Beetles in polypores of the Moscow region: checklist and ecological notes

Polypore inhabiting beetles in the Moscow region were studied. Sixty-one polypore species harboured 261 species of beetles (174 species coming to polypores as imago, 87 species developing in polypores at larval stage). The highest number of species was found in polypores growing on deciduous trees: Fomes fomentarius (102 beetle species), Polyporus squamosus (94 species), Laetiporus sulphureus (81 species) and Piptoporus betulinus (62 species). Imaginal species diversity is much higher than larval, although the later can be more abundant. Ennearthron cornutum (found on 20 species of polypores) and Cis comptus (16 species) occurred in the largest number of fungal species

La collecte et l’élevage de coléoptères fongivores

The field and lab work routine for study of Coleoptera associated with fungal fruit bodies is described from sampling and rearing to preservation of collections. This paper includes instructions for the efficient and database-friendly documenting the fungus–beetle interactions using the fi eld forms. Environmental factors that influence the fungivorous beetles are discussed. The procedure of rearing adult Coleoptera from larvae inhabiting fungal fruit bodies is described. Preparation and storage approaches of reference collections of beetles and fungi are outlinedLe travail routinier d'étude sur le terrain et en laboratoire des coléoptères associés aux fructifications fongiques est décrit depuis la récolte et l'élevage jusqu'à la conservation de collections. Cet article inclut des instructions concernant la base de données, efficace et facile d'utilisation, documentant les interactions champignons - coléoptères à partir de fiches de terrain. Les facteurs environnementaux influençant les coléoptères fongivores sont discutés. Le protocole d'élevage de coléoptères adultes à partir de larves habitant les fructifications fongiques est décrit. Des méthodes de préparation et de gestion de collections de référence de coléoptères et de champignons sont proposées

Käävät boreaalisissa luonnontilaisissa metsissä, ja kääpien kovakuoriaiset

This thesis examines assemblages of wood-decaying fungi in Finnish old-growth forests, and patterns of species interactions between fruit bodies of wood-rotting Basidiomycetes and associated Coleoptera. The present work is a summary of four original publications and a manuscript, which are based on empirical observations and deal with the prevalence of polypores in old-growth forests, and fungicolous Coleoptera. The study area consists of eleven old-growth, mostly spruce- and pine-dominated, protected forests rich in dead wood in northern and southeastern Finland. Supplementary data on fungus beetle interactions were collected in southern Finland and the Åland Islands. 11251 observations of fruit bodies from 153 polypore species were made in 789 forest compartments. Almost a half of the polypore species demonstrated a distinct northern or southeastern trend of prevalence. Polypores with a northern prevalence profile were in extreme cases totally absent from the Southeast, although almost uniformly present in the North. These were Onnia leporina, Climacocystis borealis, Antrodiella pallasii, Skeletocutis chrysella, Oligoporus parvus, Skeletocutis lilacina, and Junghuhnia collabens. Species with higher prevalence in the southeastern sites were Bjerkandera adusta, Inonotus radiatus, Trichaptum pargamenum, Antrodia macra, and Phellinus punctatus. 198 (86%) species of Finnish polypores were examined for associated Coleoptera. Adult beetles were collected from polypore basidiocarps in the wild, while their larvae were reared to adulthood in the lab. Spatial and temporal parallels between the properties of polypore fruit body and the species composition of Coleoptera in fungus beetle interactions were discussed. New data on the biology of individual species of fungivorous Coleoptera were collected. 116 species (50% of Finnish polypore mycota) were found to host adults and/or larvae of 179 species from 20 Coleoptera families. Many new fungus beetle interactions were found among the 614 species pairs; these included 491 polypore fruit body adult Coleoptera species co-occurrences, and 122 fruit body larva interrelations. 82 (41%) polypore species were neither visited nor colonized by Coleoptera. The total number of polyporicolous beetles in Finland is expected to reach 300 species.Tutkimuksessa verrattiin lahopuissa kasvavia sieniä (kääpiä) ja niissä eläviä kovakuoriaisia pohjoisboreaalisessa (pääosin Tunturi-Lappi) ja eteläboreaalisessa metsäkasvillisuusvyöhykkeessä (Saimaan ympäristöstä itärajalle). Tutkimusalueita oli yhteensä yksitoista, useimmat niistä luonnontilaisia havumetsiä kansallispuistoissa ja Natura-alueilla. Kääpälajiston tiedot perustuvat yli 10000 havaintoon lähes 800 metsäkuviolta; lajeja löytyi 153. Lähes puolet tutkituista kääpälajeista yleistyi pohjoista kohti, ja ääritapauksissa tällaisia lajeja ei tavattu lainkaan eteläisissä kohteissa. Toisaalta puolet lajeista runsastui etelään päin, tai ne puuttuivat Lapista kokonaan. Tästä aineistosta, sekä Etelä-Suomen ja Ahvenanmaan vanhoista metsistä kerätystä vertailumateriaalista (kaikkiaan 198 kääpälajia) selvitettiin käävillä eläviä kovakuoriaisia. Kääpäsukujen välillä havaittiin eroja sen suhteen, mitkä kovakuoriaislajit ja -heimot elivät niissä aikuisina tai toukkina. Käävistä löytyi 179 kovakuoriaislajia 20 heimosta, ja kuoriaisten todettiin hyödyntävän 116 kääpälajia. Toisaalta 82 kääpälajista ei tavattu koskaan kovakuoriaisten aikuisia, sen paremmin kuin toukkiakaan. Tämän tutkimuksen pohjalta arvioidaan, että käävät tarjoavat elinympäristön noin 300 kovakuoriaislajille Suomessa. Tutkimus toi paljon uutta tietoa Suomen vanhojen luonnontilaisten metsien lajidiversiteetistä

Prototype biodiversity digital twin: prioritisation of DNA metabarcoding sampling locations

Advancements in environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding have revolutionised our capacity to assess biodiversity, especially for cryptic or less-studied organisms, such as fungi, bacteria and micro-invertebrates. Despite its cost-effectiveness, the spatial selection for sampling sites remains a critical challenge due to the considerable time and resources required for processing and analysing eDNA samples. This study introduces a Biodiversity Digital Twin Prototype, aimed at optimising the selection and prioritisation of eDNA sampling locations. Leveraging available eDNA data and integrating user-defined criteria, this digital twin facilitates informed decision-making in selecting future sampling sites. Through the development of an associated data formatting tool, we also facilitate the accessibility and utility of DNA metabarcoding data for broader conservation efforts. This prototype will serve multiple end-users, from researchers and monitoring initiatives to commercial enterprises, by providing an intuitive interface for interactive exploration and prioritisation, based on estimated complementarity of future samples. The prototype offers a scalable approach to biodiversity sampling. Ultimately, this tool aims to refine our understanding of global biodiversity patterns and support targeted conservation strategies through efficient eDNA sampling

The UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi : handling dark taxa and parallel taxonomic classifications

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation [G-2015-14062]; Swedish Research Council of Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning [FORMAS, 215-2011-498]; European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence EcolChange) [TK131]; Estonian Research Council [IUT20-30]. Funding for open access charge: Swedish Research Council of Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Urbanization affects oak-pathogen interactions across spatial scales

The world is rapidly urbanizing, thereby transforming natural landscapes and changing the abundance and distribution of organisms. However, insights into the effects of urbanization on species interactions, and plant-pathogen interactions in particular, are lacking. We investigated the effects of urbanization on powdery mildew infection on Quercus robur at continental and within-city scales. At the continental scale, we compared infection levels between urban and rural areas of different-sized cities in Europe, and investigated whether plant traits, climatic variables and CO2 emissions mediated the effect of urbanization on infection levels. Within one large city (Stockholm, Sweden), we further explored whether local habitat features and spatial connectivity influenced infection levels during multiple years. At the continental scale, infection severity was consistently higher on trees in urban than rural areas, with some indication that temperature mediated this effect. Within Stockholm city, temperature had no effect, while local accumulation of leaf litter negatively affected powdery mildew incidence in one out of three years, and more connected trees had lower infection levels. This study is the first to describe the effects of urbanization on plant-pathogen interactions both within and among cities, and to uncover the potential mechanisms behind the observed patterns at each scale.Peer reviewe

Emerging technologies revolutionise insect ecology and monitoring

Insects are the most diverse group of animals on Earth, but their small size and high diversity have always made them challenging to study. Recent technologi- cal advances have the potential to revolutionise insect ecology and monitoring. We describe the state of the art of four technologies (computer vision, acoustic monitoring, radar, and molecular methods), and assess their advantages, current limitations, and future potential. We discuss how these technologies can adhere to modern standards of data curation and transparency, their implications for citizen science, and their potential for integration among different monitoring programmes and technologies. We argue that they provide unprecedented possibilities for insect ecology and monitoring, but it will be important to foster international standards via collaborationpublishedVersio

Impacts of urbanization on insect herbivory and plant defences in oak trees

Systematic comparisons of species interactions in urban versus rural environments can improve our understanding of shifts in ecological processes due to urbanization. However, such studies are relatively uncommon and the mechanisms driving urbanization effects on species interactions (e.g. between plants and insect herbivores) remain elusive. Here we investigated the effects of urbanization on leaf herbivory by insect chewers and miners associated with the English oak Quercus robur by sampling trees in rural and urban areas throughout most of the latitudinal distribution of this species. In performing these comparisons, we also controlled for the size of the urban areas (18 cities) and gathered data on CO emissions. In addition, we assessed whether urbanization affected leaf chemical defences (phenolic compounds) and nutritional traits (phosphorus and nitrogen), and whether such changes correlated with herbivory levels. Urbanization significantly reduced leaf chewer damage but did not affect leaf miners. In addition, we found that leaves from urban locations had lower levels of chemical defences (condensed and hydrolysable tannins) and higher levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) compared to leaves in rural locations. The magnitude of urbanization effects on herbivory and leaf defences was not contingent upon city size. Importantly, while the effects of urbanization on chemical defences were associated with CO emissions, changes in leaf chewer damage were not associated with either leaf traits or CO levels. These results suggest that effects of urbanization on herbivory occur through mechanisms other than changes in the plant traits measured here. Overall, our simultaneous assessment of insect herbivory, plant traits and abiotic correlates advances our understanding of the main drivers of urbanization effects on plant–herbivore interactions.This research was financially supported by a Spanish National Research Grant (AGL2015-70748-R), a Regional Government of Galicia Grant (IN607D 2016/001) and the Ramón y Cajal Research Programme (RYC-2013-13230).Peer reviewe

The Bari Manifesto : An interoperability framework for essential biodiversity variables

Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV) are fundamental variables that can be used for assessing biodiversity change over time, for determining adherence to biodiversity policy, for monitoring progress towards sustainable development goals, and for tracking biodiversity responses to disturbances and management interventions. Data from observations or models that provide measured or estimated EBV values, which we refer to as EBV data products, can help to capture the above processes and trends and can serve as a coherent framework for documenting trends in biodiversity. Using primary biodiversity records and other raw data as sources to produce EBV data products depends on cooperation and interoperability among multiple stakeholders, including those collecting and mobilising data for EBVs and those producing, publishing and preserving EBV data products. Here, we encapsulate ten principles for the current best practice in EBV-focused biodiversity informatics as 'The Bari Manifesto', serving as implementation guidelines for data and research infrastructure providers to support the emerging EBV operational framework based on trans-national and cross-infrastructure scientific workflows. The principles provide guidance on how to contribute towards the production of EBV data products that are globally oriented, while remaining appropriate to the producer's own mission, vision and goals. These ten principles cover: data management planning; data structure; metadata; services; data quality; workflows; provenance; ontologies/vocabularies; data preservation; and accessibility. For each principle, desired outcomes and goals have been formulated. Some specific actions related to fulfilling the Bari Manifesto principles are highlighted in the context of each of four groups of organizations contributing to enabling data interoperability - data standards bodies, research data infrastructures, the pertinent research communities, and funders. The Bari Manifesto provides a roadmap enabling support for routine generation of EBV data products, and increases the likelihood of success for a global EBV framework.Peer reviewe

The UNITE database for molecular identification and taxonomic communication of fungi and other eukaryotes : sequences, taxa and classifications reconsidered

Acknowledgements We acknowledge Marie Zirk for her work in designing the UNITE logotype and creating the visual abstract for this article. Funding UNITE database development is financed by the Estonian Research Council [PRG1170]; European Union's Horizon 2020 project BGE [101059492]. The PlutoF digital infrastructure is supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 project BiCIKL [101007492]; Estonian Research Infrastructure roadmap project DiSSCo Estonia. Funding for open access charge: UNITE Community. Conflict of interest statement. None declared.Peer reviewedPublisher PD