Monitoring changes in populations is fundamental for effective management. The West European hedgehog (Erinaceus europeaus) is of conservation concern in the UK because of recent substantial declines. Surveying hedgehogs is, however, problematic because of their nocturnal, cryptic behaviour. We compared the effectiveness of three methods (infra-red thermal camera, specialist search dog, spotlight) for detecting hedgehogs in three different habitats. Significantly more hedgehogs were detected, and at greater distance, using the camera and dog than the spotlight in amenity grassland and pasture; no hedgehogs were detected in woodland. Increasing ground cover reduced detection distances, with most detections (59.6%) associated with bare soil or mown grass; the dog was the only method that detected hedgehogs in vegetation taller than the target species' height. The additional value of surveying with a detection dog is most likely to be realised in areas where badgers (Meles meles), an intra-guild predator, are and/or where sufficient ground cover is present; both would allow hedgehogs to forage further from refuge habitats such as hedgerows. Further consideration of the effectiveness of detection dogs for finding hedgehogs in nests, as well as developing techniques for monitoring this species in woodland, is warranted.
Betasyringophiloidus Skoracki, 2011 is a genus of quill mites (Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) that is believed to contain mono-, steno- and polyxenous parasites associated with a wide range of passerine birds (Passeriformes) across the world. In this work we applied the DNA-barcode marker (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene fragment, COI) to verify whether Betasyringophiloidus schoeniclus (Skoracki, 2002) and Betasyringophiloidus seiuri (Clark, 1964) are actual steno- and polyxenous species associated with the currently recognised host ranges, or their populations are highly host-specific, cryptic species. Our results revealed that a population living on the Tristram's bunting Emberiza tristrami Swinhoe (Emberizidae) in Russia, so far classified as B. schoeniclus, is a new cryptic species Betasyringophiloidus emberizae sp. nov. Both topologies of the neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood phylogenetic trees as well as genetic distance (11.9% Kimura 2-parameter distance) (K2P) support species status of the mite population from E. tristrami. The same data support previously established conspecific status of B. seiuri found on the ovenbird Seiurus aurocapilla (Linnaeus) (Parulidae) (type host) and the northern waterthrush Parkesia noveboracensis (Gmelin) (Parulidae) and expand its range with a population found on a new host species Icterus pustulatus (Wagler) (Icteridae) with intraspecific K2P distance up to 1.9% and interpopulation distances ranging from 1.3 to 3.1%., Eliza Glowska, Lukasz Broda, Miroslawa Dabert., and Obsahuje bibliografii
It is commonly held that Central Europe harbours but a single harvester ant species, namely Messor structor. Recently discovered bionomic differences between two Central European populations, which may reflect interspecific variation, cast doubt on this assumption. In the present study we test alternative hypotheses - one versus two harvester ant species in Central Europe and adjacent regions - by investigating the genetic diversity of ants determined as M. structor or close to it ("M. cf. structor"). Sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene revealed two major lineages of different but partially overlapping geographic distributions, both occurring in Central Europe. The existence of a cryptic species within M. cf. structor is the most plausible interpretation, since the sequence divergence between the two major lineages equals those between M. capitatus, M. concolor and M. bouvieri. The phylogenetic analyses revealed a distinct substructuring for both of the detected major lineages and the possible existence of additional cryptic species.
Overlapping measurements in the length of the genitalia of Leptidea sinapis/reali collected in Slovenia triggered an investigation of a possible natural hybridization between these two well known sibling species of butterflies. Random polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to generate species specific markers and sequences of the cytochrome oxidase subunit one gene for determination of the progeny. RAPD's clustering and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogeny were congruent with the taxonomic placement of specimens of both species, but slightly incongruent with the results of the analysis of genital morphology. Two specimens with L. reali genitalia measurements, but genetically belonging to L. sinapis, had species specific RAPD markers of both species indicating probable hybrid origin. All the specimens with genitalia of intermediate length were also genetically assigned to L. sinapis indicating a possible one way introgression as predicted from their genitalia morphology. Leptidea sinapis was found predominantly in xerothermic habitats in Slovenia, whereas L. reali was more of a generalist except in the sub-Mediterranean region where it is limited to humid meadows.
Recently described Myotis alcathoe has been recorded in Ukraine for the first time and at eight new localities in three distant and geographically diverse areas of Poland (the mountains, the uplands and the lowlands). This data extends its distribution range in Central Europe and confirms it as a native breeding species in Poland. Specific identification of bats was confirmed by sequencing ND1 gene of mtDNA. In Poland its reproduction has been recorded in Łężczok reserve, Silesian Foothill and in Roztocze National Park. Bats were observed mostly within old broadleaved and mixed forests, near water, at altitude ranging from 112 to 736 m a.s.l. The only known roosting site for the species is a cave which is used both in spring and during the swarming period. In Poland the species co-occurred with both M. brandtii and M. mystacinus or with M. brandtii at all sites.
Myxobolus pseudodispar Gorbunova, 1936 (Myxozoa) was originally described as a parasite of common roach, Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus), with developing stages in muscles and spores disseminated in macrophage centres of different organs and tissues. Later, this parasite was described from several other cyprinids, but with relatively large intraspecific differences based on SSU rDNA gene sequences. Within our long-term study on myxozoan biodiversity, we performed a broad microscopic and molecular screening of various freshwater fish species (over 450 specimens, 36 species) from different localities. We investigated the cryptic species status of M. pseudodispar. Our analysis revealed four new unique SSU rDNA sequences of M. pseudodispar as well as an infection in new fish host species. Myxobolus pseudodispar sequence analysis showed clear phylogenetic grouping according to fish host criterion forming 13 well-recognised clades. Using 1% SSU rDNA-based genetic distance criterion, at least ten new species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 may be recognised in the group of M. pseudodispar sequences. Our analysis showed the paraphyletic character of M. pseudodispar sequences and the statistical tests rejected hypothetical tree topology with the monophyletic status of the M. pseudodispar group. Myxobolus pseudodispar represents a species complex and it is a typical example of myxozoan hidden diversity phenomenon confirming myxozoans as an evolutionary very successful group of parasites with a great ability to adapt to a new hosts with subsequent speciation events.
In this study we are adding further information to phylogeography of Pipistrellus pipistrellus complex by discovery of isolated mitochondrial lineages in Europe, from the island of Crete (Greece) and central Mediterranean (Sicily, Corsica) and by adding new data about geographic distribution of clades within the complex. We performed phylogeographic study with aid of partial sequence of cytochrome b and with focus to the radiation centre of this group in the Mediterranean Basin. Within the clade P. pygmaeus s.l., we have discovered isolated lineage from Crete, which is sister taxon to P. hanaki from Libya. We have detected the occurrence of P. pygmaeus s.str. in northern Iran. In the clade P. pipistrellus s.l. we have discovered isolated cluster represented by populations from Sicily and Corsica, with phylogenetic relation to Moroccan lineage. This is a first evidence of separated phylogroup within the complex from central Mediterranean. We refer the occurrence of P. pipistrellus s.str. from the island of Cyprus. These data represent further arguments for importance of the Mediterranean region in phylogeny of the P. pipistrellus species complex. Proposed allopatric speciation scenario considers the role of environmental fragmentation during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, strengthen by preference of mountain habitats in Mediterranean populations. The species status of Cretan and central Mediterraenan forms is also discussed.
Recent efforts to catalogue global biodiversity using genetic techniques have uncovered a number of "cryptic" species within morphologically similar populations that had previously been identified as single species. Chlosyne lacinia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), with a range extending from the Southwest U.S. to South America, is one of the most phenotypically variable and broadly distributed butterfly species in the New World. We sampled populations of C. lacinia in two temperate locations (California and Arizona) and one tropical location (El Salvador) to determine if cryptic species were present at this scale (temperate vs. tropical). We examined mtDNA sequence variation in COI, COII, the intervening tRNA (Leucine-2), 16S, 12S and an additional intervening tRNA (Valine), accounting for approximately 20% of the mitochondrial genome (3479 bp). Among all C. lacinia individuals, sequence divergence did not exceed 0.0084 compared to a 0.06 estimated divergence between C. lacinia and congener C. leanira. We also found subclade structure which did not clearly correspond to geography or subspecific designation. Though the mitochondrial phylogeny suggests a complex evolutionary history and biogeography, we demonstrate that one C. lacinia species is distributed throughout North and Central America spanning a diverse set of temperate and tropical habitats. and Timothy C. Bonebrake, Ward B. Watt, Alejandro Perez, Carol L. Boggs.
Maroko patří mezi státy ve Středozemí, kde se vyskytuje bohatá diverzita gekonů. Najdeme zde i několik endemických poddruhů, druhů a rodů. Nedávné molekulárně biologické studie naznačují, že některé populace mohou představovat kryptické druhy, tradičními metodami nerozlišované a dosud nepopsané., Morocco is one of the Mediterranean states with a rich diversity of geckos, including several endemic subspecies, species and genera. Recent molecular biological studies indicate that some populations may comprise cryptic species, not distinguished by traditional methods and previously not recognized., and Andrej Funk, Vladimír Vrabec, Marek Velechovský.
Mass releases of Trichogramma confusum Viggiani and T. maidis Pintureau & Voegele are widely used to control lepidopterous pests. They have long been considered to be the subspecies of T. chilonis Ishii and T. brassicae Bezdenko, respectively. To re-examine the taxonomic status of these closely related Trichogramma species, the internally transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of ribosomal DNA was used as a molecular marker to detect between-species differences. The ITS2 regions of 7 different Trichogramma species collected from China, Germany and France were sequenced and the inter-species distances were calculated. To quantify within-species sequence variation, the ITS2 regions of 6 geographical populations of T. dendrolimi Matsumura collected from across China were sequenced and compared. The results show that the ITS2 sequences of T. confusum and T. maidis are sufficiently different from those of T. chilonis and T. brassicae, respectively, that it is difficult to group them as cryptic species, whereas there are only minor differences between the T. dendrolimi populations. The ITS2 sequences identified in this study, coupled with 67 ITS2 sequences from a wide geographical distribution retrieved from GenBank, were then used for phylogenetic analyses. The results support previous records of minor within-species ITS2 sequence divergence and distinct interspecies differences. The cladograms show the T. maidis sequence clustered within T. evanescens Westwood, while the ITS2 sequences of T. confusum and T. chilonis are clustered in different branches. Taken together, these data suggest that T. maidis is not T. brassicae, but a cryptic or sibling species of T. evanescens; T. confusum and T. chilonis are not cryptic species but two closely related sister species.