The atlas of mitochondrial genetic diversity for Western Palaearctic butterflies

Motivation Butterflies represent a model in biology and a flagship group for invertebrate conservation. We provide four new resources for the Western Palaearctic butterflies: (1) an updated checklist comprising 552 species; (2) a curated dataset of 32,126 mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences for 532 species, including a de novo reference library for the Maghreb (Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia) and Macaronesia (Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands); (3) seven indexes of intraspecific genetic variation (IGV): observed and expected number of haplotypes, haplotype and nucleotide diversity, two fixation indexes and maximum p-distance; and (4) species-level maps illustrating the distribution of COI variability and haplotype networks. The updated checklist will be fundamental for any application dealing with butterfly diversity in the Western Palaearctic. The IGV indexes provide measures for genetic polymorphism and spatial structure and represent proxies for dispersal capacity. These resources will facilitate comparative studies of macrogenetics, foster integrative taxonomy and aid conservation strategies. Main types of variables contained A complete species checklist in table format, 32,126 mitochondrial DNA barcodes provided with metadata (species membership, WGS84 coordinates and sequence length) and a book in PDF format, including the IGV atlas and indexes, are provided. Spatial location and grain The checklist encompasses Europe up to the Urals in the east, north Macaronesia (the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands) and the Maghreb (Morocco, northern Algeria and Tunisia). COI sequences have been retained in the geographical interval of -31.3 to 67.5° of longitude and 27.5 - 71.2° of latitude. Time period and grain COI sequences originate from studies published between 1998 and 2022 and from de novo sequencing of 2541 specimens done between 2007 and 2022. Major taxa and level of measurement Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), analysed from individual to species level. Software format Data and functions to manage the dataset are provided in the iodatabase R package (https://github.com/leondap/iodatabase) and in Dryad (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9w0vt4bjj).Support for this research was provided by the Academy of Finland (Academy Research Fellow, decision no. 328895) and by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (project no. 625997) to V.D., by “la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434) to M.M. (grant LCF/BQ/DR20/11790020), and by projects CGL2010-21226/BOS and CGL2013-48277-P (Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad), CGL2016-76322 (AEI/FEDER, UE), PID2019-107078GB-I00 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and 2017-SGR-991 (Generalitat de Catalunya) to R.Vi., the grant BES-2017-080641 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ESF Investing in your future” to J.C.H., the project PID2020-117739GA-I00 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) to G.T., and by the Direttiva Biodiversità 2019 and 2020 projects (Ministero della Transizione Ecologica) to L.D.1 INTRODUCTION 2 METHODS 2.1 Checklists and geographical ranges 2.2 Data acquisition, curation and quality control 2.3 Indexes of genetic variation 2.4 Maps of genetic variation 2.5 Haplotype networks 2.6 Script availability 3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FUNDING INFORMATION CONFLICT OF INTEREST BIOSKETC

Biometric data of North African Blackbird Turdus merula: are there many subspecies?

During the past two centuries, few studies have been conducted on biometrics of North African Blackbirds. Several of these studies were carried out during the latter part of the 19th and in the early 20th centuries. As a result, two subspecies were recognized namely Turdus merula algira inhabiting northern regions of North Africa and some localities in southwestern continental Europe and T. m. mauritanicus inhabiting central western Morocco and southern Algeria and Tunisia (to the end of arid climatic regions). In this study we provide morphological data from the northeastern Algerian population of Blackbird. Results reveal no differences between sexes in any of the measurements (small sample size). Comparison of morphological data of specimens collected in the northern region of North Africa and from the southern region of Maghreb countries (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco) show morphometric differences only in wing length. These results are consistent with the existence of multiple subspecies in North African populations of Blackbird. Our findings support the assumptions of previous researchers in considering T. m. algira as typical of northern areas of Maghreb countries and T. m. mauritanicus typical of southern areas of the region