First record of Cyphoderus innominatus Mills, 1938 (Collembola: Paronellidae) in Early Colonies of the Leaf-cutting Ant Atta sexdens

Cyphoderus innominatus Mills, 1938 (Collembola: Paronellidae) was first observed in early colonies of Atta sexdens leaf-cutting ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The colonies were collected on February 6, 2019, from a transition area between the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, located in the municipality of Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. A total of four colonies collected had an average population density of 227 ± 212 C. innominatus individuals, and most of the latter were found in peripheral areas inside the fungus-garden-growing chamber of the colony. In addition, we observed a possible defensive behavior on the part of workers when C. innominatus individuals were present in the fungus garden chamber. Thus, this is the first record of C. innominatus living in association with early colonies of A. sexdens.

Large-scale experimental warming reduces soil faunal biodiversity through peatland drying

Boreal peatlands are important ecosystems for carbon cycling because they store 1/3 of the world’s terrestrial carbon in only ∼3% of the global landmass. This high carbon storage capacity makes them a key potential mitigation strategy for increased carbon emissions induced by global climate warming. In high-carbon storage systems like peatlands, soil faunal communities are responsible for secondary decomposition of organic matter and nutrient cycling, which suggests they play an important role in the carbon cycle. Experiments have shown that warming can affect plant and microbial communities in ways that potentially shift peatlands from carbon sinks to sources. Although previous studies have found variable effects of climate change manipulations on soil communities, warming is expected to affect soil community composition mainly through reductions in moisture content, whereas elevated CO2 atmospheric concentrations are expected to only indirectly and weakly do so. In this study we used a large-scale peatland field-based experiment to test how soil microarthropod (oribatid and mesostigmatid mite, and collembolan species abundance, richness and community composition) respond to a range of experimental warming temperatures (between 0°C and +9°C) crossed with elevated CO2 conditions over 4 years in the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment. Here we found that warming significantly decreased surface peat moisture, which in turn decreased species microarthropod richness and abundance. Specifically, oribatid and mesostigmatid mite, collembolan, and overall microarthropod richness significantly decreased under lower moisture levels. Also, the abundance of microarthropods increased under higher moisture levels. Neither warming nor elevated [CO2] affected microarthropods when analysed together or separate, except for the richness of mesostigmatids that significantly increased under warming. At the community level, communities varied significantly over time (except collembolans), and moisture was an important driver explaining community species composition. While we expect that the cumulative and interactive effects of the SPRUCE experimental treatments on soil faunal biodiversity will continue to emerge, our results already suggest effects are becoming more observable over time. Taken together, the changes belowground indicate potential changes on carbon and nitrogen cycles, as microarthropods are important players of soil food webs

Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.</p

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure

CODE AVAILABILITY : Programming R code is openly available together with the database from Figshare.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 1 : Template for data collectionSUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 2 : Data Descriptor WorksheetSpringtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.http://www.nature.com/sdatahj2024Plant Production and Soil ScienceSDG-15:Life on lan

Arrhopalites bellingeri Christiansen 1966

Arrhopalites bellingeri Christiansen, 1966: 51 –52, figs. 35, 42, 51, 75, 98, 99. Type locality: USA, Colorado, Schofield Pass. Principalis ­group. Total length, 0.7 mm. Color dark reddish brown all over the body except intersegmental membranes and ventral surface, eyes 2 + 2. Posterior cephalic spines present. Ant. III not swollen basally. Ant. IV divided into seven subsegments. All ungues with a clear inner tooth, tunica present on hind unguis. All unguiculi with corner tooth, and apical filament exceeding the unguis tip. Dental chaetotaxy in table 3, ventral dental formula 3: 2: 1: 1. Anal valve chaetotaxy in table 2. Biogeographic zone 8 and 24 a in the Neotropical region.Published as part of Zeppelini, Douglas, 2006, The genus Arrhopalites Börner, 1906 (Collembola, Appendiciphora, Arrhopalitidae) in the Neotropical Region, with description of four new cave species from Brazil, pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 1124 on page 35, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17178

Arrhopalites hennigii Zeppelini, 2006, n. comb.

Pararrhopalites hennigii n. comb. Syn.: Arrhopalites hennigius Palacios­Vargas & Zeppelini, 1995: 16 –18, figs. 33–40. Etmology. Pararrhopalites hennigii is a correction of generic placement and of latinization for the original name Arrhopalites hennigius (Palacios­Vargas & Zeppelini, 1995: 16). Material examined: Holotype Ψ and 1 paratype Ψ, 02­x­ 1994. MEXICO, Guerrero, Tierra Colorada. Papagayo II cave. Zeppelini leg., LESM. Fig. 1, A–K. Body setae as shown in figure D. Antennae of holotype twice as long as the cephalic diagonal. Ant. IV with nine subsegments (Fig. A), apex with a capitate sense rod (Fig. B). Ant. III without basal swelling; sense organ (Fig. C) with sense rods in a single pit; seta Aai club­shaped and blunt; Api and Ape long, slender, and acuminate; Ae, Ap and Ai normal. 2 + 2 eyes, no traces of pigments in mounted specimens. Dorsal cephalic setae spinelike, chaetotaxy as figure J and table 3. Metatrochanteral organ absent, seta D 2 normal, trochanteral spine present with a membranous wing (Fig. G). All ungues without inner tooth and tunica. All unguiculi with a small corner tooth, apical filament exceeding unguis tip (Figs. K, a–c). Corpus tenaculum with one seta (Fig. H). Dens 3,2,1,1 ventral setae, chaetotaxy as in figure E and table 3. Mucro narrow, gutter­like, both edges serrate (Fig. F). Anal valve without cuticular spines; anal valve chaetotaxy as in figure I and table 2. Female subanal appendage acuminate pointing to anal opening. Biogeographic zone 24 a. Remarks: P. hennigii n. comb. is part of a group of four similar species from Brazil and Mexico originally described as Arrhopalites (A. hennigii, A. wallacei, A. christianseni, and A. papaveroi), the lack of anal valve setae B 2 and C 6, shared by all of four species, units the group. These species present the subanal appendages pointing to anal opening, instead of pointing to genital pore, the metatrochanteral seta D 2 is not modified into a sensory organ located in an elongate, triangular socket, and a trochanteral spine is present. The dental E 1 and L 1 are not spinelike. Those features exclude all these four species from the genus Arrhopalites, as will be discussed later in this work, and place them in the genus Pararrhopalites Bonet & Tellez, 1944.Published as part of Zeppelini, Douglas, 2006, The genus Arrhopalites Börner, 1906 (Collembola, Appendiciphora, Arrhopalitidae) in the Neotropical Region, with description of four new cave species from Brazil, pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 1124 on pages 4-6, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17178

Arrhopalites amarus Christiansen 1966

Arrhopalites amarus Christiansen, 1966: 62 –63, figs. 26, 43, 57, 73, 90, 93. Type locality: USA, Illinois, Volo. (Fig. 16 A –K) Pygmaeus ­group s. str. Total length, 1.0 mm. Color white, eyes 1 + 1. Strong posterior cephalic spines present. Ant. III not swollen basally. Ant. IV divided into six subsegments. All ungues with a small inner tooth, tunica present in the second and third ungues. All unguiculi with corner tooth, apical filament exceeding the unguis tip on first and second unguiculi. Dental chaetotaxy in table 3, ventral dental formula 3: 2: 1: 1. Anal valve chaetotaxy in table 2, cuticular spines absent on anal valve. Biogeographic zone 8 and 24 a in Neotropical region.Published as part of Zeppelini, Douglas, 2006, The genus Arrhopalites Börner, 1906 (Collembola, Appendiciphora, Arrhopalitidae) in the Neotropical Region, with description of four new cave species from Brazil, pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 1124 on page 32, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17178

Arrhopalites christianseni Zeppelini, 2006, n. comb.

Pararrhopalites christianseni n. comb. Syn.: Arrhopalites christianseni Palacios­Vargas & Zeppelini, 1995: 20 –22, figs. 49–56. Material examined: Holotype Ψ and 1 paratype Ψ, 16 ­vii­ 1994. MEXICO, Yucatan, Tekax. Actun Toh cave. Palacios­Vargas and Zeppelini leg., LESM. 4 paratypes ΨΨ, 26 ­x­ 1994 and 29 ­x­ 1994. MEXICO, Yucatan, Tekax, Rancho Sambula cave. Palacios­Vargas and Zeppelini leg., LESM. Fig. 2, A–K. Body setae as shown in figure D. Antennae of holotype ~ 1.6 X as long as the cephalic diagonal. Ant. IV with nine subsegments (Fig. A), apex with a capitate sense rod (Fig. B). Ant. III without basal swelling; sense organ (Fig. C) with sense rods in a single pit; seta Aai, short, club­shaped and blunt; Ape long, slender, and acuminate; other setae normal. 2 + 2 eyes, no traces of pigments in mounted specimens. Dorsal cephalic setae strongly spinelike, chaetotaxy as figure J. Metatrochanteral organ absent, seta D 2 normal, trochanteral spine present with a membranous wing (Fig. G). All ungues with a very small inner tooth, no tunica. First and second unguiculi with apical filament exceeding unguis tip, second and third with a small corner tooth (Figs. K, a–c). Corpus tenaculum with two setae (Fig. H). Dens 3,2,2,1, 1 ventral setae, chaetotaxy as in figure E and table 3. Mucro narrow, gutter­like, both edges serrate (Fig. F). Anal valve without cuticular spines; anal valve chaetotaxy as in figure I and table 2. Female subanal appendage acuminate, wingged apically, pointing to anal opening. Biogeographic zone 24 a. Remarks: P. christianseni n. comb. is similar to P. hennigii n. comb. and P. wallacei n. comb. based in the same basic features as described before. P. christianseni differs from other species in the shape of the female subanal appendages. P. christianseni n. comb. A, fourth antennal segment; B, apical subsegment of fourth antennal segment; C, apical sensory organ of third antennal segment; D, body setae (a, anterior, b, posterior); E, ventral and dorsal chaetotaxy of the dens; F, mucro; G, metatrochanteral organ; H, tenaculum; I, anal valve chaetotaxy; J, posterior cephalic chaetotaxy; K, foot complex (a, first leg, b, second leg, c, third leg).Published as part of Zeppelini, Douglas, 2006, The genus Arrhopalites Börner, 1906 (Collembola, Appendiciphora, Arrhopalitidae) in the Neotropical Region, with description of four new cave species from Brazil, pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 1124 on pages 7-8, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17178