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Article Reference Species niches, not traits, determine abundance and occupancy patterns: A multi‐site synthesis
Aim Locally abundant species are usually widespread, and this pattern has been related to properties of the niches and traits of species. However, such explanations fail to account for the potential of traits to determine species niches and often overlook statistical artefacts. Here, we examine how trait distinctiveness determines the abilities of species to exploit either common habitats (niche position) or a range of habitats (niche breadth) and how niche position and breadth, in turn, affect abundance and occupancy. We also examine how statistical artefacts moderate these relationships. Location Sixteen sites in the Neotropics. Time period 1993–2014. Major taxa studied Aquatic invertebrates from tank bromeliads. Methods We measured the environmental niche position and breadth of each species and calculated its trait distinctiveness as the average trait difference from all other species at each site. Then, we used a combination of structural equation models and a meta-analytical approach to test trait–niche relationships and a null model to control for statistical artefacts. Results The trait distinctiveness of each species was unrelated to its niche properties, abundance and occupancy. In contrast, niche position was the main predictor of abundance and occupancy; species that used the most common environmental conditions found across bromeliads were locally abundant and widespread. Contributions of niche breadth to such patterns were attributable to statistical artefacts, indicating that effects of niche breadth might have been overestimated in previous studies. Main conclusions Our study reveals the generality of niche position in explaining one of the most common ecological patterns. The robustness of this result is underscored by the geographical extent of our study and our control of statistical artefacts. We call for a similar examination across other systems, which is an essential task to understand the drivers of commonness across the tree of life.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference The value of eco-volunteer projects for biodiversity conservation-butterfly monitoring in Krka National Park (Croatia) with an updated checklist.
The biogeographical importance of Dalmatia, bordered by the Dinaric Alps and the Adriatic Sea, is evident through the rich biodiversity of this region and its network of protected areas. One of those areas, Krka National Park (NP), supports a wide range of natural habitats, but rapidly increasing tourism puts high pressure on its ecosystems, despite its protected status. Accurate knowledge of species and their distributions within natural places such as Krka is essential to direct and prioritize future conservation efforts. As collecting biodiversity data is time and resource-intensive, alternative ways to obtain this information are needed. One possibility is monitoring based on ecovolunteering. From June to August of 2019, an Operation Wallacea/BIOTA scientific team surveyed a section of Krka NP and its surrounding boundaries, within the vicinity of the village of Puljane, to study its butterfly richness and abundance. Pollard walks and static count surveys were conducted with the help of eco-volunteers, testing the effectiveness of gathering field data through this approach. Overall, 57 butterfly species were found throughout the study, including four new records for Krka NP. Three further new species for the park were detected close to its boundaries and are also expected to occur within its borders. Here, we present an updated butterfly checklist for Krka NP, highlighting the positive impact of eco-volunteering initiatives and the importance of combined research efforts to study and protect the rich biodiversity and ecosystems of protected areas.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Climate influences the response of community functional traits to local conditions
Functional traits determine an organism’s performance in a given environment and as such determine which organisms will be found where. Species respond to local conditions, but also to larger scale gradients, such as climate. Trait ecology links these responses of species to community composition and species distributions. Yet, we often do not know which environmental gradients are most important in determining community trait composition at either local or biogeographical scales, or their interaction. Here we quantify the relative contribution of local and climatic conditions to the structure and composition of functional traits found within bromeliad invertebrate communities. We conclude that climate explains more variation in invertebrate trait composition within bromeliads than does local conditions. Importantly, climate mediated the response of traits to local conditions; for example, invertebrates with benthic life-history traits increased with bromeliad water volume only under certain precipitation regimes. Our ability to detect this and other patterns hinged on the compilation of multiple fine-grained datasets, allowing us to contrast the effect of climate vs. local conditions. We suggest that, in addition to sampling communities at local scales, we need to aggregate studies that span large ranges in climate variation in order to fully understand trait filtering at local, regional and global scales.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference Facilitating population genomics of non-model organisms through optimized experimental design for reduced representation sequencing
Background Genome-wide data are invaluable to characterize differentiation and adaptation of natural populations. Reduced representation sequencing (RRS) subsamples a genome repeatedly across many individuals. However, RRS requires careful optimization and fine-tuning to deliver high marker density while being cost-efficient. The number of genomic fragments created through restriction enzyme digestion and the sequencing library setup must match to achieve sufficient sequencing coverage per locus. Here, we present a workflow based on published information and computational and experimental procedures to investigate and streamline the applicability of RRS. Results In an iterative process genome size estimates, restriction enzymes and size selection windows were tested and scaled in six classes of Antarctic animals (Ostracoda, Malacostraca, Bivalvia, Asteroidea, Actinopterygii, Aves). Achieving high marker density would be expensive in amphipods, the malacostracan target taxon, due to the large genome size. We propose alternative approaches such as mitogenome or target capture sequencing for this group. Pilot libraries were sequenced for all other target taxa. Ostracods, bivalves, sea stars, and fish showed overall good coverage and marker numbers for downstream population genomic analyses. In contrast, the bird test library produced low coverage and few polymorphic loci, likely due to degraded DNA. Conclusions Prior testing and optimization are important to identify which groups are amenable for RRS and where alternative methods may currently offer better cost-benefit ratios. The steps outlined here are easy to follow for other non-model taxa with little genomic resources, thus stimulating efficient resource use for the many pressing research questions in molecular ecology.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference A new tribe, two new genera and three new species of Cypridopsinae (Crustacea, Ostracoda, Cyprididae) from Brazil. 
We describe one new tribe, two new genera and three new species of the subfamily Cypridopsinae Kaufmann, 1900 from Brazilian floodplains. Brasilodopsis gen. nov. belongs in the nominal tribe Cypridopsini, and both new species in this new genus were found in both sexual and asexual populations. Brasilodopsis baiabonita gen. et sp. nov. has a wide distribution and was found in three of the four major Brazilian floodplains. Brasilodopsis amazonica gen. et sp. nov. was recorded only from the Amazon floodplain. Brasilodopsis baiabonita gen. et sp. nov. has a subtriangular shape in lateral view, whereas Brasilodopsis amazonica gen. et sp. nov. is more elongated and has more rounded dorsal margins in both valves, as well as more pronounced external valve ornamentation, consisting of rimmed pores in shallow pits. Paranadopsis reducta gen. et sp. nov. was found in asexual populations in the Upper Paraná River floodplain only and differs from other Cypridopsinae in the more elongated carapace, an A1 with strongly reduced chaetotaxy (hence the specific name) and the total absence of caudal rami in females. Because of these strong reductions in valve and limb morphology, Paranadopsini trib. nov. is created within the Cypridopsinae for this intriguing new genus and species.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2021
Article Reference The new polillensis group in the lanternfly genus Pyrops: Taxonomy, distrubtion and host plant (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Ambigolimax valentianus (Férussac, 1822) à Uccle - Récit d’une naissance
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Eight new species of marine dolichopodid flies of Thinophilus Wahlberg, 1844 (Diptera, Dolichopodidae) from peninsular Thailand
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Pisachini planthoppers of Vietnam: new records of Pisacha and a new Goniopsarites species from Central Vietnam (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Nogodinidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2024
Article Reference Palaeogenomics of Upper Palaeolithic to Neolithic European hunter-gatherers
Modern humans have populated Europe for more than 45,000 years1,2. Our knowledge of the genetic relatedness and structure of ancient hunter-gatherers is however limited, owing to the scarceness and poor molecular preservation of human remains from that period3. Here we analyse 356 ancient hunter-gatherer genomes, including new genomic data for 116 individuals from 14 countries in western and central Eurasia, spanning between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. We identify a genetic ancestry profile in individuals associated with Upper Palaeolithic Gravettian assemblages from western Europe that is distinct from contemporaneous groups related to this archaeological culture in central and southern Europe4, but resembles that of preceding individuals associated with the Aurignacian culture. This ancestry profile survived during the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) in human populations from southwestern Europe associated with the Solutrean culture, and with the following Magdalenian culture that re-expanded northeastward after the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, we reveal a genetic turnover in southern Europe suggesting a local replacement of human groups around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, accompanied by a north-to-south dispersal of populations associated with the Epigravettian culture. From at least 14,000 years ago, an ancestry related to this culture spread from the south across the rest of Europe, largely replacing the Magdalenian-associated gene pool. After a period of limited admixture that spanned the beginning of the Mesolithic, we find genetic interactions between western and eastern European hunter-gatherers, who were also characterized by marked differences in phenotypically relevant variants.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2023