The Biodiversity of Blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Brazil: New Distribution Records and Updated Checklist.

Currently, according to the most recent Simuliidae World Inventory, there are 97 valid species of blackflies recorded in Brazil, some of which act as vectors for zoonoses such as human onchocerciasis and mansonellosis in the northern and central-western regions of the country. Meanwhile, other species can cause serious socioeconomic problems due to the nuisance of female bites. Therefore, accurate knowledge of their distribution is crucial for the development and implementation of successful preventive strategies. With this aim, this study reviewed and updated the geographical distribution of the blackfly fauna throughout the Brazilian states. The data were compiled from three main sources: geographic information of material deposited at the Simuliidae Collection of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (CSIOC-IOC), a comprehensive review of scientific literature, and online biodiversity databases. We present a total of 71 new distribution records of 38 different Simuliidae species for 24 Brazilian states. Neither of these sets of records has been included in the Simuliidae World Inventory. Consequently, an updated Brazilian Simuliidae checklist, comprising a total of 98 valid species, is presented, highlighting these new distribution records. We also discuss six dubious records for the country and the implications of this updated data for the Simuliidae species richness of Brazil, its states, and biomes. This information is essential for future studies in the taxonomy, systematics, and biogeography of this family in Brazil.

Fossil Collection at the Zoology Museum of the University of Concepción: enhancing understanding of Chile's past biodiversity.

Background: The digital inventory of paleontological material stored in Chilean museums is highly relevant as it increases accessibility to information, both locally and over long distances, while reducing wear and tear on specimens caused by physical manipulation. The Fossil Collection database of the Museum of Zoology of the University of Concepción (UCC_MZUC_FOS) includes 144 records, with the main representatives being marine invertebrates of the Bivalvia, Echinoidea and Gastropoda classes. Notable species include Encopecalderensis, Hemiasterwayensis, Zygochlamyspatagonica and Retrotapesexalbidus, most of which come from important Chilean fossil sites. Material was collected between 1970 and 2017, with a large portion of it being donated and identified by Professor Emeritus Hugo I. Moyano and Dr. Alberto Larraín. Although the specimens contained in the resource offer basic collecting information, they substantially contribute to sharing knowledge on the fossils kept in the museums throughout the country, while providing data on their distribution. New information: This resource corresponds to the first publication of data on faunal fossils from a museum collection in Chile on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) platform, thereby enhancing the understanding and documentation of Chile's paleontological heritage and its national biodiversity.

Optimized Replication of Arrayed Bacterial Mutant Libraries Increases Access to Biological Resources.

Biological collections, including arrayed libraries of single transposon (Tn) or deletion mutants, greatly accelerate the pace of bacterial genetic research. Despite the importance of these resources, few protocols exist for the replication and distribution of these materials. Here, we describe a protocol for creating multiple replicates of an arrayed bacterial Tn library consisting of approximately 6,800 mutants in 96-well plates (73 plates). Our protocol provides multiple checkpoints to guard against contamination and minimize genetic drift caused by freeze/thaw cycles. This approach can also be scaled for arrayed culture collections of various sizes. Overall, this protocol is a valuable resource for other researchers considering the construction and distribution of arrayed culture collection resources for the benefit of the greater scientific community. IMPORTANCE Arrayed mutant collections drive robust genetic screens, but few protocols exist for replication of these resources and subsequent quality control. Increasing the distribution of arrayed biological collections will increase the accessibility and use of these resources. Developing standardized techniques for replication of these resources is essential for ensuring their quality and usefulness to the scientific community.

From species descriptions to diversity patterns: the validation of taxonomic data as a keystone for ant diversity studies reproducibility and accuracy.

Research findings in natural sciences need to be comparable and reproducible to effectively improve our understanding of ecological and behavioural patterns. In this sense, knowledge frontiers in biodiversity studies are directly tied to taxonomic research, especially in species-rich tropical regions. Here we analysed the taxonomic information available in 470 studies on Brazilian ant diversity published in the last 50 years. We aimed to quantify the proportion of studies that provide enough data to validate taxonomic identification, explore the frequency of studies that properly acknowledge their taxonomic background, and investigate the primary resources for ant identification in Brazil. We found that most studies on Brazilian ant diversity (73.6%) explicitly stated the methods used to identify their specimens. However, the proportion of papers that provide complete data for the repository institutions and vouchered specimens is vanishingly small (5.8%). Additionally, only 40.0% of the studies consistently presented taxon authorities and years of description, rarely referencing taxonomic publications correctly. In turn, the number of specialists and institutions consulted for ant identification in Brazil has increased in the last years, along with the number of studies that explicitly provide their taxonomic procedures for ant identification. Our findings highlight a shift between generations regarding the recognition of taxonomy as fundamental science, deepening our understanding of biodiversity.

First evidence of ranavirus in native and invasive amphibians in Colombia.

Ranaviruses can cause mass mortality events in amphibians, thereby becoming a threat to populations that are already facing dramatic declines. Ranaviruses affect all life stages and persist in multiple amphibian hosts. The detrimental effects of ranavirus infections to amphibian populations have already been observed in the UK and in North America. In Central and South America, the virus has been reported in several countries, but the presence of the genus Ranavirus (Rv) in Colombia is unknown. To help fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed for Rv in 60 species of frogs (including one invasive species) in Colombia. We also tested for co-infection with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in a subset of individuals. For Rv, we sampled 274 vouchered liver tissue samples collected between 2014 and 2019 from 41 localities covering lowlands to mountaintop páramo habitat across the country. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and end-point PCR, we detected Rv in 14 individuals from 8 localities, representing 6 species, including 5 native frogs of the genera Osornophryne, Pristimantis and Leptodactylus, and the invasive American bullfrog Rana catesbeiana. Bd was detected in 7 of 140 individuals, with 1 co-infection of Rv and Bd in an R. catesbeiana specimen collected in 2018. This constitutes the first report of ranavirus in Colombia and should set off alarms about this new emerging threat to amphibian populations in the country. Our findings provide some preliminary clues about how and when Rv may have spread and contribute to understanding how the pathogen is distributed globally.

A reconstruction of parasite burden reveals one century of climate-associated parasite decline.

Long-term data allow ecologists to assess trajectories of population abundance. Without this context, it is impossible to know whether a taxon is thriving or declining to extinction. For parasites of wildlife, there are few long-term data-a gap that creates an impediment to managing parasite biodiversity and infectious threats in a changing world. We produced a century-scale time series of metazoan parasite abundance and used it to test whether parasitism is changing in Puget Sound, United States, and, if so, why. We performed parasitological dissection of fluid-preserved specimens held in natural history collections for eight fish species collected between 1880 and 2019. We found that parasite taxa using three or more obligately required host species-a group that comprised 52% of the parasite taxa we detected-declined in abundance at a rate of 10.9% per decade, whereas no change in abundance was detected for parasites using one or two obligately required host species. We tested several potential mechanisms for the decline in 3+-host parasites and found that parasite abundance was negatively correlated with sea surface temperature, diminishing at a rate of 38% for every 1 °C increase. Although the temperature effect was strong, it did not explain all variability in parasite burden, suggesting that other factors may also have contributed to the long-term declines we observed. These data document one century of climate-associated parasite decline in Puget Sound-a massive loss of biodiversity, undetected until now.

How to use natural history collections to resurrect information on historical parasite abundances.

Many of the most contentious questions that concern the ecology of helminths could be resolved with data on helminth abundance over the past few decades or centuries, but unfortunately these data are rare. A new sub-discipline - the historical ecology of parasitism - is resurrecting long-term data on the abundance of parasites, an advancement facilitated by the use of biological natural history collections. Because the world's museums hold billions of suitable specimens collected over more than a century, these potential parasitological datasets are broad in scope and finely resolved in taxonomic, temporal and spatial dimensions. Here, we set out best practices for the extraction of parasitological information from natural history collections, including how to conceive of a project, how to select specimens, how to engage curators and receive permission for proposed projects, standard operating protocols for dissections and how to manage data. Our hope is that other helminthologists will use this paper as a reference to expand their own research programmes along the dimension of time.

The Genus Thionia Stål, 1859 (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Issidae) in Colombia: Highlighting the Value of Entomological Collections.

Entomological collections represent a key source of information about the biological heritage of a country. However, the taxonomy and knowledge of many arthropods from megadiverse countries are underrepresented in these natural history collections as is the case with several planthoppers of the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Issidae are fulgoromorphs distributed worldwide, except the poles and Greenland. Despite this ubiquity, Colombian planthoppers remain very poorly known and studied. Our objective was to provide the first consolidated records and distributional data for Colombian Issidae. We used reports of the representative genus Thionia deposited in biological collections in Colombia. In addition, we linked voucher specimen information and Olson's life zones showing an inter-Andean valley and Eastern Andean Cordillera distribution within Colombia. Our survey of Colombian biological collections revealed 55 individuals of the genus Thionia Stål, 1859 (53 adults, 2 immatures [nymphs]), which were collected by different methods; however, many of those records may be opportunistic. This genus (and its species) needs further study, with systematic and ecological revision, as is the case with other terrestrial Colombian hemipterans. Our consolidated records represent an advance to the knowledge of Issidae (and Thionia specifically) for the Neotropics and Colombia in particular, and a baseline for further study of distributional and biogeographic patterns of the suborder Auchenorrhyncha.

Massive invasion on a Triatominae insectarium (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) by Attagenus fasciatus (Thunberg, 1795) (Coleoptera: Dermestidae: Attageninae)

ABSTRACT Background: Triatominae are vectors of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. This study aims to report an infestation on Triatominae colonies by a beetle, previously identified as a pest. Methods: The management of these colonies should be improved to maximize their usefulness, and factors that may cause harm to them should be avoided as much as possible. Results: This is the first report on a coleopteran infestation on living Triatominae colonies worldwide. Conclusions: The present record provides an important warning to researchers who maintain insectaries in general, especially those who rear triatomines, to carry protective measures against such invasions.

Taxonomic revision and additional comments of some bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera) reported from Bolivia, with an updated checklist based on voucher material with verified identities

We review the taxonomic identities of museum specimens of three bat species previously reported from Bolivia. We comment on some erroneously reported taxa, or taxa either not represented by voucher materials or based on insufficient data (including acoustic detections) to verify their taxonomic affinities. As result of this review, the list of bat species known to occur in Bolivia is updated to eight families and 133 species, unlike the nine families and 146 species of previous lists. Some recommendations for future research and a brief historical revision of bat inventories in the country are included.

Is Haemoproteus gabaldoni a valid species? An approach from morphology and molecular tools applied to parasites of Anseriformes.

Currently, there are three recognized species of haemoproteids infecting Anseriformes: Haemoproteus nettionis, H. macrovacuolatus, and H. greineri. Unfortunately, genetic information associated with a morphotype is available only for H. macrovacuolatus. We recently found a parasite morphologically compatible with Haemoproteus gabaldoni, a species Bennet (1993) described in a Cairina moschata (Muscovy duck) from Venezuela. This species was synonymized to H. nettionis by Valkiunas (2005), arguing not enough morphological differentiation between them; it was said that H. greineri could be as well a synonym of H. nettionis. In this study, we aimed to provide evidence to determine if Haemoproteus gabaldoni is a different species of H. nettionis and help to clarify other species status. We first performed morphological and morphometrical analyses and compared this information against the parahapantotypes of H. greineri, H. gabaldoni and material diagnosed as H. nettionis provided by the International Reference center for Avian Haematozoa (IRCAH), and H. macrovacuolatus from the Host-Parasite Relationship Study Group (GERPH, in Spanish Grupo de Estudio Relación Parásito Hospedero) biological collection. We used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of dimensionless standard morphometrical variables from gametocytes. Furthermore, we amplified a small fragment of cytochrome b (cyt b) to compare the sequence with information in GenBank and Malavi through phylogenetic analyses and haplotype networks. PCA analyses revealed the presence of three distinct groups in the samples studied, supported in the morphological traits of each parasite species analyzed; phylogenetic analyses grouped parasite lineages separately according to the host and continent of provenance. Such results indicate that, H. gabaldoni, is a different species from H. nettionis. One more time, it is demonstrated the importance of linking barcode surveys to morphological studies. Finally, it is highlighted the importance of biological collections as repositories of worldwide biodiversity.

Bridging the Research Gap between Live Collections in Zoos and Preserved Collections in Natural History Museums.

Zoos and natural history museums are both collections-based institutions with important missions in biodiversity research and education. Animals in zoos are a repository and living record of the world's biodiversity, whereas natural history museums are a permanent historical record of snapshots of biodiversity in time. Surprisingly, despite significant overlap in institutional missions, formal partnerships between these institution types are infrequent. Life history information, pedigrees, and medical records maintained at zoos should be seen as complementary to historical records of morphology, genetics, and distribution kept at museums. Through examining both institution types, we synthesize the benefits and challenges of cross-institutional exchanges and propose actions to increase the dialog between zoos and museums. With a growing recognition of the importance of collections to the advancement of scientific research and discovery, a transformational impact could be made with long-term investments in connecting the institutions that are caretakers of living and preserved animals.

Use of geospatial analyses to address snakebite hotspots in mid-northern Brazil - A direction to health planning in shortfall biodiversity knowledge areas.

Knowing the distribution of venomous snakes of medical importance is essential to identify areas at risk for snakebites. Thus, we used an integrative approach based on the application of geographic distribution data of venomous snakes, species distribution modeling (SDM), spatial organization of snakebites, and information on human population density for mapping the potential distribution of snakes and identifying areas at risk of snakebites in the state of Maranhão (mid-northern Brazil). From a compiled database of venomous snake records deposited in biological collections and the literature, we predict the potential distribution of venomous snakes in Maranhão, a state whose diversity and geographic distribution of venomous snake species are poorly known. With this, we constructed potential distribution maps for each venomous snake species with at least one occurrence record within state boundaries, as well as generalized maps by family (Viperidae and Elapidae) and the total number of venomous snakes in Maranhão State. We also obtained data on the number of snakebites recorded in each municipality of Maranhão over a decade (2009-2019) and we ran a Generalized Linear Model to test for relationships between the number of venomous snakebites, the area of occurrence of snakes, and human population density. We obtained 1046 records of venomous snake species for Maranhão, represented by 17 viperid and elapid species. Most of the records were from Viperidae (mostly Bothrops atrox and B. marajoensis) and were concentrated mainly in the Amazon of the northern portion of the state. The models showed accurate predictive performance for all modeled species. The entire area of Maranhão exhibits environmental conditions for the occurrence of venomous snakes, with higher suitability indices in the northern region, in the Amazon rainforest. The number of snakebites was positively correlated with the interaction between high-risk areas (i.e., greater distribution of venomous snakes) and human population density. Our study is a pioneer in using species distribution modeling in mid-northern Brazil to address the scarcity of data on snakebite-causing species, directly contributing to the theme of neglected tropical diseases of the World Health Organization.

Herbarium collection of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV), Chile.

Background: This database gathers 10,721 specimens, belonging to 2,578 species from the Chilean vascular flora (angiosperms, gymnosperms and pteridophytes) deposited in the Herbarium of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV) in Chile. The PUCV botanical collection was started by the renowned botanist Otto Zöllner and represents a major natural historical legacy for central Chile, with decades of information represented through preserved specimens. This collection is currently deposited in the Curauma campus of the PUCV. This digitisation effort is part of the PUCV's endeavour to mobilise its biological collections and make them freely available through GBIF, encouraging national and international researchers to generate new knowledge, based on this invaluable heritage, which is a silent witness of the vast plant diversity that once existed in Chile and that is now vanishing due to anthropogenic drivers. New information: The database provides occurrence records from 10,721 specimens of vascular flora held in the PUCV Herbarium, representing 2,578 species, 914 genera and 177 families. Each record includes data on taxonomy, geographic distribution, elevation and collection information (e.g. date of collection, legitimavit and determinavit of specimens, general observations). The database serves as a repository containing records from past decades on the diversity and distribution of plant species, mainly from the Chilean Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot.

Ants of Ecuador: new species records for a megadiverse country in South America

ABSTRACT Despite its small territory Ecuador hosts a remarkable biological diversity. Paradoxically, its prominent insect richness has been poorly studied and is usually underestimated in biodiversity inventories. Ants are a major component of such richness. With the aim of promoting myrmecological research, we present 20 new ant records for the country belonging to nine genera and six subfamilies. The species Tapinoma ramulorum inrectum Forel is recorded for the first time in South America. We provide brief taxonomic diagnoses and general comments for all species. Our results expand on the records of Formicidae species previously informed for Ecuador and stress the importance of scientific reference collections as biodiversity repositories.

speciesLink: rich data and novel tools for digital assessments of biodiversity / speciesLink: dados valiosos e ferramentas inovadoras para avaliações digitais da biodiversidade

Abstract speciesLink is a large-scale biodiversity information portal that exists thanks to a broad collaborative network of people and institutions. CRIA's involvement with the scientific community of Brazil and other countries is responsible for the significant results achieved, currently reaching more than 15 million primary biodiversity data records, 95% of which are associated with preserved specimens and about 25% with high-quality digital images. The network provides data on over 200,000 species, of which over 110,000 occur in Brazil. This article describes thematic networks within speciesLink, as well as some of the most useful tools developed. The importance and contributions of speciesLink are outlined, as are concerns about securing stable budgetary support for such biodiversity data e-infrastructures. Here we review the value of speciesLink as a major source of biodiversity information for research, education, informed decision-making, policy development, and bioeconomy.

Resumo speciesLink é um portal de informações em larga escala sobre biodiversidade, que existe graças a uma ampla rede colaborativa de pessoas e instituições. O envolvimento do CRIA com a comunidade científica do Brasil e de outros países é responsável pelos resultados expressivos alcançados, atingindo atualmente mais de 15 milhões de registros de dados primários de biodiversidade, sendo 95% associados a espécimes preservados e cerca de 25% a imagens digitais de alta qualidade. A rede fornece dados sobre mais de 200.000 espécies, das quais mais de 110.000 ocorrem no Brasil. Este artigo descreve as redes temáticas do speciesLink, bem como algumas das ferramentas mais úteis desenvolvidas. A importância e as contribuições do speciesLink são destacadas, assim como as preocupações em garantir um apoio financeiro estável para e-infraestruturas de dados sobre biodiversidade. Aqui revisamos o valor do speciesLink como uma das principais fontes de informação sobre biodiversidade para pesquisa, educação, tomada de decisão, desenvolvimento de políticas e bioeconomia.

Coleção de Vetores de Tripanosomatídeos (Fiocruz/COLVET) held at the institution Fiocruz Minas in Brazil: diversity of Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) and relevance for research, education, and entomological surveillance.

The Coleção de Vetores de Tripanosomatídeos (Fiocruz/COLVET), Minas Gerais, Brazil, stands out as one of the most important collections of blood-sucking triatomines, the vectors of Trypanosomacruzi that causes Chagas disease. The aim is to describe the collection and the services it provides to support scientific research, educational activities, and entomological surveillance between 2013-2019.The data associated with the specimens held in Fiocruz/COLVET is available from the Sistema de Informação sobre a Biodiversidade Brasileira (SiBBr). These specimen metadata were analyzed and either tabulated or plotted on graph and maps. The records of services provided by the collection between 2013-2019 were also categorized and analyzed. There are 12,568 triatomine specimens deposited in the collection that belong to 77 species and 11 genera, from 15 American countries. Of the ~ 65 species of triatomines found in Brazil, 38 (57.6%) are present in the collection, including specimens from all biomes and all but three Brazilian states. The occurrence of Triatomacostalimai, Triatomalenti, Rhodniusnasutus, and Panstrongyluslenti apparently collected beyond their known distribution ranges are reported and discussed. The collection provided 168 services, supporting educational activities (41.7%), scientific research (35.7%), and regional/national entomological surveillance of triatomines (22.6%). Between the years 2014 and 2020, the number of biological specimens deposited in the Fiocruz/COLVET repository increased from 4,778 to 12,568 triatomine specimens. In addition to its great value to biodiversity conservation, the collection is of great importance because of its support of research and educational activities, and contributions to entomological surveillance, and, therefore, to public health.

Bias assessments to expand research harnessing biological collections.

Biological collections are arguably the most important resources for investigations into the impacts of human activities on biodiversity. However, the apparent opportunities presented by museum-derived datasets have not resulted in consistent or widespread use of specimens in ecology outside phenological research and species distribution modeling. We attribute this gap between opportunity and application to biases introduced by collectors, curators, and preservation practices and an imperfect understanding of these biases and how to mitigate them. To facilitate broader use of specimen-based data, we characterize collection biases across key axes and explore interactions among them. We then present a framework for determining the bias assessments needed when extracting data from biological collections. We show that bias assessments required by particular ecological studies will depend on the response variables being measured and the predictor axes of interest. We argue that quantification of biases in specimen-derived datasets is needed to facilitate the widespread application of these data.

Updates to the checklist of the wild bee fauna of Luxembourg as inferred from revised natural history collection data and fieldwork.

BACKGROUND: Museums and other institutions curating natural history collections (NHCs) are fundamental entities to many scientific disciplines, as they house data and reference material for varied research projects. As such, biological specimens preserved in NHCs represent accessible physical records of the living world's history. They provide useful information regarding the presence and distribution of different taxonomic groups through space and time. Despite the importance of biological museum specimens, their potential to answer scientific questions, pertinent to the necessities of our current historical context, is often under-explored.The currently-known wild bee fauna of Luxembourg comprises 341 registered species distributed amongst 38 different genera. However, specimens stored in the archives of local NHCs represent an untapped resource to update taxonomic lists, including potentially overlooked findings relevant to the development of national conservation strategies. NEW INFORMATION: We re-investigated the wild bee collection of the Zoology Department of the National Museum of Natural History Luxembourg by using morphotaxonomy and DNA barcoding. The collection revision led to the discovery of four species so far not described for the country: Andrena lagopus (Latreille, 1809), Nomada furva (Panzer, 1798), Hoplitis papaveris (Latreille, 1799) and Sphecodes majalis (Pérez, 1903). Additionally, the presence of Nomada sexfasciata (Panzer, 1799), which inexplicably had been omitted by the most current species list, can be re-confirmed. Altogether, our findings increase the number of recorded wild bee species in Luxembourg to 346. Moreover, the results highlight the crucial role of NHCs as repositories of our knowledge of the natural world.

Data integration enables global biodiversity synthesis.

The accessibility of global biodiversity information has surged in the past two decades, notably through widespread funding initiatives for museum specimen digitization and emergence of large-scale public participation in community science. Effective use of these data requires the integration of disconnected datasets, but the scientific impacts of consolidated biodiversity data networks have not yet been quantified. To determine whether data integration enables novel research, we carried out a quantitative text analysis and bibliographic synthesis of >4,000 studies published from 2003 to 2019 that use data mediated by the world's largest biodiversity data network, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Data available through GBIF increased 12-fold since 2007, a trend matched by global data use with roughly two publications using GBIF-mediated data per day in 2019. Data-use patterns were diverse by authorship, geographic extent, taxonomic group, and dataset type. Despite facilitating global authorship, legacies of colonial science remain. Studies involving species distribution modeling were most prevalent (31% of literature surveyed) but recently shifted in focus from theory to application. Topic prevalence was stable across the 17-y period for some research areas (e.g., macroecology), yet other topics proportionately declined (e.g., taxonomy) or increased (e.g., species interactions, disease). Although centered on biological subfields, GBIF-enabled research extends surprisingly across all major scientific disciplines. Biodiversity data mobilization through global data aggregation has enabled basic and applied research use at temporal, spatial, and taxonomic scales otherwise not possible, launching biodiversity sciences into a new era.