Putting Parasemia in its phylogenetic place : a molecular analysis of the subtribe Arctiina (Lepidoptera)

Despite being popular among amateur and professional lepidopterologists and posing great opportunities for evolutionary research, the phylogenetic relationships of tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) are not well resolved. Here we provide the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the subtribe Arctiina with the basic aim of clarifying the phylogenetic position of the Wood Tiger Moth Parasemia plantaginis Hubner, a model species in evolutionary ecology. We sampled 89 species in 52 genera within Arctiina s.l., 11 species of Callimorphina and two outgroup species. We sequenced up to seven nuclear genes (CAD, GAPDH, IDH, MDH, Ef1, RpS5, Wingless) and one mitochondrial gene (COI) including the barcode region (a total of 5915 bp). Both maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference resulted in a well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis, consisting of four clades within Arctiina s.s. and a clade comprising spilosomine species in addition to Callimorphina and outgroups. Based on our results, we present a new classification, where we consider the Diacrisia clade, Chelis clade, Apantesis clade, Micrarctia Seitz and Arctia clade as valid genera within Arctiina s.s., whereas Rhyparia Hubner syn.n. and Rhyparioides Butler syn.n. are synonymized with Diacrisia Hubner; Neoarctia Neumoegen & Dyar syn.n., Tancrea Pungeler syn.n., Hyperborea Grum-Grshimailo syn.n., Palearctia Ferguson syn.n., Holoarctia Ferguson syn.n., Sibirarctia Dubatolov syn.n. and Centrarctia Dubatolov syn.n. are synonymized with Chelis Rambur; Grammia Rambur syn.n., Orodemnias Wallengren syn.n., Mimarctia Neumoegen & Dyar syn.n., Notarctia Smith syn.n. and Holarctia Smith syn.n. are synonymized with Apantesis Walker; and Epicallia Hubner syn.n., Eucharia Hubner syn.n., Hyphoraia Hubner syn.n., Parasemia Hubner syn.n., Pericallia Hubner syn.n., Nemeophila Stephens syn.n., Ammobiota Wallengren syn.n., Platarctia Packard syn.n., Chionophila Guenee syn.n., Eupsychoma Grote syn.n., Gonerda Moore syn.n., Platyprepia Dyar syn.n., Preparctia Hampson syn.n., Oroncus Seitz syn.n., Acerbia Sotavalta syn.n., Pararctia Sotavalta syn.n., Borearctia Dubatolov syn.n., Sinoarctia Dubatolov syn.n. and Atlantarctia Dubatolov syn.n. are synonymized with Arctia Schrank, leading to 33 new genus-level synonymies. Our focal species Arctia plantaginiscomb.n. is placed as sister to Arctia festivacomb.n., another widespread aposematic species showing wing pattern variation. Our molecular hypothesis can be used as a basis when adding more species to the tree and tackling interesting evolutionary questions, such as the evolution of warning signalling and mimicry in tiger moths.Peer reviewe

Invertebrate collections policy of the Finnish Museum of Natural History

The collection policy of the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus is hierarchically structured. General principles and guidelines are defined in the General Collections Policy. Subordinate to it, the collection policies for the individual sub-collections implement and specify these guidelines and instructions, considering the special nature of each subcollection. The invertebrate collections policy in 2017 was the first sub-collection policy to observe this hierarchical structure, and was guided by the standards set by the European SYNTHESYS collections management self-assessment procedure. The invertebrate collections policy directs all activities related to the Luomus invertebrate collections (apart from DNA and tissue samples), which comprise the separately managed entomological collections (ca. 9 million specimens) and collections of other invertebrates (0.4 million). The policy defines the purpose of the collections, outlines the objectives and content of procedures and activities related to them, the division of responsibilities for the administration and care of the collections within the organisation, and the principles and practices for the acquisition, preservation, accessibility and use of the collections.Non peer reviewe

Application of the Red List Index as an indicator of habitat change

For the first time ever, the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Index for habitat types was calculated for an entire country, Finland. The RLIs were based on species threat assessments from 2000 and 2010 and included habitat definitions for all 10,131 species of 12 organism groups. The RLIs were bootstrapped to track statistically significant changes. The RLI changes of species grouped by habitats were negative for all habitat types except for forests and rural biotopes which showed a stable trend. Trends of beetles and true bugs were positive in rural and forest habitats. Other 16 observed trends of species group and habitat combinations were negative. Several trends observed were in accordance with studies focusing on particular taxa and habitats, and drivers for their change. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the RLI as a tool for observing habitat change based on species threat assessment data.Peer reviewe

Trait-based prediction of extinction risk across terrestrial taxa

Species differ in their biological susceptibility to extinction, but the set of traits determining susceptibility varies across taxa. It is yet unclear which patterns are common to all taxa, and which are taxon-specific, with conse-quences to conservation practice. In this study we analysed the generality of trait-based prediction of extinction risk across terrestrial (including freshwater) vertebrates, invertebrates and plants at a global scale. For each group, we selected five representative taxa and within each group we explored whether risk can be related to any of 10 potential predictors. We then synthesized outcomes across taxa using a meta-analytic approach. High habitat specificity was a consistent predictor across vertebrates, invertebrates and plants, being a universal predictor of risk. Slow life-history traits - large relative offspring size, low fecundity, long generation length -, and narrow altitudinal range were also found to be good predictors across most taxa, but their universality needs to be supported with additional data. Poor dispersal ability was a common predictor of extinction risk among invertebrate and plant taxa, but not consistently among vertebrates. The remaining traits (body size, micro -habitat verticality, trophic level, and diet breadth) were useful to predict extinction risk but only at lower tax-onomical levels. Our study shows that despite the idiosyncrasies among taxa, universal susceptibility to extinction exists and several traits might influence extinction risk for most taxa. Informing conservation prior-itization at lower taxonomic scales should however include taxon-specific trait-based predictors of extinction risk.Peer reviewe

A molecular-based identification resource for the arthropods of Finland

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.To associate specimens identified by molecular characters to other biological knowledge, we need reference sequences annotated by Linnaean taxonomy. In this study, we (1) report the creation of a comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for the arthropods of an entire country (Finland), (2) publish this library, and (3) deliver a new identification tool for insects and spiders, as based on this resource. The reference library contains mtDNA COI barcodes for 11,275 (43%) of 26,437 arthropod species known from Finland, including 10,811 (45%) of 23,956 insect species. To quantify the improvement in identification accuracy enabled by the current reference library, we ran 1000 Finnish insect and spider species through the Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) identification engine. Of these, 91% were correctly assigned to a unique species when compared to the new reference library alone, 85% were correctly identified when compared to BOLD with the new material included, and 75% with the new material excluded. To capitalize on this resource, we used the new reference material to train a probabilistic taxonomic assignment tool, FinPROTAX, scoring high success. For the full-length barcode region, the accuracy of taxonomic assignments at the level of classes, orders, families, subfamilies, tribes, genera, and species reached 99.9%, 99.9%, 99.8%, 99.7%, 99.4%, 96.8%, and 88.5%, respectively. The FinBOL arthropod reference library and FinPROTAX are available through the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (www.laji.fi) at https://laji.fi/en/theme/protax. Overall, the FinBOL investment represents a massive capacity-transfer from the taxonomic community of Finland to all sectors of society.Peer reviewe

Jukka Jalava 11 March 1950 - 28 December 2005

Volume: 33Start Page: 187End Page: 18