Impact of increasing morphological information by micro-CT scanning on the phylogenetic placement of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in amber.

The correct interpretation of fossils and their reliable taxonomic placements are fundamental for understanding the evolutionary history of biodiversity. Amber inclusions often preserve more morphological information than compression fossils, but are often partially hidden or distorted, which can impede taxonomic identification. Here, we studied four new fossil species of Darwin wasps from Baltic and Dominican amber, using micro computed tomography (micro-CT) scans and 3D reconstructions to accurately interpret and increase the availability of morphological information. We then infer their taxonomic placement in a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis by combining morphological and molecular data of extant and fossil Darwin wasps and evaluate the impact and usefulness of the additional information from micro-CT scanning. The results show that although we gained significant morphological information from micro-CT scanning, especially concerning measurements and hidden dorsal and ventral structures, this did not impact subfamily-level placement for any of the four fossils. However, micro-CT scanning improved the precision of fossil placements at the genus level, which might be key in future dating and diversification analyses. Finally, we describe the four new fossil species as Rhyssa gulliveri sp. nov. in Rhyssinae, Triclistus levii sp. nov. in Metopiinae, Firkantus freddykruegeri gen. et. sp. nov. in Pimplinae and Magnocula sarcophaga gen. et sp. nov. in Phygadeuontinae. The first two species are the first known representatives of the subfamilies Rhyssinae and Metopiinae in amber. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13358-023-00294-2

Incongruent molecular and morphological variation in the crab spider Synema globosum (Araneae, Thomisidae) in Europe

Establishing species boundaries is one of the challenges taxonomists around the world have been tackling for centuries. The relation between intraspecific and interspecific variability is still under discussion and in many taxa it remains understudied. Here the hypothesis of single versus multiple species of the crab spider Synema globosum (Fabricius) is tested. The wide distribution range as well as its high morphological variability makes this species an interesting candidate for re-evaluation using an integrative approach. This study combines information from barcoding, phylogenetic reconstruction based on mitochondrial CO1 and ITS2 of more than 60 specimens collected over a wide range of European localities, and morphology. The findings show deep clades with up to 6% mean pairwise distance in the CO1 barcode without any biogeographical pattern. The nuclear ITS2 gene did not support the CO1 clades. Morphological assessment of somatic and genital characters in males and females and a morphometric analysis of the male palp uncovered high intraspecific variation that does not match the CO1 or ITS2 phylogenies or biogeography either. Screening for endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria was conducted and only a single infected specimen was found. Several scenarios might explain these inconsistent patterns. While the deep divergences in the barcoding marker might suggest cryptic or ongoing speciation or geographical isolation in the past, the lack of congruent variation in the nuclear ITS2 gene or the studied morphological character systems, especially the male palp, indicates that S. globosum might simply be highly polymorphic both in terms of its mtDNA and morphology. Therefore, more data on ecology and behaviour and full genome sequences are necessary to ultimately resolve this taxonomically intriguing case

Effects of a dog-assisted social- and emotional-competence training for prisoners: a controlled study

Abstract: Background: Previous research has called for improving psychological interventions and developing new treatments for prisoners. Animal-assisted prison-based programmes have increasingly been used as an approach, but there is a lack of studies investigating the effectiveness of such programmes. Objective: To investigate the effects of a dog-assisted social- and emotional- competence training on the socioemotional competences of prisoners compared to treatment as usual. Methods: In a controlled trial, we investigated 62 prisoners that participated in either a 6-month dog- assisted psychotherapeutic programme or the standard treatment. We assessed social and emotional competences before and after the training and at a 4-month follow-up. Data were analysed with linear models. Results: The prisoners' self-assessed social and emotional competences did not differ. The psychotherapists rated the prisoners' emotional competences in the intervention group higher at the follow-up but not after the training. The psychotherapists did not rate the prisoners' social competences in the intervention group differently but did find them to have higher self-regulation at follow-up and lower aggressiveness after the training than the control group. Conclusions: This study indicates that dog-assisted programmes with a therapeutic aim might be beneficial for prisoners. However, the inconsistent results indicate that more research is needed to determine the potential and limits of animal-assisted programmes in forensic settings

Open access in a taxonomic sense: a morphological and molecular guide to Western Palaearctic Dusona (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae)

In the present time of biodiversity crisis, assessing species diversity by accurate and accessible taxonomic revisions is more crucial than ever. Parasitoid wasps are considered as both one of the most diverse and under-studied groups in the tree of life. Dusona Cameron, 1901 (Ichneumonidae, Campopleginae) is with 442 species one of the most species - rich genera of Darwin wasps, but despite the existence of recent keys, species identification has proven difficult to impossible to non-specialists. In this study, we exam- ined about 1,500 Dusona specimens from recent and historical collections in Sweden and Switzerland. We provide a photographic guide to diagnostic characters and detailed plates for 57 out of 125 Western Palaearctic Dusona species, facilitating species identification based on existing keys. We add 11 and 3 species to the faunistic records of Sweden and Switzerland, respectively. Furthermore, we reconstruct the phylogeny of European Dusona based on four standard markers (COI, CAD, ITS2, 28S) for 45 species, complemented with a reliable reference barcode library for 46 species. Even though we can identify sev- eral morphologically distinct clades, we do not propose any new subgenera due to prevalent homoplasy of characters. While most species are well separated by barcodes, several morphologically distinct species have barely discriminatory barcode sequences (p-distances < 2%) or are even paraphyletic in this marker, indicating limitations in the applicability of barcodes for Darwin wasps. This study reveals severe gaps in the inventories of neglected taxa even for well-studied countries such as Sweden and Switzerland. As this study makes species determination for Western Palaearctic Dusona more accessible, we encourage more people, including non-specialists, to work with this genus.iadegma parasitoid wasps in Sweden (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae): unravelling the unknow

An interactive key to the European genera of Campopleginae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) and 20 new species for Sweden

Darwin wasps of the subfamily Campopleginae are among the most poorly studied insect groups, which is to a large part due to inadequate identification tools. The currently 835 European species are classified into 42 genera, some of a somewhat unclear delimitation, and are very hard to identify using the incomplete, scattered and often poorly illustrated literature. We here assess different character systems for genus identification and provide an interactive, dynamic online key to the European genera. We apply this key to identify 3,500 specimens of the Swedish Malaise Trap Project to genus level. We then chose ten comparatively small genera for species-level identification, reporting a total of 37 species, 20 of which are new records for Sweden. The large number of species only found in a single trap location indicates that a lot remains to be discovered, even in an otherwise well-known fauna such as Sweden’s.Klämbaksteklar (underfamilj Campopleginae i familjen Ichneumonidae) tillhör några av de minst kända insektsgrupperna i Sverige. Denna avsaknad på kunskap beror till stor del på bristfälliga identiferingsnycklar. De 835 europeiska arterna är fördelade på 42 släkten och artsavgränsningen för många arter är oklar, vilket gör dem mycket svåra att artbestämma med hjälp av den litteratur som finns att tillgå. Vi har granskat olika karaktärsystem för släktesidentifiering och presenterar här en interaktiv, dynamisk nätbaserad nyckel till de europeiska släktena. Vi använder nyckeln för att identifiera 3,500 exemplar insamlade i Svenska Malaisefälleprojektet till släktesnivå. Individer från tio relativt små släkten har sedan identiferas till artnivå och vi rapporterar här 37 arter, av vilka 20 är nya fynd för landet. I materialet finns ett stort antal arter som enbart hittats på en enda lokal, vilket tyder på att mycket återstår att upptäcka, även i den annars så välkända Svenska faunan.Diadegma parasitoid wasps in Sweden (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae): unravelling the unknown\u202

An interactive key to the European genera of Campopleginae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) and 20 new species for Sweden

Darwin wasps of the subfamily Campopleginae are among the most poorly studied insect groups, which is to a large part due to inadequate identification tools. The currently 835 European species are classified into 42 genera, some of a somewhat unclear delimitation, and are very hard to identify using the incomplete, scattered and often poorly illustrated literature. We here assess different character systems for genus identification and provide an interactive, dynamic online key to the European genera. We apply this key to identify 3,500 specimens of the Swedish Malaise Trap Project to genus level. We then chose ten comparatively small genera for species-level identification, reporting a total of 37 species, 20 of which are new records for Sweden. The large number of species only found in a single trap location indicates that a lot remains to be discovered, even in an otherwise well-known fauna such as Sweden’s.Klämbaksteklar (underfamilj Campopleginae i familjen Ichneumonidae) tillhör några av de minst kända insektsgrupperna i Sverige. Denna avsaknad på kunskap beror till stor del på bristfälliga identiferingsnycklar. De 835 europeiska arterna är fördelade på 42 släkten och artsavgränsningen för många arter är oklar, vilket gör dem mycket svåra att artbestämma med hjälp av den litteratur som finns att tillgå. Vi har granskat olika karaktärsystem för släktesidentifiering och presenterar här en interaktiv, dynamisk nätbaserad nyckel till de europeiska släktena. Vi använder nyckeln för att identifiera 3,500 exemplar insamlade i Svenska Malaisefälleprojektet till släktesnivå. Individer från tio relativt små släkten har sedan identiferas till artnivå och vi rapporterar här 37 arter, av vilka 20 är nya fynd för landet. I materialet finns ett stort antal arter som enbart hittats på en enda lokal, vilket tyder på att mycket återstår att upptäcka, även i den annars så välkända Svenska faunan.Diadegma parasitoid wasps in Sweden (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae): unravelling the unknown\u202

Effects of a Dog-Assisted Social- and Emotional-Competence Training for Prisoners: A Controlled Study

Background: Previous research has called for improving psychological interventions and developing new treatments for prisoners. Animal-assisted prison-based programmes have increasingly been used as an approach, but there is a lack of studies investigating the effectiveness of such programmes. Objective: To investigate the effects of a dog-assisted social- and emotional-competence training on the socioemotional competences of prisoners compared to treatment as usual. Methods: In a controlled trial, we investigated 62 prisoners that participated in either a 6-month dog-assisted psychotherapeutic programme or the standard treatment. We assessed social and emotional competences before and after the training and at a 4-month follow-up. Data were analysed with linear models. Results: The prisoners’ self-assessed social and emotional competences did not differ. The psychotherapists rated the prisoners’ emotional competences in the intervention group higher at the follow-up but not after the training. The psychotherapists did not rate the prisoners’ social competences in the intervention group differently but did find them to have higher self-regulation at follow-up and lower aggressiveness after the training than the control group. Conclusions: This study indicates that dog-assisted programmes with a therapeutic aim might be beneficial for prisoners. However, the inconsistent results indicate that more research is needed to determine the potential and limits of animal-assisted programmes in forensic settings