Host records and geographical distribution of Corynosoma magdaleni, C. semerme and C. strumosum (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae).

A literature survey was conducted to investigate the host and geographical distribution patterns of three Corynosoma species (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae), viz. C. magdaleni, C. semerme and C. strumosum. All three species appear to be restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. Occurrence records of C. magdaleni are limited to the Northern Atlantic coasts, while C. semerme has a circumpolar distribution. The geographical range of Corynosoma strumosum encompasses the distributions of the other two species, but also extends into warmer southern regions. Some Corynosoma populations are living with their definitive hosts in very isolated locations, such as in the brackish Baltic Sea or different freshwater lakes (e.g. Lake Saimaa). All three species have a heteroxenous life cycle, comprising a peracaridan intermediate host, a fish paratenic host and a mammalian definitive host. Occasionally, an acanthocephalan may enter an accidental host, from which it is unable to complete its life cycle. The host records reported here are categorised by type, i.e. intermediate, paratenic, definitive or accidental. While most of the definitive hosts are shared amongst the three Corynosoma species, C. strumosum showed the broadest range of paratenic hosts, which reflects its more extensive geographical distribution. One aim of this study and extensive literature summary is to guide future sampling efforts and therewith contribute to throw more light on the on-going species and morphotype discussion for this interesting parasite species

Integrating experimental and distribution data to predict future species patterns

Predictive species distribution models are mostly based on statistical dependence between environmental and distributional data and therefore may fail to account for physiological limits and biological interactions that are fundamental when modelling species distributions under future climate conditions. Here, we developed a state-of-the-art method integrating biological theory with survey and experimental data in a way that allows us to explicitly model both physical tolerance limits of species and inherent natural variability in regional conditions and thereby improve the reliability of species distribution predictions under future climate conditions. By using a macroalga-herbivore association (Fucus vesiculosus - Idotea balthica) as a case study, we illustrated how salinity reduction and temperature increase under future climate conditions may significantly reduce the occurrence and biomass of these important coastal species. Moreover, we showed that the reduction of herbivore occurrence is linked to reduction of their host macroalgae. Spatial predictive modelling and experimental biology have been traditionally seen as separate fields but stronger interlinkages between these disciplines can improve species distribution projections under climate change. Experiments enable qualitative prior knowledge to be defined and identify cause-effect relationships, and thereby better foresee alterations in ecosystem structure and functioning under future climate conditions that are not necessarily seen in projections based on non-causal statistical relationships alone.Peer reviewe

Evaluating the potential of ecological niche modelling as a component in marine non-indigenous species risk assessments

Marine biological invasions have increased with the development of global trading, causing the homogenization of communities and the decline of biodiversity. A main vector is ballast water exchange from shipping. This study evaluates the use of ecological niche modelling (ENM) to predict the spread of 18 non-indigenous species (NIS) along shipping routes and their potential habitat suitability (hot/cold spots) in the Baltic Sea and Northeast Atlantic. Results show that, contrary to current risk assessment methods, temperature and sea ice concentration determine habitat suitability for 61% of species, rather than salinity (11%). We show high habitat suitability for NIS in the Skagerrak and Kattegat, a transitional area for NIS entering or leaving the Baltic Sea. As many cases of NIS introduction in the marine environment are associated with shipping pathways, we explore how ENM can be used to provide valuable information on the potential spread of NIS for ballast water risk assessment

BioVeL : a virtual laboratory for data analysis and modelling in biodiversity science and ecology

Background: Making forecasts about biodiversity and giving support to policy relies increasingly on large collections of data held electronically, and on substantial computational capability and capacity to analyse, model, simulate and predict using such data. However, the physically distributed nature of data resources and of expertise in advanced analytical tools creates many challenges for the modern scientist. Across the wider biological sciences, presenting such capabilities on the Internet (as "Web services") and using scientific workflow systems to compose them for particular tasks is a practical way to carry out robust "in silico" science. However, use of this approach in biodiversity science and ecology has thus far been quite limited. Results: BioVeL is a virtual laboratory for data analysis and modelling in biodiversity science and ecology, freely accessible via the Internet. BioVeL includes functions for accessing and analysing data through curated Web services; for performing complex in silico analysis through exposure of R programs, workflows, and batch processing functions; for on- line collaboration through sharing of workflows and workflow runs; for experiment documentation through reproducibility and repeatability; and for computational support via seamless connections to supporting computing infrastructures. We developed and improved more than 60 Web services with significant potential in many different kinds of data analysis and modelling tasks. We composed reusable workflows using these Web services, also incorporating R programs. Deploying these tools into an easy-to-use and accessible 'virtual laboratory', free via the Internet, we applied the workflows in several diverse case studies. We opened the virtual laboratory for public use and through a programme of external engagement we actively encouraged scientists and third party application and tool developers to try out the services and contribute to the activity. Conclusions: Our work shows we can deliver an operational, scalable and flexible Internet-based virtual laboratory to meet new demands for data processing and analysis in biodiversity science and ecology. In particular, we have successfully integrated existing and popular tools and practices from different scientific disciplines to be used in biodiversity and ecological research.Peer reviewe

Winter weight loss of different subspecies of honey bee Apis mellifera colonies (Linnaeus, 1758) in southwestern Sweden

Honey bees are currently facing mounting pressures that have resulted in population declines in many parts of the world. In northern climates winter is a bottleneck for honey bees and a thorough understanding of the colonies’ ability to withstand the winter is needed in order to protect the bees from further decline. In this study the influence of weather variables on colony weight loss was studied over one winter (2019–2020) in two apiaries (32 colonies in total) in southwestern Sweden with weather stations recording wind and temperature at 5-min intervals. Three subspecies of honey bees and one hybrid were studied: the native Apis mellifera mellifera, the Italian A. m. ligustica, the Carniolan A. m. carnica and the hybrid Buckfast. Additionally, we recorded Varroa mite infestation. To analyze factors involved in resource consumption, three modelling approaches using weather and weight data were developed: the first links daily consumption rates with environmental variables, the second modelled the cumulative weight change over time, and the third estimated weight change over time taking light intensity and temperature into account. Weight losses were in general low (0.039 ± 0.013kg/day and colony) and comparable to southern locations, likely due to an exceptionally warm winter (average temperature 3.5°C). Weight losses differed only marginally between subspecies with indications that A. m. mellifera was having a more conservative resource consumption, but more studies are needed to confirm this. We did not find any effect of Varroa mite numbers on weight loss. Increased light intensity and temperature both triggered the resource consumption in honey bees. The temperature effect on resource consumption is in accordance with the metabolic theory of ecology. The consequences of these findings on honey bee survival under predicted climate changes, is still an open question that needs further analysis.CC BY [email protected]: October 14, 2021Funding: All authors were funded by the EU-financed INTERREG Sweden-Norway programme - European structural and Investments Funds in Sweden (2014-2020) (grant-nr. 20201923) with the Swedish title “BIstånd till nordiska bin – unik resurs för framtidens ekosystemtjänster” (http://www.interreg-sverige-norge.com/?portfolio=bistand-till-nordiska-bin-unik-resurs-for-framtidens-ekosystemtjanster), the funders did not play a role in the study design, data collection, analysis, publish decistion or preparation of the manuscript.BIstånd till nordiska bin – unik resurs för framtidens ekosystemtjänste

Why are so many Northern European aquatic invertebrates missing in red-listing and how can we improve assessments for those?

The biodiversity crisis is advancing rapidly. One tool to measure extinction risk is the Red List of Threatened Species which follows the IUCN evaluation criteria (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Many aquatic invertebrates in Northern Europe are completely missing a red listing process and are evaluated as Data Deficient (DD) or Not Evaluated (NE). In our project, we focus on marine crustaceans and freshwater molluscs (Bivalvia). A systematic survey of more than 440 crustacean and 44 molluscan species in 12 Northern European countries shows that while many freshwater bivalve molluscs and marine crustaceans have existing molecular barcodes as well as digital occurrence records in databases (e.g. in GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility), there exists no evaluation process or regular monitoring for those species and their population status. With such a high level of non-evaluation of species status, species action plans (for single species or multi-taxon approaches) are far away from reality. In general, traditional monitoring methods based on observational surveys are known to be inefficient, costly and time consuming. e-DNA allows us to detect species with a high level of sensitivity as long as those assays are well validated. Molecular occurrence records can be used to detect rare species and to collect population information. In our Swedish project, we are metabarcoding sediment and plankton samples using metazoan and taxon-specific primers to detect threatened aquatic species. During 2019 and 2020, we collected samples at 15 localities in two marine protected areas for marine crustaceans and at 15 different localities for freshwater molluscs at the Swedish west coast. At each location plankton, sediment and traditional aquatic monitoring samples were taken. The idea is to compare how the methods perform in finding rare species, which could improve the data for those groups so they can be evaluated in the next round of red listing (2025) in Sweden. During the entire project, there is an on-going dialogue with stakeholders and experts from the Swedish Species Information Centre, responsible for the red listing process in the country.CC BY 4.0</p

Morphological observations on three Baltic species of Corynosoma Lühe, 1905 (Acanthocephala, Polymorphidae)

Necropsies of Baltic grey (Halichoerus grypus) and ringed seals (Pusa hispida) presented a rare opportunity to study their acanthocephalan fauna. Both species hosted adults of three species of the genus Corynosoma Lithe, 1904, namely C. magdaleni Montreuil, 1958, C. semerme (Forsell, 1904) Lithe 1911 and C. strumosum (Rudolphi, 1802) Lithe 1904. A comparative morphological analysis of these three species of Corynosoma, combining both light and scanning electron microscopy, was performed for the first time. Sexual dimorphism in the size and shape of the trunk was observed in both C. magdaleni and C. semerme, but there was insufficient material to investigate this phenomenon in C. strumosum. Genital spines were not observed in any of the female acanthocephalans. Three possible explanations for the presence of genital spines in some females, but not others are (i) cryptic speciation, (ii) phenotypic variation and (iii) loss by extraction or shearing when the copulatory cap is released. Copulatory caps were observed on female C. semerme. The size and morphology showed considerable variability and all caps were strongly autofluoresecent

The Analysis Portal and the Swedish LifeWatch e-infrastructure for biodiversity research

List of criteria that can be specified when searching for species observations in the Swedish LifeWatch e-infrastructure core web services, i.e. the Analysis Service and the Swedish Species Observation Service

Using Video Footage for Observing Honey Bee Behaviour at Hive Entrances

Video recording is a common method to study animal behaviour. In honey bee studies, short video-recordings are often used to learn more about a behaviour, but rarely used for their quantification. Standard methods for observing bee behaviour involve behavioural assays or direct observation of a limited subset of marked bees within an observation hive. This means that behaviour at the hive entrance may be overlooked. Here we describe a 4-camera set up for the study of behaviour at hive entrances. With minimal disturbance, we were able to record and quantify all previously described behaviours (9 in total - including self-grooming in drones) on and around the hive entrance. We briefly discuss the general feasibility of video footage and the relative frequency of each observed behaviour. Our conclusion is that video footage is a useful and perhaps overlooked method for unbiased quantification and comparisons of bee behaviour at the hive entrance. With this paper we are publishing some example short video-recordings as online supplementary material for educational purposes.CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Published online: 23 Aug 2022Email: [email protected] and Trädgårdsresan provided financial support for technical equipment and salary to EC. MN, SL and NN were funded by INTERREG Project number 2020-1923 'BIstånd till Nordiska bin'.</p