Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Adrian Garcia-Rodriguez, Bernd Lenzner, Clara Marino, Chunlong Liu, Julian A. Velasco, Celine Bellard, Jonathan M. Jeschke, Hanno Seebens, Franz Essl
Summary: Shifts between native and alien climatic niches pose challenges for predicting biological invasions, especially for insular species. This study analyzed alien occurrences of endemic insular amphibians, reptiles, and birds and found that climatic mismatches were common in invasions of birds and reptiles, but less common in amphibians. Several predictors were identified for climatic mismatches, which varied among taxonomic groups.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Danfeng Li, Yanjun Du, Wubing Xu, Danxiao Peng, Richard Primack, Guoke Chen, Ling Feng Mao, Keping Ma
Summary: The study found that phylogenetic signals in FDT increased with elevation and latitude. Pagel's lambda of FDT was negatively correlated with clade age but positively correlated with NRI. The primary variable affecting the phylogenetic signal of FDT for herbaceous species was precipitation in the wettest quarter.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Entomology
David A. Moo-Llanes, Ana C. Montes de Oca-Aguilar
Summary: The genetic structure of Psathyromyia shannoni ss. is associated with ecological adaptation rather than environmental factors. This study helps us understand the factors that limit the potential distribution of different genetic lineages.
MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Rodrigo Cogni, Tiago B. Quental, Paulo R. Guimaraes Jr
Summary: The classic paper by Ehrlich and Raven on coevolution has had a significant impact on the study of coevolution and has inspired generations of scientists. Their contributions include exploring the genetic mechanisms of coevolutionary interactions, investigating the association between coevolutionary diversification and ecological network organization, and examining micro- and macroevolutionary mechanisms and patterns under their hypothesis. This paper discusses overlooked aspects and future directions for the study of coevolutionary dynamics and diversification.
Article
Entomology
Paolo Biella, Aleksandar Cetkovic, Andrej Gogala, Johann Neumayer, Miklos Sarospataki, Peter Sima, Vladimir Smetana
Summary: The study found that the bumblebee species Bombus haematurus has naturally expanded to territories encompassing 20% of its historical distribution in 7 European countries, with no major niche shifts observed between newly colonized and historical areas. The range expansion was associated with warming temperatures during winter, suggesting that warmer winters may be linked to the process of natural colonization of new areas.
Article
Plant Sciences
Hong Qian, Michael Kessler, Jian Zhang, Yi Jin, Meichen Jiang
Summary: This study fills a critical knowledge gap by examining the relationships between the phylogenetic structure of ferns and climatic factors. The findings show that temperature-related variables explain more variation in phylogenetic structure than precipitation-related variables, and climate extremes have a stronger relationship than climate seasonality.
Article
Plant Sciences
Marcelo R. Rosas, Ricardo A. Segovia, Pablo C. Guerrero
Summary: Through comparing the species in South America and North America, we found that the distribution of the South American Astereae genus Haplopappus is influenced by climatic niche conservatism. There is a non-random distribution of species richness in central Chile, with endemic zones and transitional zones.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Erica K. Baken, Lauren E. Mellenthin, Dean C. Adams
Summary: The study investigated the historical transitions of lungless salamanders into and out of arboreal microhabitats, revealing that arboreal species tend to inhabit warmer, lower elevation regions compared to terrestrial species. Additionally, the analysis showed that arboreal species exhibit higher niche overlap with other arboreal species than with terrestrial species, suggesting that occupation of arboreal microhabitats may be dependent on specific climatic conditions. The study highlights the importance of micro-environmental conditions in shaping macroevolutionary patterns.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hong Qian, Michael Kessler, Yi Jin
Summary: The composition of fern assemblages along the Himalayan elevational gradient in Nepal shows strong signatures of evolutionary processes. Variables related to temperature and climatic extremes tend to play a more important role than precipitation- and seasonality-related variables in driving fern phylogenetic structure.
Article
Zoology
Miguel Penalver-Alcazar, Alberto Jimenez-Valverde, Pedro Aragon
Summary: Intraspecific variation impacts the performance of species distribution models, with geographically structured phylogenetic lineages showing differences in predicted potential distribution and environmental factors. Model predictive capacity varies depending on the algorithm used, and lineages exhibit low niche overlap, occurring in different environmental niches. Improved predictivity is observed in lineage-level distribution models, with partial spatial agreement between niche overlap and reported secondary contact zones.
Article
Forestry
Jake J. Grossman
Summary: The study compared the climatic niches of temperate maple taxa and assessed phylogenetic and continental patterns in niche overlap using global distribution data and new, fossil-calibrated phylogenies. The results suggest that there is limited evidence of phylogenetic signal in niche axes and overlap, indicating adaptive evolution in the genus's radiation out of East Asia.
Article
Plant Sciences
Maria Sanz-Arnal, Carmen Benitez-Benitez, Monica Miguez, Pedro Jimenez-Mejias, Santiago Martin-Bravo
Summary: Based on the reconstruction of current and past environmental spaces for mainland and Macaronesian species, as well as the study of bioclimatic niche evolution, it was found that the ecological requirements of Macaronesian species did not overlap with those of mainland species or Pliocene fossils. On the other hand, the niches of mainland species showed significant similarity and equivalence.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Sean D. Schoville, Sabrina Simon, Ming Bai, Zachary Beethem, Roman Y. Dudko, Monika J. B. Eberhard, Paul B. Frandsen, Simon C. Kuepper, Ryuichiro Machida, Max Verheij, Peter C. Willadsen, Xin Zhou, Benjamin Wipfler
Summary: This study reveals that evolutionary constraints in cold adaptation of Grylloblattodea have led to their relictual status, including the loss of inducible heat shock response under acute heat and cold stress, as well as positive selection on protein-coding genes related to cold adaptation. This suggests that the group has undergone evolutionary trade-offs to survive in cold habitats, making them highly vulnerable to climate change.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Omar Mejia, Norberto Martinez-Mendez, Fabian Perez-Miranda, Wilfredo A. Matamoros
Summary: This study evaluated the occurrence of phylogenetic niche evolution in the herichthyines clade and found signals of niche evolution in the last 14 Myr associated with the availability of new habitats promoting ecological opportunity within the clade. It also found that niche conservatism is equally strong in the fundamental and realized niches, indicating the need to evaluate the potential role of biotic interactions in the evolution of the niche in future studies.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Jedediah F. Brodie, Philip D. Mannion
Summary: Explanations for the latitudinal concentration of Earth's biodiversity fail to explain variations in the gradient over time. A hierarchy of factors driving latitudinal diversity distribution is proposed: climate is the main predictor over long time spans, habitat area is important when climatic gradients are shallow, and historical contingencies have a short-term influence at most due to niche conservatism. Therefore, although variable, latitudinal diversity gradients are largely predictable on Earth and potentially on other planets.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Leidys Murillo-Ramos, Egbert Friedrich, Steve Williams, Niklas Wahlberg, Gunnar Brehm, Pasi Sihvonen
Summary: Our study has revised the new Geometridae subfamily Epidesmiinae after 127 years, identifying its unique morphological characteristics and summarizing the diagnostic features of all geometrid subfamilies. Additionally, limited information on the biology and ecology of Epidesmiinae species has been provided, as well as the transfer of the genus Arcina from Oenochrominae s.l. to Epidesmiinae.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Kwaku Aduse-Poku, Erik van Bergen, Szabolcs Safian, Steve C. Collins, Rampal S. Etienne, Leonel Herrera-Alsina, Paul M. Brakefield, Oskar Brattstrom, David J. Lohman, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: Research on a radiation of insects in Africa revealed that only one lineage of Bicyclus butterflies radiated into the largest group of extant species during the early Miocene climate changes, while the other seven lineages diversified in more favorable late Miocene and Pleistocene conditions. This suggests that changing Neogene climate, uplift of eastern African orogens, and biotic interactions had varying effects on the different subclades of Bicyclus, leading to one of the most spectacular butterfly radiations in Africa.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Victoria G. Twort, Joel Minet, Christopher W. Wheat, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: The study demonstrates the utility of utilizing museum specimens and existing DNA extracts for whole genome sequencing, which is valuable for phylogenomic studies. By analyzing the genomes of Whalleyana genus and other species, the research provides insights into the evolutionary relationships and biodiversity, expanding our knowledge in the field.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Lukasz Przybylowicz, Marcin Wiorek, Anna Przystalkowska, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: The study focuses on the mysterious moth species Maculonaclia florida in Mauritius, investigating its phylogenetic relationships, environmental preferences, and potential evolutionary scenarios. Based on new material, the species is redescribed and placed within the Palaearctic Dysauxes genus. Threats to the species, as well as the correlation between wing venation variation and environmental stress, are highlighted.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pasi Sihvonen, Leidys Murillo-Ramos, Niklas Wahlberg, Axel Hausmann, Alberto Zilli, Michael Ochse, Hermann S. Staude
Summary: This study reevaluates the systematic position of Cartaletis dargei, a moth species from Tanzania, and suggests transferring it to the Noctuidae: Agaristinae family. The research also revises the genus Aletopus and highlights the challenges in interpreting biological diversity and species delimitation.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Leidys Murillo-Ramos, Pasi Sihvonen, Gunnar Brehm, Indiana C. Rlos-Malaver, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: Molecular DNA sequence data has greatly enriched the Colombian Geometridae database, including DNA barcodes, nuclear markers, photos of vouchers, and georeferenced occurrences of 281 specimens from different localities. This new genetic information will aid in advancing the systematics of Geometridae and establishing an illustrated catalogue for Colombian Geometridae.
BIODIVERSITY DATA JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Development Studies
Herve Corvellec, Johan Hultman, Anne Jerneck, Susanne Arvidsson, Johan Ekroos, Niklas Wahlberg, Timothy W. Luke
Summary: The overuse of resources is accelerating negative trends in climate change, ecosystem destruction, and biodiversity loss, pushing contemporary society towards or beyond the limits of planetary boundaries. It is therefore essential to reconsider the understanding of resources and their ethical, political, and environmental conditions in order to tackle the challenges posed by sustainable development goals.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nicolas Chazot, Fabien L. Condamine, Gytis Dudas, Carlos Pena, Ullasa Kodandaramaiah, Pavel Matos-Maravi, Kwaku Aduse-Poku, Marianne Elias, Andrew D. Warren, David J. Lohman, Carla M. Penz, Phil DeVries, Zdenek F. Fric, Soren Nylin, Chris Muller, Akito Y. Kawahara, Karina L. Silva-Brandao, Gerardo Lamas, Irena Kleckova, Anna Zubek, Elena Ortiz-Acevedo, Roger Vila, Richard Vane-Wright, Sean P. Mullen, Chris D. Jiggins, Christopher W. Wheat, Andre V. L. Freitas, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: The study finds that the global increase in species richness in butterflies towards the tropics is mainly influenced by global climate change and tropical niche conservatism. The Neotropical region has high diversity due to low extinction rates, while Southeast Asia has low speciation rates but serves as a main source of dispersal events throughout history.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Management
Johan Hultman, Herve Corvellec, Anne Jerneck, Susanne Arvidsson, Johan Ekroos, Clara Gustafsson, Fay Lundh Nilsson, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: In the era of global interconnectedness and environmental change, the pressure to identify, create, and exploit new resources is increasing. The concept of resourcification shifts focus from essentialist queries about the nature of resources to a focus on the social processes by which things are turned into resources. Resourcification provides a new conceptual framework for systematic exploration of the diversity of contexts, conditions, modes, and temporalities of resources.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Jadranka Rota, Victoria Twort, Andrea Chiocchio, Carlos Pena, Christopher W. Wheat, Lauri Kaila, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: This study assesses the causes and consequences of conflicting phylogenetic hypotheses in butterflies and moths. The researchers find that compositional bias and model violations may lead to inconsistent phylogenetic hypotheses. While there is some phylogenetic signal, certain relationships within the lepidopteran tree of life remain unresolved, highlighting the challenge of taxon sampling in phylogenomic analyses.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zdenek F. Fric, Barbora Martinkova, Michal Rindos, Alena Suchackova Bartonova, Niklas Wahlberg, Jana Papp Maresova
Summary: This study investigates the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of Jesters, a genus of butterflies mainly found in the Oriental region. The results suggest that all species of Symbrenthia form a single monophyletic group, except for S. hippalus which has a different relationship. A new genus, Mynbrenthia, is described to accommodate the taxon hippalus. The genus Symbrenthia is divided into four sub-groups, with different colonization patterns in the Indo-Australian Archipelago and continental Asia. The genus likely originated in Sundaland or continental Asia during the Eocene.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Hamid Reza Ghanavi, Victoria Twort, Tobias Joannes Hartman, Reza Zahiri, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: The use of molecular data has revolutionized the study of evolutionary history. Mitochondrial DNA has been an important source of genetic data, but has limitations in resolving higher-level phylogenetic relationships. With the emergence of high throughput sequencing technologies, more mitochondrial genomes are available, showing potential in resolving lower-level relationships.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Leidys Murillo-Ramos, Victoria Twort, Niklas Wahlberg, Pasi Sihvonen
Summary: Several unanswered questions regarding tree topology in Geometrid moths have been addressed using a phylogenomic approach. Incongruences were found in the tree topologies, leading to proposed changes in taxonomy and the classification of subfamilies.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Reza Zahiri, Jeremy D. Holloway, Jadranka Rota, B. Christian Schmidt, Markku J. Pellinen, Ian J. Kitching, Scott E. Miller, Niklas Wahlberg
Summary: In this study, a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Euteliidae was conducted to clarify deep divergences and evolutionary relationships. The analysis utilized a dataset consisting of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA loci and applied model-based phylogenetic methods. The results revealed two subfamilies, Euteliinae and Stictopterinae, and two tribes, Stictopterini and Odontini. Taxonomic revisions were needed as several genera were found to be polyphyletic. New genera were described and taxonomic changes were established. The study also provided insights into the divergence times and larval hostplants for the family.
SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Kevin L. Keegan, Jadranka Rota, Reza Zahiri, Alberto Zilli, Niklas Wahlberg, B. Christian Schmidt, J. Donald Lafontaine, Paul Z. Goldstein, David L. Wagner
Summary: Noctuidae, one of the most diverse and economically important animal lineages in the world, was studied using eight protein-coding genes to infer phylogeny and make taxonomic adjustments. Significant changes were made to the classification, including the recognition of new subfamilies and the reassignment of various genera to different groups. The study also discussed the implications of the results on the understanding of noctuid biogeography and life histories.
INSECT SYSTEMATICS AND DIVERSITY
(2021)
