Inclusion of juvenile stages improves diversity assessment and adds to our understanding of mite ecology – A case study from mires in Norway

Arachnid orders, Mesostigmata, Trombidiformes, and Sarcoptiformes, commonly known as ‘mites’, are abundant in mires, both as adults and as juveniles. However, due to the challenges of identification, the juvenile forms are often excluded from analyses. This is the first study in mires that included all three mite orders identified to the species level, including juvenile instars. We aimed to compare how diversity and the response to ecological variables differed if only the adults (ad) vs. the total number of specimens (ad+juv) are considered. Samples of 20 Sphagnum species (five subgenera) were collected and mites were extracted using Berlese funnels. Overall, nearly 60,000 mites were analyzed; of these Mesostigmata made up 1.87% of the total, Trombidiformes −0.27%, and Sarcoptiformes −97.86%. The study revealed 154 species (33 Mesostigmata, 24 Trombidiformes, and 97 Sarcoptiformes), the highest diversity of mites ever reported from mires. The inclusion of juveniles increased observed species richness by 6%, with 10 species (one Mesostigmata, six Trombidiformes, and three Sarcoptiformes) represented only by juvenile forms. Seventeen species are new to Norway (four Mesostigmata, one Sarcoptiformes, and 12 Trombidiformes, including five undescribed species of Stigmaeidae and Cunaxidae). Four of these were represented in the samples only by juveniles. Including the juveniles explained a greater amount of the variability of Trombidiformes (explanatory variables account for 23.60% for ad, and 73.74% for ad+juv) and Mesostigmata (29.23% − ad, 52.91% − ad+juv), but had less of an impact for Sarcoptiformes (38.48% − ad, 39.26% − ad+juv). Locality, Sphagnum subgenus and species, wetness, and trophic state significantly affected the mite communities and should be taken into consideration when studying mires. Since juvenile stages contribute significantly to mite diversity in mires, they should also be included in mite studies in other habitats.publishedVersio

Acari of Canada

Summaries of taxonomic knowledge are provided for all acarine groups in Canada, accompanied by references to relevant publications, changes in classification at the family level since 1979, and notes on biology relevant to estimating their diversity. Nearly 3000 described species from 269 families are recorded in the country, representing a 56% increase from the 1917 species reported by Lindquist et al. (1979). An additional 42 families are known from Canada only from material identified to family- or genus-level. Of the total 311 families known in Canada, 69 are newly recorded since 1979, excluding apparent new records due solely to classification changes. This substantial progress is most evident in Oribatida and Hydrachnidia, for which many regional checklists and family-level revisions have been published. Except for recent taxonomic leaps in a few other groups, particularly of symbiotic mites (Astigmata: feather mites; Mesostigmata: Rhinonyssidae), knowledge remains limited for most other taxa, for which most species records are unpublished and may require verification. Taxonomic revisions are greatly needed for a large majority of families in Canada. Based in part on species recorded in adjacent areas of the USA and on hosts known to be present here, we conservatively estimate that nearly 10,000 species of mites occur in Canada, but the actual number could be 15,000 or more. This means that at least 70% of Canada’s mite fauna is yet unrecorded. Much work also remains to match existing molecular data with species names, as less than 10% of the ~7500 Barcode Index Numbers for Canadian mites in the Barcode of Life Database are associated with named species. Understudied hosts and terrestrial and aquatic habitats require investigation across Canada to uncover new species and to clarify geographic and ecological distributions of known species

Diversity and Distribution of Mites (Acari: Ixodida, Mesostigmata, Trombidiformes, Sarcoptiformes) in the Svalbard Archipelago

Svalbard is a singular region to study biodiversity. Located at a high latitude and geographically isolated, the archipelago possesses widely varying environmental conditions and unique flora and fauna communities. It is also here where particularly rapid environmental changes are occurring, having amongst the fastest increases in mean air temperature in the Arctic. One of the most common and species-rich invertebrate groups in Svalbard is the mites (Acari). We here describe the characteristics of the Svalbard acarofauna, and, as a baseline, an updated inventory of 178 species (one Ixodida, 36 Mesostigmata, 43 Trombidiformes, and 98 Sarcoptiformes) along with their occurrences. In contrast to the Trombidiformes and Sarcoptiformes, which are dominated in Svalbard by species with wide geographical distributions, the Mesostigmata include many Arctic species (39%); it would thus be an interesting future study to determine if mesostigmatid communities are more affected by global warming then other mite groups. A large number of new species (42 spp.) have been described from Svalbard, including 15 that have so far been found exclusively there. It is yet uncertain if any of these latter species are endemic: six are recent findings, the others are old records and, in most cases, impossible to verify. That the Arctic is still insufficiently sampled also limits conclusions concerning endemicity.publishedVersio

Species delimitation using morphology, morphometrics, and molecules: definition of the Ophion scutellaris Thomson species group, with descriptions of six new species (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae)

The diverse genus Ophion is almost entirely undescribed in the Nearctic region. In this paper we define the Ophion scutellaris species group. This species group is well-supported by analysis of DNA (ITS2, COI, and 28S D2-D3) and morphology. It includes the Palearctic species O. scutellaris and the Nearctic species O. idoneus. An integrative analysis of DNA, geometric wing morphometrics, classical morphometrics and qualitative morphology indicates that this species group contains a minimum of seven species in North America, although the full diversity of the group has likely not been sampled. O. clave Schwarzfeld, sp. n., O. aureus Schwarzfeld, sp. n., O. brevipunctatus Schwarzfeld, sp. n., O. dombroskii Schwarzfeld, sp. n., O. keala Schwarzfeld, sp. n. and O. importunus Schwarzfeld, sp. n. are described, and a key to the known Nearctic species of the O. scutellaris group is provided

COI_alignment

Complete COI data matrix used to construct phylogenetic tree

Alien dominance of the parasitoid wasp community along an elevation gradient on Hawai’i Island

Through intentional and accidental introduction, more than 100 species of alien Ichneumonidae and Braconidae (Hymenoptera) have become established in the Hawaiian Islands. The extent to which these parasitoid wasps have penetrated native wet forests was investigated over a 1,765 m elevation gradient on windward Hawai’i Island. For [1 year, malaise traps were used to continuously monitor parasitoid abundance and species richness in nine sites over three elevations. A total of 18,996 individuals from 16 subfamilies were collected. Overall, the fauna was dominated by aliens, with 44 of 58 species foreign to the Hawaiian Islands. Ichneumonidae was dominant over Braconidae in terms of both diversity and abundance, comprising 67.5% of individuals and 69.0% of species collected. Parasitoid abundance and species richness varied significantly with elevation: abundance was greater at mid and high elevations compared to low elevation while species richness increased with increasing elevation, with all three elevations differing significantly from each other. Nine species purposely introduced to control pest insects were found, but one braconid, Meteorus laphygmae, comprised 98.0% of this assemblage, or 28.3% of the entire fauna. Endemic species, primarily within the genera Spolas and Enicospilus, were collected almost exclusively at mid- and high-elevation sites, where they made up 22.1% and 36.0% of the total catch, respectively. Overall, 75.9% of species and 96.0% of individuals are inferred to parasitize Lepidoptera larvae and pupae. Our results support previous data indicating that alien parasitoids have deeply penetrated native forest habitats and may have substantial impacts on Hawaiian ecosystems

ITS2 sequence matrix

Nexus file with ITS2 sequence matrix used in phylogenetic analyse

ITS2_alignment

Complete ITS2 data matrix used to construct phylogenetic analyse

Data from: Molecular phylogeny of the diverse parasitoid wasp genus Ophion Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ophioninae)

Ophion Fabricius is a diverse genus of nocturnal ichneumonid wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera) that is particularly species-rich in temperate areas, yet has received little taxonomic attention in the Holarctic region, where most species occur. While there have been some attempts to divide Ophion into monophyletic species groups, the vast majority of species have been lumped into a single, paraphyletic group, the O. luteus species group, which is defined only by the lack of characters specific to the other groups. The challenging morphology of this large catch-all group has limited attempts to subdivide it, and no phylogenetic hypothesis has been proposed for the genus as a whole. In this study, we use DNA sequence data [28S ribosomal RNA (28S), cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2)] to present the first molecular phylogeny of Ophion. We also describe the secondary structure of ITS2 for the first time in Ichneumonidae, and explore its implications for phylogeny estimation. We define 13 species groups, nine of which were previously considered part of the O. luteus species group s.l. The included species groups are the O. minutus, O. areolaris, O. scutellaris, O. flavidus, O. parvulus, O. slossonae, O. nigrovarius, O. pteridis, O. luteus s.s., and O. obscuratus species groups, along with three groups lacking described species (Species group 1, New Zealand group, Madagascar group). This study provides a framework for future studies of this diverse and morphologically challenging genus

28S sequence matrix

Nexus file with 28S (D2-D3 region) sequence matrix used in phylogenetic analyse