In memoriam of Prof. Dr. Hans Strümpel (*14.11.1935 - 29.11.2019)

In memoriam of Prof. Dr. Hans Strümpel (*14.11.1935 - 29.11.2019)In memoriam of Prof. Dr. Hans Strümpel (*14.11.1935 - 29.11.2019

From the Steppe to the Desert: Survey of Band-Winged Grasshoppers from Mongolia (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) Based on Material from 50 Years of Expeditions

The steppe regions of Mongolia have a rich grasshopper fauna. Especially, the short-horned (Caelifera) grasshopper family Acrididae with the subfamilies Gomphocerinae (slant-faced grasshoppers) and Oedipodinae (band-winged grasshoppers) show a high diversity and abundance. This study reviews the Mongolian fauna of band-winged grasshoppers based on collection data of 50 years of expeditions of the German-Mongolian research cooperation. These collection data (assembled between 1962 and 2019) were used to generate a faunistic overview of Oedipodinae species for the region. In total 740 specimens belonging to 16 species were reported. Based on the collected material, study of the types and the original species descriptions following species were synonymized: Bryodema gebleri mongolica ZUBOWSKY, 1900 syn. nov. with Bryodema gebleri (FISCHER von WALDHEIM, 1836), as well as Oedaleus asiaticus BEY-BIENKO, 1941 syn. nov. with Oedaleus decorus (GERMAR, 1825). Based on the generated dataset the region around Khustai National Park and the Great Lakes Depression in North-West-Mongolia were evaluated as the most species-rich spots of Oedipodinae

Data Privacy in European Medical Research

The European Data Protection Regulation applies since May 25th, 2018. It creates a uniform data protection legal framework within the EU. National and international medical research projects, regardless of whether they were started before or after the introduction of the GDPR, are obliged to follow this new regulation and implement it promptly. This raises various challenges for a large number of medical research projects. The University Medicine Greifswald commissioned this legal report, that was prepared by DIERKS+COMPANY. Two real-world research projects, the Baltic Fracture Competence Centre (BFCC) as well as the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) provide use cases, questions, and context for this legal report. It addresses questions regarding all steps of data processing. The report provides practical answers to a wide array of technical and organisational questions in the area of data protection-compliant processing of research data. A comprehensive guide to GDPR-compliant data processing has been developed, which both summarises the broad legal environment and provides specific assistance in the design and implementation of GDPR-compliant data management processes, including Informed Consent, Legal Consequences of Withdrawal, and Privacy by Design

Palaearctic biogeography revisited: evidence for the existence of a North African refugium for Western Palaearctic biota

Aim: In contrast to the attention given to southern Europe both as a centre of speciation and differentiation and as a Pleistocene refugium of Western Palae- arctic taxa, North Africa has been relatively neglected. In this paper, we set out to address this shortfall. Location North-West Africa and the Mediterranean. Methods We reviewed the existing literature on the biogeography of North Africa, and carried out analyses of species distribution data using parsimony, nestedness and co-occurrence methods. Results In many cases, distribution patterns of non-flying mammals, bats, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, zygaenid moths and odonates demonstrated important biogeographical affinities between Europe and North Africa at the species level. On the other hand, species co-occurrence, nestedness and parsi- mony analysis also revealed some deep splits between the Maghreb and Europe; yet even in these cases the closest affinities were found between the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb. Furthermore, North Africa harbours the highest proportion of endemic taxa (13.7%) across all groups analysed. Many molecu- lar studies demonstrated a strong genetic cohesiveness between North Africa and Europe despite the potential barrier effect of the Mediterranean Sea. In other taxa, however, remarkable splits were detected. In addition, southern European genetic lineages were often nested within North African clades, and many taxa showed exceptionally high genetic variability and differentiation in this region. Main conclusions The Maghreb was an important differentiation and specia- tion centre for thermophilic organisms during the Pliocene and Pleistocene with high relevance as a colonization source for Europe. The regions around the sea straits of Gibraltar and Sicily have acted as important biogeographical links between North Africa and Europe at different times

Data Privacy in European Medical Research

The European Data Protection Regulation applies since May 25th, 2018. It creates a uniform data protection legal framework within the EU. National and international medical research projects, regardless of whether they were started before or after the introduction of the GDPR, are obliged to follow this new regulation and implement it promptly. This raises various challenges for a large number of medical research projects. The University Medicine Greifswald commissioned this legal report, that was prepared by DIERKS+COMPANY. Two real-world research projects, the Baltic Fracture Competence Centre (BFCC) as well as the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) provide use cases, questions, and context for this legal report. It addresses questions regarding all steps of data processing. The report provides practical answers to a wide array of technical and organisational questions in the area of data protection-compliant processing of research data. A comprehensive guide to GDPR-compliant data processing has been developed, which both summarises the broad legal environment and provides specific assistance in the design and implementation of GDPR-compliant data management processes, including Informed Consent, Legal Consequences of Withdrawal, and Privacy by Design

An annotated catalogue of the types of bush-crickets and crickets (Orthoptera, Ensifera) housed in the Zoological Museum Hamburg (ZMH)

Types represent the ultimate taxonomic information of a species and hence represent the most important specimens in museums. The entomological collections of the Zoological Museum Hamburg (now part of the Centrum für Naturkunde) hold several thousand primary types of insects. However, despite their importance currently no type database exists and catalogues have not been updated since almost 50 years and are only available in German. Following the publication of our catalogue of Caelifera types, we here present an updated catalogue for the Ensifera types held in the collection in English language. 74 species are represented as types with 105 specimens; of these 44 are name-bearing types: 36 holotypes, 3 lectotypes, 4 syntypes and 1 neotype. The remaining specimens are para- (55), paralecto- (4), allo- (1) and neoallotypes (1). Most of the species were described by Max Beier (18), Tevfik Karabak (13), Josef Redtenbacher (13) and the former curator of the collection Herbert Weidner (10). In his catalogues in 1966 and 1977 Weidner recorded types of 73 species present in the collection and an additional 65 as potentially lost in the war; 71 of the types recorded by Weidner were still present, whereas two could not be found (Xiphidium geniculare Redtenbacher, 1891; Xiphidium longipes Redtenbacher, 1891); one species recorded as lost by Weidner was found (Lezina acuminata Ander, 1938) and one species (neoallotype of Paradecolya inexspectata Chopard, 1957) and one additional type individual (paratype of Choeroparnops forcipatus Beier, 1949) are newly reported for the collection

Mitogenomic phylogeny of bee families confirms the basal position and monophyly of Melittidae

Bees (Anthophila) represent a critical taxon for the ecosystem service of pollination and hence have received great scientific attention. The more than 20,000 known species of bees are grouped in seven families. Yet, the relationships between bee families are not entirely clear, and specifically, the position of Melittidae and their monophyly has been discussed in the past. Here, we present the most comprehensive mitogenomic phylogeny of bees including five members of Melittidae from two sub- families and three tribes. Our results suggest monophyly of the family Melittidae and further support their basal position. The data also support the two subfamilies, but are not in line with current assignment of tribes. Our results show, despite advancement with transcriptomic and whole genomic data, the value of mitochondrial data for the reconstruction of phylogenies

Evolution along the Great Rift Valley: phenotypic and genetic differentiation of East African white-eyes (Aves, Zosteropidae)

The moist and cool cloud forests of East Africa represent a network of isolated habitats that are separated by dry and warm lowland savannah, offering an opportunity to investigate how strikingly different selective regimes affect species diversification. Here, we used the passerine genus Zosterops (white-eyes) from this region as our model system. Species of the genus occur in contrasting distribution settings, with geographical mountain isolation driving diversification, and savannah interconnectivity preventing differentiation. We analyze (1) patterns of phenotypic and genetic differentiation in high- and lowland species (different distribution settings), (2) investigate the potential effects of natural selection and temporal and spatial isolation (evolutionary drivers), and (3) critically review the taxonomy of this species complex. We found strong phenotypic and genetic differentiation among and within the three focal species, both in the highland species complex and in the lowland taxa. Altitude was a stronger predictor of phenotypic patterns than the current taxonomic classification. We found longitudinal and latitudinal phenotypic gradients for all three species. Furthermore, wing length and body weight were significantly correlated with altitude and habitat type in the highland species Z.poliogaster. Genetic and phenotypic divergence showed contrasting inter- and intraspecific structures. We suggest that the evolution of phenotypic characters is mainly driven by natural selection due to differences in the two macro-habitats, cloud forest and savannah. In contrast, patterns of neutral genetic variation appear to be rather driven by geographical isolation of the respective mountain massifs. Populations of the Z.poliogaster complex, as well as Z.senegalensis and Z.abyssinicus, are not monophyletic based on microsatellite data and have higher levels of intraspecific differentiation compared to the currently accepted species

Phylogeographic inference of Sumatran ranids bearing gastromyzophorous tadpoles with regard to the Pleistocene drainage systems of Sundaland.

Rivers are known to act as biogeographic barriers in several strictly terrestrial taxa, while possibly serving as conduits of dispersal for freshwater-tolerant or -dependent species. However, the influence of river systems on genetic diversity depends on taxa-specific life history traits as well as other geographic factors. In amphibians, several studies have demonstrated that river systems have only minor influence on their divergence. Here, we assess the role of the paleodrainage systems of the Sunda region (with a focus on the island of Sumatra) in shaping the evolutionary history of two genera of frogs (Sumaterana and Wijayarana) whose tadpoles are highly dependent on cascading stream habitats. Our phylogenetic results show no clear association between the genetic diversification patterns of both anurans genera and the existence of paleodrainage systems. Time-calibrated phylogenies and biogeographical models suggest that these frogs colonized Sumatra and diversified on the island before the occurrence of the Pleistocene drainage systems. Both genera demonstrate phylogenetic structuring along a north-south geographic axis, the temporal dynamics of which coincide with the geological chronology of proto Sumatran and -Javan volcanic islands. Our results also highlight the chronic underestimation of Sumatran biodiversity and call for more intense sampling efforts on the island