Understanding the trophic relationships amongst arthropods in olive grove by δN15 and δC13 stable isotope analysis

FEDER funds, Grant/Award Number: B-AGR-338-UGR20; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Grant/Award Number: AGL2009-09878; Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades de la Junta de Andalucia, Grant/Award Number: B-AGR-338-UGR20So far the limited knowledge about the diet of omnivores and generalist predators in olive groves has not allowed the clarification of their role as natural enemies. Stable isotope (δN15 and δC13) analysis is a useful tool for predicting the trophic position of a high number of species, the variety of basal resources and the flux of energy in the food web. We have explored the possible consumers of two important pests in the olive grove: adults of Prays oleae Bern (Lepidoptera: Praydidae) during its anthophagous generation and the pupae of Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae). In addition, we have included in the study the adult instar of the secondary pest Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). These arthropods were clustered in isotopic groups according to their similarities in δN15 and δC13 content assuming that, in this case, they shared similar feeding habits. Using this criterion, we obtained eight isotopically different groups of predators and eleven groups of phytophagous insects. We have used Bayesian mixing models in order to identify the potential predators of the different pests included in our study and the proportion that each pest occupied in the diet of the identified predators. Different taxa of spiders and Anthocoris nemoralis (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) have emerged as potential predators of B. oleae. Moreover, Gnaphosidae (Araneae) showed suitable isotopic characteristics to be identified as potential predator of P. oleae and A. nemoralis has been confirmed as a predator of E. olivina. The presence of E. olivina as an abundant resource encourages the settlement of natural enemies in olive orchards which feed on this secondary pest, but are also ready to feed on any insect outbreak, for example P. oleae.European Commission B-AGR-338-UGR20 Instituto de Salud Carlos IIISpanish Government European Commission AGL2009-09878Consejeria de Transformacion Economica, Industria, Conocimiento y Universidades de la Junta de Andalucia B-AGR-338-UGR2

Impact of woody semi-natural habitats on the abundance and diversity of green lacewings in olive orchards

Habitat management is a conservation biological control technique which helps to reduce the use of inputs in olive orchards and also to improve sustainability. Recent studies of olive orchards have pointed out that vegetation cover, which provides food resources, as well as reproduction and refuge sites, increases Chrysopidae populations and diversity. However, little is known about the effect of woody semi-natural habitats (SNHs) in olive orchards. In this context, our study aims to determine the attraction of adult Chrysopidae to different tree species in SNHs adjacent to olive orchards in order to promote the conservation biological control of this key predator. We vacuumed 75 almond, oak, olive and pine trees fortnightly between April and October of 2016. The trees were chosen at random and evenly distributed among five organic olive orchards selected according to their availability. Oak trees recorded the highest abundance, species richness and diversity levels of adult Chrysopidae, while olive trees had the highest abundance of Chrysopidae larvae. A total of 20 green lacewing species, belonging to seven different genera, were collected, of which Chrysoperla mutata (McLachlan, 1898), Chrysoperla pallida Henry et al., 2002 and Pseudomallada (prasinus) pp3 (Duelli and Henry, 2020) were the most abundant during the period of the study and had a preference for olive trees (C. mutata and C. pallida) and oak trees P. (prasinus) pp3. Furthermore, the number of Chrysopidae larvae collected showed a positive correlation with the percentage of predated eggs in the anthophagous and carpophagous generations of Prays oleae.Junta de Andalucia P12-AGR-141

Biogeography of Iberian Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Supplementary Materials: The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/1424-281 8/13/2/88/s1, Table S1. Ant species list of France, Morocco and the IP. Table S2. List of Iberian ant species and their occurrence in the refugium areasWe thank José M. Martín, Alfonso Arribas and Elvira Martín who provided some references and exchange of ideas and Pedro Sandoval for his help with the figures. Angela Tate reviewed the English edition. We are also grateful to the three anonymous reviewers who made a careful and significant improvement to the manuscript.Ants are highly diverse in the Iberian Peninsula (IP), both in species richness (299 cited species) and in number of endemic species (72). The Iberian ant fauna is one of the richest in the broader Mediterranean region, it is similar to the Balkan Peninsula but lower than Greece or Israel, when species richness is controlled by the surface area. In this first general study on the biogeography of Iberian ants, we propose seven chorological categories for grouping thems. Moreover, we also propose eight biogeographic refugium areas, based on the criteria of “refugia-within-refugium” in the IP. We analysed species richness, occurrence and endemism in all these refugium areas, which we found to be significantly different as far as ant similarity was concerned. Finally, we collected published evidence of biological traits, molecular phylogenies, fossil deposits and geological processes to be able to infer the most probable centre of origin and dispersal routes followed for the most noteworthy ants in the IP. As a result, we have divided the Iberian myrmecofauna into four biogeographical groups: relict, Asian-IP disjunct, Baetic-Rifan and Alpine. To sum up, our results support biogeography as being a significant factor for determining the current structure of ant communities, especially in the very complex and heterogenous IP. Moreover, the taxonomic diversity and distribution patterns we describe in this study highlight the utility of Iberian ants for understanding the complex evolutionary history and biogeography of the Iberian Peninsula.Spanish Government RTA2015-00012-C02-02Instituto de Investigacion Agropecuaria (INIA)European Commissio

The Virtual Museum of Zoology of the University of Granada and the acquisition of practical knowledge by students

Durante los cursos académicos 2008-2012, en el Departamento de Zoología de la Universidad de Granada (UGR), se implantó una nueva herramienta didáctica: se llevó a cabo la creación de un Museo Virtual de Zoología, que consistió en la digitalización del material para prácticas ya existente en el citado Departamento, perteneciente a una colección histórica de animales naturalizados y conservados. El material digitalizado incluyó tanto imágenes de animales de la colección, como al natural, así como información básica de los mismos (p. ej.: encuadre taxonómico, hábitats y modos de vida). Esta información se puso a disposición de los alumnos de las asignaturas de Zoología, tanto de Ciencias Ambientales como de Biología, a través de una página Web gratuita. Este museo complementa la colección de animales existente previamente en el Departamento, y que también está a disposición de los alumnos para su consulta. Para conocer la efectividad de esta nueva herramienta, hemos encuestado al profesorado de varias universidades españolas y al alumnado de la Universidad de Granada sobre el grado de utilización e idoneidad del museo, y comparado los porcentajes de alumnos presentados al examen de prácticas y resultados de las notas entre el último curso sin museo (2008-2009) y el primero que lo tuvo a su disposición (2011-2012). Presentamos los resultados en este estudio. El Museo Virtual de Zoología es gratuito y está disposición de cualquier Centro/personal docente que quiera hacer uso del mismo, además del público en general. Ponemos de manifiesto la importancia de la creación de herramientas virtuales de este tipo para la mejora de la docencia práctica en las asignaturas sobre Historia Natural de los seres vivos.The Department of Zoology of the University of Granada (UGR) introduced a new educational tool between 2008-2012: the Virtual Museum of Zoology. This tool was created mainly with the digitalization of the historical collection of naturalized and preserved animals of the department. The tool also included images of animals in their natural habitats and basic information (e.g. taxonomical classification, habitat and feeding habits). This information was included in a free webpage for its use by the students of Zoology of Environmental Sciences and Biology Degrees. To evaluate the effectiveness of this new tool, we poll for the opinion of Zoology teachers of Spanish universities and for the level of utilization and suitability of the museum by Zoology students of the University of Granada. In addition, we compared the percentage of students presented to the tests and their results between the previous and subsequent year to the introduction of this tool. We present these results in this study. The Virtual Museum of Zoology is free to use by any student, teacher or institution. We highlight the importance of these virtual tools for the improvement of Natural History practical teaching

Elucidating the trophic role of Tapinoma ibericum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as a potential predator of olive pests

Ants play a key role in improving the structure and function of local communities. They interact with plants, herbivores, predators and parasitoids and are able to change their trophic role in space and time. These features, however, make it difficult to establish the net trophic role of ants in agroecosystems. Here we aim to determine the isotopic enrichment and tissue incorporation rates in ants of the Tapinoma nigerrimum complex, which are found abundantly in olive orchards (i.e. T. ibericum), to determine their trophic role through stable isotopes analysis. We compared the isotopic signature of ants feeding on (1) natural diets, (2) experimental diets and (3) contrasting diets of ants inhabiting natural habitats and olive orchards with different management systems. Then, we contrasted our isotopic results on natural diets with the prey of ant foragers in olive orchards. Our results showed that (1) ants from olive orchards had an isotopic signature different from that of a hyper-predator; (2) the isotopic signature did not vary significantly amongst different management practices and (3) the diet of ants in nature varies greatly on preys according to resource availability, which may be reflected in isotopic signatures. Therefore, T. ibericum is a species that can potentially contribute to control olive pests without posing a risk to other natural enemies because commonly it is not a hyper-predator. The information presented here could be used by farmers and technicians to enhance local biological control planning and/or strategies in olive orchards.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Grant/ Award Number: AGL2009-0987

Comunicación corta: efecto del trampeo masivo tipo OLIPE sobre los artrópodos no objetivo del olivar

Due to the widespread of mass-trapping systems for Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) (Diptera: Tephritidae) control in organic olive cropping, an assessment of the impact on arthropods of the olive agroecosystem was undertaken for the OLIPE trap type. The sampling was carried out in "Los Pedroches" valley (Cordoba, southern Spain) in three different organic orchard sites. Six OLIPE traps baited with diammonium phosphate were collected from each site (18 in total) from July to November 2002 every 15 days on average. Additionally, in the latest sampling dates, half the traps were reinforced with pheromone to assess its impact on non-target arthropods. From an average of 43.0 catches per trap (cpt) of non-target arthropods during the whole sampling period, the highest number of captures corresponds to the Order Diptera (that represents a 68.5%), followed distantly by the family Formicidae (12.9%) and the Order Lepidoptera (10.4%). Besides the impact on ant populations, other beneficial groups were recorded such as parasitoids (Other Hymenoptera: 2.6%) and predators (Araneae: 1.0%; Neuroptera s.l.: 0.4%). Concerning the temporal distribution of catches, total captures peaked on July and had a slight increase at the beginning of autumn. No significant differences were observed between traps with and without pheromone. The results evidence that a considerable amount of non-specific captures could be prevented by improving the temporal planning of the mass-trapping system.Debido a la extensión del trampeo masivo como método de control para Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) (Diptera: Tephritidae) en el cultivo ecológico del olivo, se llevó a cabo una evaluación del efecto de la trampa tipo OLIPE sobre los artrópodos del agroecosistema del olivar. El muestreo fue realizado en el valle de "Los Pedroches" (Córdoba, sur de España), en tres olivares ecológicos distintos. De cada olivar se recogieron 6 trampas OLIPE cebadas con fosfato diamónico (18 en total) desde julio a noviembre de 2002 con una periodicidad media de 15 días. Además, en las últimas fechas de muestreo, la mitad de las trampas fueron reforzadas mediante la adición de feromona para evaluar su impacto. De una media de 43,0 capturas por trampa (cpt) de artrópodos no objetivo a lo largo del periodo total de muestreo, la mayor parte de las capturas correspondieron al Orden Diptera (representando el 68,5%) seguidos por la familia Formicidae (12,9%) y el Orden Lepidoptera (10,4%). Aparte del impacto sobre la población de hormigas, se registraron capturas de otros grupos de beneficiosos tales como parasitoides, (Otros Hymenoptera: 2,6%) y depredadores (Araneae: 1,0%; Neuroptera s.l.: 0,4%). En cuanto a la distribución temporal, las capturas totales tuvieron un máximo en julio y un ligero incremento al comienzo de otoño. No se hallaron diferencias significativas entre las capturas de trampas con feromona y sin ella. Los resultados indican que una mejora de la planificación temporal del sistema de trampeo masivo permitiría evitar una importante cantidad de capturas no específicas.This project was funded by the project 92162-1 contract number 85, Junta de Andalucía. Ministry of Education and Science of Spain provided a collaboration grant to O.S

Different evolutionary potential in host ants of the genus Proformica and their slavemaking ant Rossomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

El parasitismo es reconocido como uno de los principales conductores de la evolución. Cada organismo involucrado en ese tipo de relación presenta un potencial evolutivo, que puede medirse como diversidad genética, que depende a su vez de factores como su capacidad de dispersión, el flujo génico y el tamaño, estructura y composición de sus poblaciones. El potencial evolutivo condiciona también la posibilidad de adaptación local entre parásito y hospedador. En las hormigas esclavistas la adaptación local entre parásito y hospedador puede medirse mediante las similitudes en la composición de hidrocarburos (CHCs) de la cutícula. Las hormigas del género Rossomyrmex parasitan, es decir asaltan y esclavizan, a hormigas del género Proformica. En este trabajo se aportan nuevos datos genéticos de dos de las tres especies hospedadoras estudiadas por nosotros, y se ponen en común con otros ya publicados para analizar las características genéticas y biológicas de estos tres sistemas hospedador-parásito. Estos sistemas presentan rangos variables de distribución (fragmentados y continuos), diversidad genética, potencial evolutivo y adaptación local. La distribución geográfica (fragmentada o continua) influye decisivamente en la estructura de las poblaciones de Proformica, más que la composición del hormiguero. Cuando comparamos los potenciales evolutivos de hospedador y parásito, también hay variabilidad en este factor, conduciendo a diferentes resultados de adaptación local en las diferentes parejas hospedador-parásito. Por todo ello, se considera que las especies de estos géneros constituyen un modelo de interés, en el que se podrían hacer estudios comparativos para conocer qué procesos han conducido a diferentes salidas evolutivas durante la carrera de armamentos hospedador-parásito.Parasitism is known to be one of the main drivers of evolution. Each organism involved in this relationship has an evolutionary potential that can be measured as its genetic diversity. This feature, in turn, depends on factors such as the dispersal ability, genetic flow and size, structure and composition of its populations. The evolutionary potential also constrains local adaptation between parasite and host. In slave-making ants, this local adaptation can be measured as the similitude in the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHCs) composition. Ants of the genus Rossomyrmex parasitize by raiding and enslaving ants from the genus Proformica. In this study we report new genetic data on two of the three host species studied by us, which together with previous published data enable us to analyze the genetic and biological characteristics of the different host-parasite systems. These systems show variable ranges of distribution (fragmented and continuous), genetic diversity, evolutionary potential and local adaptation. The geographic distribution (fragmented or continuous) strongly influences the population structure of Proformica in comparison with nest composition. We also found differences in the evolutionary potential when comparing host and parasite species, being local adaptation different for each host-parasite system. All these results suggest that the ants of both genera constitute interesting model systems for the comparative study of the processes leading to different evolutionary outcomes in the host-parasite arms-race

Identification of novel candidate target genes in amplicons of Glioblastoma multiforme tumors detected by expression and CGH microarray profiling

BACKGROUND: Conventional cytogenetic and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) studies in brain malignancies have shown that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is characterized by complex structural and numerical alterations. However, the limited resolution of these techniques has precluded the precise identification of detailed specific gene copy number alterations. RESULTS: We performed a genome-wide survey of gene copy number changes in 20 primary GBMs by CGH on cDNA microarrays. A novel amplicon at 4p15, and previously uncharacterized amplicons at 13q32-34 and 1q32 were detected and are analyzed here. These amplicons contained amplified genes not previously reported. Other amplified regions containg well-known oncogenes in GBMs were also detected at 7p12 (EGFR), 7q21 (CDK6), 4q12 (PDGFRA), and 12q13-15 (MDM2 and CDK4). In order to identify the putative target genes of the amplifications, and to determine the changes in gene expression levels associated with copy number change events, we carried out parallel gene expression profiling analyses using the same cDNA microarrays. We detected overexpression of the novel amplified genes SLA/LP and STIM2 (4p15), and TNFSF13B and COL4A2 (13q32-34). Some of the candidate target genes of amplification (EGFR, CDK6, MDM2, CDK4, and TNFSF13B) were tested in an independent set of 111 primary GBMs by using FISH and immunohistological assays. The novel candidate 13q-amplification target TNFSF13B was amplified in 8% of the tumors, and showed protein expression in 20% of the GBMs. CONCLUSION: This high-resolution analysis allowed us to propose novel candidate target genes such as STIM2 at 4p15, and TNFSF13B or COL4A2 at 13q32-34 that could potentially contribute to the pathogenesis of these tumors and which would require futher investigations. We showed that overexpression of the amplified genes could be attributable to gene dosage and speculate that deregulation of those genes could be important in the development and progression of GBM. Our findings highlight the important influence in GBM of signaling pathways such as the PI3K/AKT, consistent with the invasive features of this tumor

Listado de la artropodofauna del macizo de Sierra Nevada (Almería y Granada, España)

Descripción de los datos El presente artículo describe la versión 2.7 del conjunto de datos titulado “Checklist of the arthropod fauna of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range (Almería and Granada, Spain)” (Tinaut et al. 2022), el cual recoge las especies y subespecies de artrópodos citadas para el macizo de Sierra Nevada y otros taxones que, aún siendo minoría, han sido citados solamente hasta nivel de familia o género. Además, se aporta toda su información taxonómica correspondiente, en formato Darwin Core. Incluye 3953 registros representados como 6 clases, 33 órdenes, 268 familias, 1884 géneros y 3940 especies (de las cuales 169 son endemismos). Se han incluido además algunas especies cuya presencia no está totalmente confirmada (86) detallando esta información en el campo “taxon- Remarks”. Este y el resto de los campos utilizados del formato Darwin Core se detallan en la Tabla 1. Para su elaboración se ha utilizado como fuente primaria la obra “Los Insectos de Sierra Nevada. 200 años de historia” (Ruano et al. 2013) y ha sido completada con aquellos taxones citados en la bibliografía científica, con posterioridad a la edición de esta obra, o no incluidos en ella. Este listado está publicado en GBIF (https://doi.org/10.15470/nt5nsx) bajo licencia de Creative Commons Atribución No Comercial (CCBY- NC) 4.0. Parte de este material está presente en las colecciones del Departamento de Zoología de la Universidad de Granada y se puede consultar en https://ccz.ugr.es/.Presentamos un listado de la artropodofauna de Sierra Nevada (latitud 36.927 y 37.23; longitud -3.571 y -2.646) en el que se incluyen 3953 registros representados como 6 clases, 33 órdenes, 268 familias, 1884 géneros y 3940 especies (de las cuales 169 son endemismos), indicando la referencia bibliográfica de la cita y la información taxonómica correspondiente. La elaboración de este listado, y sus futuras actualizaciones, intentan paliar el desconocimiento que todavía existe sobre los artrópodos presentes en Sierra Nevada ofreciendo un recurso imprescindible para generar conocimiento sobre la biodiversidad entomológica de este macizo, así como para plantear estrategias de conservación adecuadas. La obra "Los Insectos de Sierra Nevada. 200 años de historia" (Ruano et al. 2013) ha sido la fuente primaria de citas y la hemos completado con aquellos taxones no incluidos en ella o aparecidos en la bibliografía científica con posterioridad. Los nombres científicos han sido validados en base a diferentes catálogos taxonómicos y el conocimiento de expertos y bajo criterios de coherencia, relevancia y actualidad. El listado está disponible en GBIF en formato Darwin Core (https://doi.org/10.15470/nt5nsx) y parte del material citado se encuentra depositado en las colecciones del Departamento de Zoología de la Universidad de Granada (https://ccz.ugr.es).We present a list of the arthropod fauna of Sierra Nevada (latitude 36.927 and 37.23; longitude -3.571 and -2.646) which includes 3953 records represented as 6 classes, 33 orders, 268 families, 1884 genera and 3940 species (of which 169 are endemic), indicating the bibliographic reference of the citation and the corresponding taxonomic information. The elaboration of this list, and its future updates, attempts to alleviate the lack of knowledge that still exists about the arthropods present in Sierra Nevada; offering an essential resource to generate knowledge about the entomological biodiversity of this massif, as well as to propose adequate conservation strategies. The work "Los Insectos de Sierra Nevada. 200 years of history" (Ruano et al. 2013) has been the primary source of citations and we have completed it with those taxa not included in it or appearing in the scientific literature later. The scientific names have been validated based on different taxonomic catalogues and the knowledge of experts and under criteria of coherence, relevance and timeliness. The list is available in GBIF in Darwin Core format (https://doi.org/10.15470/nt5nsx) and part of the material cited is deposited in the collections of the Zoology Department of the University of Granada (https://ccz.ugr.es/).Proyecto Smart Ecomountains (Ref. LifeWatch-2019-10-UGR-01_WP-1), subvencionado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y fondos FEDE

Clinical Presentation and Long-Term Outcomes of Systemic Sclerosis Portuguese Patients from a Single Centre Cohort: A EUSTAR Registration Initiative

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis is a complex disorder that requires systematic screening. Our objective is to report the European Scleroderma Trials and Research group centre affiliation and its impact in our clinical practice. Material and Methods: The European Scleroderma Trials and Research group affiliation process, database update and current patient evaluation, with respect to demographic and clinical features. Cumulative mortality was analysed. Results: We identified 19 female patients (which met all the American College of Rheumatology/ European League Against Rheumatism 2013 criteria for systemic sclerosis) under current follow-up, divided according to the LeRoy classification into diffuse cutaneous (n = 5), limited cutaneous (n = 11) and limited (n = 3) types, followed for a median period of 5, 12 and 6 years, respectively. Raynaud´s phenomenon and abnormal nailfold capillaries were universally present. Interstitial lung disease was absent in the limited cutaneous form but present in 100% of the diffuse subtype. Pitting scars were more common in the diffuse form. Active disease was also more frequent in the diffuse form, and most patients with active disease were treated with anti-endothelin receptor antagonists. Over 21 years (from 1994 to 2015) the mortality rate was 55% (n = 23/42). Age at time of death was significantly lower in the diffuse subtype. Discussion: Our single centre cohort shares many features with larger and international reports and more specifically is in accordance with patient characteristics described in the European Scleroderma Trials and Research group registries. Conclusion: The European Scleroderma Trials and Research group registration motivated our systematic patient characterization and may be used as a tool for homogenous disease registries