Evolutionary isolation of Canadian terrestrial vertebrate species

Conservation prioritization has become increasingly important as a practical response to ongoing biodiversity loss and limited resources. One tool, evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) is based on a measure of evolutionary isolation and has merit for identifying taxa with few close relatives. Here we present the first ever national-level ED scores for any jurisdiction, applying the measures to all Canadian tetrapods. We updated and pruned global dated phylogenies of all terrestrial vertebrates (amphibians, squamates, turtles, mammals, and birds) down to native Canadian species and calculated Canadian ED scores and rankings for each and compared them to their global ED ranks. Canada’s terrestrial ectotherm vertebrates (amphibians and reptiles) include most of Canada’s most evolutionarily isolated species and many score and rank higher nationally than globally in their ED scores. These taxa are also the most imperilled in Canada and so species with populations assessed as at-risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) represent, on average, more than expected national evolutionary history. Interestingly, several exotic species also have very high national ED scores. To the extent that evolutionary isolation captures aspects of local and national biodiversity worth preserving, our lists may provide useful input to conservation agencies engaging in conservation prioritization exercises.

Litter-dwelling terrestrial molluscs of Nepisiguit Protected Natural Area and Mount Carleton Provincial Park, north-central New Brunswick

No comprehensive study of the terrestrial gastropod fauna of northern New Brunswick has previously been undertaken. Most terrestrial gastropod molluscs are tiny and generally live unnoticed under debris, in leaf litter, and among other dead and living vegetation. Sifting and sorting collected samples of leaf litter are effective in sampling snails. In June–July 2015 and August 2016, 43 samples of forest leaf litter were collected in Nepisiguit Protected Natural Area and Mount Carleton Provincial Park. These samples yielded 22 species of terrestrial gastropods. Seven species are reported from New Brunswick for the first time.Il n’y a pas eu d’étude exhaustive de la faune gastéropode terrestre du nord du Nouveau-Brunswick. La plupart des mollusques gastéropodes terrestres sont minuscules et vivent généralement inaperçus sous les débris, dans la litière de feuilles et d’autres végétaux morts et vivants. Le tamisage et le tri des échantillons prélevés de litière de feuilles sont efficaces pour échantillonner les escargots.  En juin–juillet 2015 et en août 2016, 42 échantillons de litière de feuilles forestières ont été prélevés dans l’zone naturelle protégée Nepisiguit et le parc provincial Mont-Carleton. Ces échantillons ont donné 22 espèces de gastéropodes terrestres. Sept espèces sont rapportées au Nouveau-Brunswick pour la première fois

Recent records of myxomycetes from New Brunswick, Canada

Studies of the diversity of myxomycetes or plasmodial slime moulds (Amoebozoa) in New Brunswick are lagging behind those of many other groups of terrestrial organisms. Here, we summarize the myxomycetes of the province as documented by recently collected specimens held by the New Brunswick Museum (NBM). Between 2007 and 2019, 264 specimens were collected, representing 80 species in 29 genera. Most of these records result from targetted searching during NBM-led biodiversity surveys (the BiotaNB project) in provincial protected natural areas between 2014 and 2019 and a mycological foray on Campobello Island in 2016. Previously, only seven species had been reported for the province. Consistent with their worldwide distributions and abundance, Arcyria cinerea, Fuligo septica, Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa, and Lycogala epidendrum were the most collected species, whereas the globally rare species Paradiacheopsis microcarpa has been collected in New Brunswick six times. Forty-two species were found only once, and five of these (Comatricha mirabilis, Fuligo laevis, Hemitrichia chrysospora, Lepidoderma neoperforatum, Listerella paradoxa) are rare worldwide