Kompetenzzentrum für Biodiversität und integrative Taxonomie (KomBioTa)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/79
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Publication Enhanced crop diversity but not smaller field size benefit bats in agricultural landscapes(2025) Hiller, Thomas; Gall, Friederike; Grass, Ingo; Hiller, Thomas; Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Gall, Friederike; Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Grass, Ingo; Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, GermanyContext: Farmland biodiversity continues to decline due to the expansion and intensification of agriculture. Historically, efforts to conserve farmland biodiversity have focused on conserving habitats outside agricultural production areas. More recently, attention has turned to the conservation potential of the cropland matrix, where reducing field size and increasing crop diversity to promote crop heterogeneity can significantly benefit farmland biodiversity. Bats are one group of farmland species that have experienced dramatic declines over recent decades. Objectives: Here we investigated the effects of crop heterogeneity (crop diversity, field size) and landscape structural elements (e.g. length of linear structures, distance to forest, proportion of semi-natural habitat) on the activity of bat functional groups. Results: Increasing crop diversity led to greater bat activity, especially for open space foraging bats. However, contrary expectations, bat activity was not affected by heterogeneity in crop configuration, i.e. field edge density. Furthermore, structural landscape elements, including hedgerows and distance to forest, were important predictors of bat activity, especially for species that hunt in highly cluttered spaces. While crop diversity clearly benefited bat activity, the lack of effect of crop configurational heterogeneity on bat foraging activity may suggest heterogeneityarea trade-offs and intensive pesticide use in small-scale vegetable production. Conclusions: Therefore, in addition to maintaining high levels of crop diversity, promoting hedgerows and tree lines between farmland and woodland may facilitate bat activity across the agricultural landscape matrix. The combination of high crop heterogeneity and structural elements provides favorable hunting grounds for bats and may promote their conservation in agricultural landscapes.Publication Integrative description of Temnothorax siculus sp. n.: a new ant species from Sicily, Italy (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)(2025) Schifani, Enrico; Alicata, Antonio; Prebus, Matthew M.; Csősz, Sándor; Schifani, Enrico; Department of Chemistry, Environmental Sustainability, and Life Sciences, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 11/A, 43124 Parma, Italy; Alicata, Antonio; Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Via Androne 81, 95124 Catania, Italy;; Prebus, Matthew M.; Social Insect Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 550 E Orange St., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA;; Csősz, Sándor; HUN-REN-ELTE-MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter ave 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary; Fernández, Fernando; Guerrero, Roberto JoséThe mostly Holarctic genus Temnothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) is the most diverse ant genus in temperate regions. The Mediterranean, a biodiversity hotspot of rare ant species, hosts over 150 Temnothorax taxa, including several short-range endemics. Over the last few years, phylogenomic reconstructions and integrative taxonomy have significantly improved the understanding of global Temnothorax diversity, but much taxonomic work is still needed in the Mediterranean region. Here, we present the integrative description of a new species of the genus, discovered in the central Mediterranean island of Sicily: Temnothorax siculus sp. n. is defined and compared to congeneric species integrating morphometrics and phylogenomics. It is a ground-nesting, lowland species, of which workers were regularly observed foraging on bushes and small trees. In the global phylogeny, covering all the main lineages of the region, it belongs to the Palearctic clade and is related to the tuberum and unifasciatus complexes. Morphological separation from other Sicilian Temnothorax species can generally be achieved on qualitative characters, but we also provide morphometric discriminant functions to separate it from T. apenninicus and especially T. unifasciatus . Temnothorax siculus has been rarely collected but appears to be widespread in Sicily, and may occur in neighboring regions.Publication High genetic diversity of Echinococcus canadensis G10 in northeastern Asia: Is it the region of origin?(2023) Wassermann, Marion; Addy, Francis; Kokolova, Ludmila; Okhlopkov, Innokentiy; Leibrock, Sarah; Oberle, Jenny; Oksanen, Antti; Romig, ThomasEchinococcus canadensis consists of 4 genotypes: G6, G7, G8 and G10. While the first 2 predominantly infect domestic animals, the latter are sylvatic in nature involving mainly wolves and cervids as hosts and can be found in the northern temperate to Arctic latitudes. This circumstance makes the acquisition of sample material difficult, and little information is known about their genetic structure. The majority of specimens analysed to date have been from the European region, comparatively few from northeast Asia and Alaska. In the current study, Echinococcus spp. from wolves and intermediate hosts from the Republic of Sakha in eastern Russia were examined. Echinococcus canadensis G10 was identified in 15 wolves and 4 cervid intermediate hosts. Complete mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) sequences were obtained from 42 worm and cyst specimens from Sakha and, for comparison, from an additional 13 G10 cysts from Finland. For comparative analyses of the genetic diversity of G10 of European and Asian origin, all available cox1 sequences from GenBank were included, increasing the number of sequences to 99. The diversity found in northeast Asia was by far higher than in Europe, suggesting that the geographic origin of E. canadensis (at least of G10) might be northeast Asia.Publication Echinococcus multilocularis and other taeniid metacestodes of muskrats in Luxembourg: prevalence, risk factors, parasite reproduction, and genetic diversity(2022) Martini, Matilde; Dumendiak, Sonja; Gagliardo, Anna; Ragazzini, Francesco; La Rosa, Letizia; Giunchi, Dimitri; Thielen, Frank; Romig, Thomas; Massolo, Alessandro; Wassermann, MarionMuskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are competent intermediate hosts for Echinococcus multilocularis, are frequently infected with this zoonotic cestode, and have even been proposed as a target species to monitor endemicity levels of this parasite. However, their contribution to maintaining the parasitic lifecycle is still unclear. To obtain data on infection frequency and reproductive potential, 280 muskrats from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were examined for cestode larvae in the years 2013–2017. Based on morphological and molecular identification, Echinococcus multilocularis was found at a prevalence of 14.6%. Other metacestodes were Hydatigera kamiyai, with a prevalence of 45.7%, Taenia martis with 8.9%, Taenia polyacantha with 5.0%, and Versteria mustelae, which was found in 0.7% of all muskrats. More than 80% of E. multilocularis-infected muskrats contained fertile metacestodes with a mean number of >300,000 (and up to 1,609,816) protoscoleces, which is by far the highest reproductive potential known from any intermediate host species in Europe. Temporal analysis of E. multilocularis prevalence within the study period (and in comparison with earlier data) strongly indicates a robust increase in the studied area. Host age seemed to be an important risk factor for infection, as well as co-infections with Hydatigera kamiyai. A preference for the right medial lobe of the liver as the location of E. multilocularis metacestode was observed. Intraspecific genetic variation among 89 discrete E. multilocularis metacestodes was non-existent based on 300–1590 bp sections of cox1. This is a stark contrast to H. kamiyai, of which nine haplotypes were found on a short 318 bp section of cox1, resulting in genetic diversity in the small country of Luxembourg at a similar level than previously reported from large stretches of Europe and northern Asia.