. In this context, the assessment of the genetic variability and structure of Italian specimens of the Adriatic dwarf goby Knipowitschia panizzae, a brackish species endemic in the Adriatic Sea, and included among the species of Community interest in Annex II of Habitats Directive, was carried out. To this purpose, goby samples were collected both from Italian sites where the species is native (Adriatic) and non-native (Tyrrhenian), probably introduced due to the practice of stocking lakes and coastal lagoons with juvenile of euryhaline species to sustain local fisheries. Results show the presence of high values of haplotype diversity, and no shared haplotypes between fish from sites where the species is native or introduced. Moreover, in Tyrrhenian Italian lagoons we identified an allochthonous species of Knipowitschia, previously undetected in Italy: the Corfu dwarf goby K. goerneri. This species was originally described as endemic to the Korission Lagoon catchment on Corfu Island, but recently found also in Butrinti lagoon in Albania. The presence of this species, that almost totally replaced Adriatic dwarf goby in the Tyrrhenian lagoons under study, can be ascribed to the stockings of wild fry of commercially important species originating from Balkan countries.

Barcoding animal species

Barcoding animal species

Continuum Description of the Role of Negative Transference Numbers on Ion Motion in Polymer Electrolytes

All-solid-state rechargeable batteries are considered to be the key solution for the development of next-generation electrical energy storage. Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have gained attention due to their electrochemical stability, non-flammability and processability.[1, 2] It is widely recognized that the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolytes is significantly lower than that of conventional liquid electrolytes. Recent studies have shown that salt diffusivity as well as cation transference number in polymer electrolytes is also lower than conventional electrolytes. [3-7] In fact, the cation transference number is negative in a narrow but important salt concentration window and it coincides with the peak in conductivity with respect to salt concentration. At a fundamental level, knowledge of these transport parameters can be used to characterize ion motion in SPEs. This knowledge is essential for predicting battery performance and may serve as a foundation for designing polymers with better performance.Recently, the experimental and theoretical approaches have been performed to better understand the transport of each ionic species. New experimental techniques such as electrophoretic NMR (eNMR) are emerging as powerful methods for directly measuring ion velocities in electrolytes under applied electric fields. [8-10] The standard approach to interpret these experiments is built on the assumption that electrolyte is dilute and thermodynamically ideal.[11] Timachova et al.[11] derived modified expressions for interpreting the eNMR data using concentrated solution theory. These expressions only apply at very early times after polarization when concentration gradients and diffusive fluxes can be neglected. However, they shed no light on the time- and space-dependence of the velocities of the cations and anions.The aim of this study is to provide a deeper understanding of the transient behavior of cations and anions in polymer electrolytes. We examine the role of diffusion and migration in a poly(ethylene oxide)-based (PEO) and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI) electrolytes using concentrated solution theory. This formulation was used to investigate how these negative transference numbers influence the magnitudes and directions of ion velocities when a fixed current is imposed on the electrolyte during the passage of current. Under the constraint of electroneutrality, this study reveals the interplay between diffusion and migration by thorough examination of the local velocity, salt concentration gradient, and flux of ions within the solution. Examining the differences in ion motion when the transference number is negative and comparing it to cases when it is positive, allows us to demonstrate the dynamic nature of the system during galvanostatic conditions. The study also reveals conditions where experimental methods need to focus in order to detect unexpected species migration under negative transference conditions.[1] M. Armand, Solid State Ionics, 9-10 (1983) 745-754.[2] A.K. Shukla, T.P. Kumar, Curr Sci India, 94 (2008) 314-331.[3] R. Bouchet, S. Maria, R. Meziane, A. Aboulaich, L. Lienafa, J.P. Bonnet, T.N.T. Phan, D. Bertin, D. Gigmes, D. Devaux, R. Denoyel, M. Armand, Nat Mater, 12 (2013) 452-457.[4] C.Y. Tang, K. Hackenberg, Q. Fu, P.M. Ajayan, H. Ardebili, Nano Lett, 12 (2012) 1152-1156.[5] J.W. Park, K. Yoshida, N. Tachikawa, K. Dokko, M. Watanabe, J Power Sources, 196 (2011) 2264-2268.[6] Y.P. Ma, M. Doyle, T.F. Fuller, M.M. Doeff, L.C. Dejonghe, J. Newman, J Electrochem Soc, 142 (1995) 1859-1868.[7] D.M. Pesko, Z.G. Feng, S. Sawhney, J. Newman, V. Srinivasan, N.P. Balsara, J Electrochem Soc, 165 (2018) A3186-A3194.[8] Z.Y. Zhang, L.A. Madsen, J Chem Phys, 140 (2014).[9] M. Gouverneur, F. Schmidt, M. Schonhoff, Phys Chem Chem Phys, 20 (2018) 7470-7478.[10] M.P. Rosenwinkel, M. Schonhoff, J Electrochem Soc, 166 (2019) A1977-A1983.[11] K. Timachova, J. Newman, N.P. Balsara, J Electrochem Soc, 166 (2019) A264-A267.

Unexpected Species Identities and Interspecific Relationships in a Subterranean Beetle Lineage, the Pterostichus macrogenys Species Group (Coleoptera, Carabidae), Revealed by Fine-Scale Field Sampling and Detailed Morphological Comparisons.

Simple SummaryMorphological and ecological features are highly specialized among subterranean insect species. Studies of such features reveal the vast diversity of insect taxa and can also provide insight into the general mechanisms associated with species diversity. The Pterostichus macrogenys species group is an endemic subterranean Japanese carabid beetle lineage that shows marked regional differentiation. However, to date, its diversity has not been fully elucidated, partly due to the difficulty of sample collection. We examined 103 specimens from this species group, which were collected by fine-scale field sampling, and classified these into one new and eight known species. The results of this study revealed that some of these species have disjunct distributions, which have not been reported in this species group. More importantly, some species of this group coexisted in some localities; in most such cases, two species with different body sizes coexisted, implying a role of differential body size in promoting coexistence. In the remaining case, one large and two small species coexisted, and the two small species have male genitalia of different sizes; in this system, body and genital size differences appear to have different effects on coexistence, implying a species coexistence mechanism that has rarely been reported in insects.An endemic subterranean Japanese carabid beetle lineage, the Pterostichus macrogenys species group, was recently revealed to have marked regional differentiation. Studies of such features reveal insect species diversity and provide insight into the mechanisms driving species diversity. We examined specimens of this species group collected from the southern Tohoku District of Honshu, Japan, where its diversity has not yet been fully elucidated, using fine-scale field sampling and detailed comparative morphological analysis of male genitalia. In total, 103 specimens from 13 localities were classified into one new (P. monolineatus sp. n.) and eight known species. In four of the known species, we observed disjunct distributions, which have not previously been reported in this species group and may be more common than previously recognized. Species coexistence was observed at four sites, with two species of different body sizes coexisting at three sites and three species coexisting at the remaining site. The three coexisting species included one large and two small species, the latter of which have male genitalia of a different size. This newly discovered coexistence pattern implies separate effects of differential body and genital size in species coexistence, which has rarely been reported in insects.

Monopis jussii, a new species (Lepidoptera, Tineidae) inhabiting nests of the Boreal owl (Aegolius funereus).

Monopis jussii Kaila, Mutanen, Huemer, Karsholt & Autto, sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Tineidae) is described as a new species. It is closely related to the widespread and common M. laevigella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), but differs in its distinct COI DNA barcode sequences, four examined nuclear loci as well as details in forewing coloration and pattern. Most reared specimens of M. jussii have emerged from the nest remnants of the Boreal owl (Aegolius funereus (Linnaeus, 1758)), but also nests of the Ural owl (Strix uralensis Pallas, 1771) and the Great tit (Parus major Linnaeus, 1758) have been observed as suitable habitats. Based on the present knowledge, the new species has a boreo-montane distribution as it is recorded only from northern Europe and the Alps. Several extensive rearing experiments from Strix spp. nest remnants from southern Finland did not produce any M. jussii, but thousands of M. laevigella, suggesting that the species is lacking in the area or, more unlikely, that the nest of these owl species do not serve as good habitat for the new species. This unexpected species discovery highlights, once again, the usefulness of DNA barcoding in revealing the cryptic layers of biodiversity. To serve stability we select a neotype for Tinea laevigella [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775, and discuss the complicated synonymy and nomenclature of this species.