Parameter Inference via Differentiable Diffusion Bridge Importance Sampling
We introduce a methodology for performing parameter inference in high-dimensional, non-linear diffusion processes. We illustrate its applicability for obtaining insights into the evolution of and relationships between species, including ancestral state reconstruction. Estimation is performed by util…
Spatial Distribution Pattern of Aromia bungii Within China and Its Potential Distribution Under Climate Change and Human Activity
Aromia bungii is a pest that interferes with the health of forests and hinders the development of the fruit tree industry, and its spread is influenced by changes in abiotic factors and human activities. Therefore, exploring their spatial distribution patterns and potential distribution areas under …
Tides of Transparency: A First Mapping of Industrial Ocean Data Sharing
The ocean is the cornerstone of life on Earth, but its health is deteriorating under pressure from human activities. The ocean is also a huge part of the solution to the challenges we face, from ocean-derived food and materials to energy. However, ensuring that we protect the ocean as we scale u…
Assessment of fuzzy logic to enhance species distribution modelling of two cryptic wood boring beetle species in Australia
Fuzzy logic presents a promising approach for Species Distribution Modelling by generating a value that can be used for comparative purposes termed ‘environmental favourability’. In contrast to ‘presence probability’, ‘environmental favourability’ remains robust regardless of species prevalence. Thi…
Biological invasion is eroding the unique assembly of island herpetofauna worldwide
Island ecosystems have significant conservation value owing to their higher endemic biotas. Moreover, studies of regional communities that compare differences in species composition (species dissimilarity) among islands and the mainland suggest that community assembly on islands is different from th…
Space oddity: Absence of prezygotic-premating barriers in Eurydema lundbladi and Eurydema ornata
Abstract Understanding the effectiveness of premating prezygotic reproductive barriers in contact zones of closely related lineages is essential for assessing hybridization risks. This study documents the first overlap zone with interspecific copulations on La Palma Island, Canary Islands, b…
Spatial epidemiology of Tabanus (Diptera: Tabanidae) vectors of Trypanosoma
Background Trypanosoma are protozoa parasites that infect animals and can cause economic losses in cattle production. Trypanosoma live in the blood and are transmitted by hematophagous insects, such as flies in the genus Tabanus. Using ecological niche models, we explored the current geography of …
First record of the stingless bee Tetragonisca buchwaldi (Friese, 1925) (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) in Colombia
AbstractThe stingless bee Tetragonisca buchwaldi (Friese, 1925) is documented in Ecuador (1925), Costa Rica (1962), and Panama (1983). This study presents new records for two provinces in Panama and the first-ever report of the species in Colombia. This last record was obtained in September 2022 in C…
Habitat fragmentation drives pest termite risk in humid, but not arid, biomes
Predicting global change effects poses significant challenges due to the intricate interplay between climate change and anthropogenic stressors in shaping ecological communities and their function, such as pest outbreak risk. Termites are ecosystem engineers, yet some pest species are causing worldw…
An annotated checklist of the bees of Washington state
AbstractBees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) are vital components of global ecosystems, yet knowledge of their distribution is limited in many regions. Washington state is located in an ecologically diverse part of North America and encompasses habitat types and plant communities known for high bee species r…
Climate change alters the future of natural floristic regions of deep evolutionary origins
Biogeographic regions reflect the organization of biotas over long evolutionary timescales but face alterations from recent anthropogenic climate change. Here, we model species distributions for 189,269 vascular plant species of the world under present and future climates and use this data to genera…
Climate and host plant availability are favourable to the establishment of Lycorma delicatula in Europe
Lycorma delicatula, the spotted lanternfly, is a highly successful invasive phloem‐feeding planthopper native to southern China. It has invaded South Korea, Japan, and the United States, where it continues to expand geographically, but it remains absent from Europe. We investigated two key ecologica…
Sharing Opportunistic Observations of Insects Provides Value for Pest Monitoring and Management in North America
iNaturalist and other technology-enabled biodiversity recording applications allow individuals to easily capture and share biodiversity data. Built in machine-learning algorithms facilitate initial identification of the observed taxon, which is subsequently refined, corrected, or validated by the co…
Spatial distribution and ecological niche modelling of lymphatic filariasis (Wuchereria bancrofti (Cobbold, 1877) in the context of climate and global…
Lymphatic filariasis is an endemic parasitic disease transmitted to humans by mosquitoes and constitutes a public health problem in Benin. In 2000, the prevalence of infection covered 50 municipalities across the country, with the highest prevalence observed in the southern and central departments o…
A Large Aggregation of Melissodes bimaculatus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Offers Perspectives on Gregarious Nesting and Pollination Services
From the largest nesting aggregation ever recorded for the genus Melissodes, we took diverse bionomic measurements of Melissodes bimaculatus (Two-spotted Longhorn Bee). Our results show a protandrous reproductive strategy occurring from July through August in New York. We observed parasitism by the …
Ophthalmomyiasis Case Caused by Two Blow Fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Species in North America
Ophthalmomyiasis is the result of fly larvae feeding on the tissues of the eye. Commonly associated with poor hygiene and open wounds, this condition is rare and often stigmatized. Treatment can be straightforward, and full recovery is common. Identifying the species responsible for ophthalmomyiasis…
The dynamics of wildVitisspecies in response to climate change facilitate the breeding of grapevine and its rootstocks with climate resilience
Climate change poses significant challenges to agricultural suitability and food security due to the limited adaptability of domesticated crops, however, our understanding of their climate adaptability is still limited. In this study, we compare the potential distributional dynamics in response to f…
PyDwCA: A Tool for Integrating Biodiversity Data
AbstractThe Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) format, based on the Darwin Core standard (Wieczorek et al. 2012), facilitates the exchange, management, and integration of biodiversity data from multiple sources. This ability to collate biodiversity data allows datasets to be aggregated at community-support…
Effects of Land Cover and Land Change on Monarch Butterfly Presence Across the CONUS
The decline of monarch butterfly populations (Danaus plexippus L.) over the past four decades, particularly in their overwintering habitats, has raised concerns about the species' conservation. Habitat loss and modification, particularly within the contiguous United States, are attributed as one of …
Using correlative and mechanistic species distribution models to predict vector-borne disease risk for the current and future environmental and climat…
Globally, vector-borne diseases have significant impacts on both animal and human health, and these are predicted to increase with the effects of climate change. Understanding the drivers of such diseases can help inform surveillance and control measures to minimise risks both now and in the future.…
Mapping ignorance to uncover shortfalls in the knowledge on global Orthoptera distribution
Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of species is fundamental for ecology, evolution and conservation. However, this and other aspects of biodiversity knowledge suffer from shortcomings and biases. Quantifying and mapping biodiversity knowledge shortfalls is therefore crucial to ascertain …
Key areas for conserving and sustainably using oil-collecting bees (Apidae: Centridini, Tapinotaspidini, Tetrapediini) in the Americas
The solitary oil-collecting bees of the tribes Centridini, Tapinotaspidini, and Tetrapediini inhabit areas from the southern part of the Nearctic Region through the Patagonian in southern South America, including the Caribbean. These bees are morphologically and behaviorally specialized in collectin…
Bees travelling south: Climate‐induced range shifts and suitable habitat losses in south‐eastern neotropics
Aim To provide an assessment of climate change impacts on a set of wild pollinators restricted to one of the regions with the greatest diversity of bees in the world. Also, we aimed to test whether functional groups responded differently to climate projections.LocationSouth‐eastern South America (SE…
Predicting undetected native vascular plant diversity at a global scale
Vascular plants are diverse and a major component of terrestrial ecosystems, yet their geographic distributions remain incomplete. Here, I present a global database of vascular plant distributions by integrating species distribution models calibrated to species’ dispersal ability and natural habitat…