ALBERT

Description: Caribbean dry forests are among the most endangered tropical ecosystems on earth. Several studies exist on their floristic composition and their recovery after natural or man-made disturbances, but little is known on the small Dutch Caribbean islands. In this study, we present quantitative data on plant species richness and abundance on St. Eustatius, one of the smallest islands of the Lesser Antilles. We collected and identified trees, shrubs, lianas and herbs in 11 plots of 25 x 25 m in different vegetation types. We compared their floristic composition and structure to vegetation surveys from roughly the same locations in the 1990s and 1950s. We found substantial differences among our 11 plots: vegetation types varied from evergreen forests to deciduous shrubland and open woodland. The number of tree species \xe2\x89\xa5 10 cm DBH ranged between one and 17, and their density between three and 82 per plot. In spite that all plots were subject to grazing by free roaming cattle, canopy height and floristic diversity have increased in the last decades. Invasive species are present in the open vegetation types, but not under (partly) closed canopy. Comparison with the earlier surveys showed that the decline of agriculture and conservation efforts resulted in the regeneration of dry forests between the 1950s and 2015. This process has also been reported from nearby islands and offers good opportunities for the future conservation of Caribbean dry forests.

Description: A vast amount of biodiversity data is reported in the primary taxonomic literature. In the past, we have demonstrated the use of semantic enhancement to extract data from taxonomic literature and make it available to a network of databases (Miller et al. 2015). For technical reasons, semantic enhancement of taxonomic literature is most efficient when customized according to the format of a particular journal. This journal-based approach captures and disseminates data on whatever taxa happen to be published therein. But if we want to extract all treatments on a particular taxon of interest, these are likely to be spread across multiple journals. Fortunately, the GoldenGATE Imagine document editor (Sautter 2019) is flexible enough to parse most taxonomic literature. \nTyrannosaurus rex is an iconic dinosaur with broad public appeal, as well as the subject of more than a century of scholarship. The Naturalis Biodiversity Center recently acquired a specimen that has become a major attraction in the public exhibit space. For most species on earth, the primary taxonomic literature contains nearly everything that is known about it. Every described species on earth is the subject of one or more taxonomic treatments. A taxon-based approach to semantic enhancement can mobilize all this knowledge using the network of databases and resources that comprise the modern biodiversity informatics infrastructure. When a particular species is of special interest, a taxon-based approach to semantic enhancement can be a powerful tool for scholarship and communication. In light of this, we resolved to semantically enhance all taxonomic treatments on T. rex. Our objective was to make these treatments and associated data available for the broad range of stakeholders who might have an interest in this animal, including professional paleontologists, the curious public, and museum exhibits and public communications personnel. Among the routine parsing and data sharing activities in the Plazi workflow (Agosti and Egloff 2009), taxonomic treatments, as well as cited figures, are deposited in the Biodiversity Literature Repository (BLR), and occurrence records are shared with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Treatment citations were enhanced with hyperlinks to the cited treatment on TreatmentBank, and specimen citations were linked to their entries on public facing collections databases. We used the OpenBiodiv biodiversity knowledge graph (Senderov et al. 2017) to discover other taxa mentioned together with T. rex, and to create a timeline of T. rex research to evaluate the impact of individual researchers and specimen repositories to T. rex research. We contributed treatment links to WikiData, and queried WikiData to discover identifiers to different platforms holding data about T. rex. We used bloodhound-tracker.net to disambiguate human agents, like collectors, identifiers, and authors. We evaluate the adequacy of the fields currently available to extract data from taxonomic treatments, and make recommendations for future standards.

Description: In the springtime of 2011, 507 adult spiders (plus 7 identifiable subadults) representing a total of 135 species were collected \nin Gargano, Apulia, Italy. A list of collected spiders is given. Zelotes rinske spec. nov. is described after a single female. \nDictyna innocens O. P.-Cambridge, 1872, Leptodrassus femineus (Simon, 1873), Nomisia recepta (Pavesi, 1880), Zelotes \ncriniger Denis, 1937, Pellenes brevis (Simon, 1868), and Salticus propinquus Lucas, 1846 are reported for the first time from \nmainland Italy. Illustrations are provided of the problematic species Dictyna innocens O. P.-Cambridge, 1872. The poorlyknown female of Araeoncus altissimus Simon, 1884 is described and depicted. 141 specimens representing 105 species were \nDNA barcoded.

Description: A publication by Falade et al. was selected for discussion by a Naturalis \nBiodiversity Center-Leiden University Journal Club. The study focused on \nthe identification of fish from Southwestern Nigeria using a DNA barcoding \napproach. Questions raised during the discussion led to a reanalysis and \nreinterpretation of the data presented. The authors characterize the process \nof deriving a taxonomic identification from their sequence data as \nstraightforward, but we were concerned that their approach made it nearly \nimpossible to fail to obtain a taxonomic name for each sequence. The value \nof sophisticated DNA taxonomy, as well as the pitfalls of its na\xc3\xafve \napplication, are discussed. We suggest that journal discussion groups may \nbe an untapped resource for expanding rigorous peer review, particularly \nfor journals that have adopted an open review model.

Description: In this paper 4 species of bat ectoparasites are recorded from the island of Sint Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean. One species of true bug (Hemiptera: Polyctenidae) as well as 3 species of bat flies (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Streblinae) are recorded. All species are photographed. The first DNA barcodes for 3 bat ectoparasite species (Trichobius frequens, Trichobius intermedius, and Hesperoctenes fumarius) have been posted to the BOLD database; DNA barcode sequences for a fourth species (Megistopoda aranea) are the first from a Caribbean island.

Description: We present a phylogenetic analysis of spiders using a dataset of 932 spider species, representing 115 families (only the family Synaphridae is unrepresented), 700 known genera, and additional representatives of 26 unidentified or undescribed genera. Eleven genera of the orders Amblypygi, Palpigradi, Schizomida and Uropygi are included as outgroups. The dataset includes six markers from the mitochondrial (12S, 16S, COI) and nuclear (histone H3, 18S, 28S) genomes, and was analysed by multiple methods, including constrained analyses using a highly supported backbone tree from transcriptomic data. We recover most of the higher-level structure of the spider tree with good support, including Mesothelae, Opisthothelae, Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae. Several of our analyses recover Hypochilidae and Filistatidae as sister groups, as suggested by previous transcriptomic analyses. The Synspermiata are robustly supported, and the families Trogloraptoridae and Caponiidae are found as sister to the Dysderoidea. Our results support the Lost Tracheae clade, including Pholcidae, Tetrablemmidae, Diguetidae, Plectreuridae and the family Pacullidae (restored status) separate from Tetrablemmidae. The Scytodoidea include Ochyroceratidae along with Sicariidae, Scytodidae, Drymusidae and Periegopidae; our results are inconclusive about the separation of these last two families. We did not recover monophyletic Austrochiloidea and Leptonetidae, but our data suggest that both groups are more closely related to the Cylindrical Gland Spigot clade rather than to Synspermiata. Palpimanoidea is not recovered by our analyses, but also not strongly contradicted. We find support for Entelegynae and Oecobioidea (Oecobiidae plus Hersiliidae), and ambiguous placement of cribellate orb-weavers, compatible with their non-monophyly. Nicodamoidea (Nicodamidae plus Megadictynidae) and Araneoidea composition and relationships are consistent with recent analyses. We did not obtain resolution for the titanoecoids (Titanoecidae and Phyxelididae), but the Retrolateral Tibial Apophysis clade is well supported. Penestomidae, and probably Homalonychidae, are part of Zodarioidea, although the latter family was set apart by recent transcriptomic analyses. Our data support a large group that we call the marronoid clade (including the families Amaurobiidae, Desidae, Dictynidae, Hahniidae, Stiphidiidae, Agelenidae and Toxopidae). The circumscription of most marronoid families is redefined here. Amaurobiidae include the Amaurobiinae and provisionally Macrobuninae. We transfer Malenellinae (Malenella, from Anyphaenidae), Chummidae (Chumma) (new syn.) and Tasmarubriinae (Tasmarubrius, Tasmabrochus and Teeatta, from Amphinectidae) to Macrobuninae. Cybaeidae are redefined to include Calymmaria, Cryphoeca, Ethobuella and Willisius (transferred from Hahniidae), and Blabomma and Yorima (transferred from Dictynidae). Cycloctenidae are redefined to include Orepukia (transferred from Agelenidae) and Pakeha and Paravoca (transferred from Amaurobiidae). Desidae are redefined to include five subfamilies: Amphinectinae, with Amphinecta, Mamoea, Maniho, Paramamoea and Rangitata (transferred from Amphinectidae); Ischaleinae, with Bakala and Manjala (transferred from Amaurobiidae) and Ischalea (transferred from Stiphidiidae); Metaltellinae, with Austmusia, Buyina, Calacadia, Cunnawarra, Jalkaraburra, Keera, Magua, Metaltella, Penaoola and Quemusia; Porteriinae (new rank), with Baiami, Cambridgea, Corasoides and Nanocambridgea (transferred from Stiphidiidae); and Desinae, with Desis, and provisionally Poaka (transferred from Amaurobiidae) and Barahna (transferred from Stiphidiidae). Argyroneta is transferred from Cybaeidae to Dictynidae. Cicurina is transferred from Dictynidae to Hahniidae. The genera Neoramia (from Agelenidae) and Aorangia, Marplesia and Neolana (from Amphinectidae) are transferred to Stiphidiidae. The family Toxopidae (restored status) includes two subfamilies: Myroinae, with Gasparia, Gohia, Hulua, Neomyro, Myro, Ommatauxesis and Otagoa (transferred from Desidae); and Toxopinae, with Midgee and Jamara, formerly Midgeeinae, new syn. (transferred from Amaurobiidae) and Hapona, Laestrygones, Lamina, Toxops and Toxopsoides (transferred from Desidae). We obtain a monophyletic Oval Calamistrum clade and Dionycha; Sparassidae, however, are not dionychans, but probably the sister group of those two clades. The composition of the Oval Calamistrum clade is confirmed (including Zoropsidae, Udubidae, Ctenidae, Oxyopidae, Senoculidae, Pisauridae, Trechaleidae, Lycosidae, Psechridae and Thomisidae), affirming previous findings on the uncertain relationships of the \xe2\x80\x9cctenids\xe2\x80\x9d Ancylometes and Cupiennius, although a core group of Ctenidae are well supported. Our data were ambiguous as to the monophyly of Oxyopidae. In Dionycha, we found a first split of core Prodidomidae, excluding the Australian Molycriinae, which fall distantly from core prodidomids, among gnaphosoids. The rest of the dionychans form two main groups, Dionycha part A and part B. The former includes much of the Oblique Median Tapetum clade (Trochanteriidae, Gnaphosidae, Gallieniellidae, Phrurolithidae, Trachelidae, Gnaphosidae, Ammoxenidae, Lamponidae and the Molycriinae), and also Anyphaenidae and Clubionidae. Orthobula is transferred from Phrurolithidae to Trachelidae. Our data did not allow for complete resolution for the gnaphosoid families. Dionycha part B includes the families Salticidae, Eutichuridae, Miturgidae, Philodromidae, Viridasiidae, Selenopidae, Corinnidae and Xenoctenidae (new fam., including Xenoctenus, Paravulsor and Odo, transferred from Miturgidae, as well as Incasoctenus from Ctenidae). We confirm the inclusion of Zora (formerly Zoridae) within Miturgidae.

Description: This paper presents a first critical review of the beetle species (Insecta: Coleoptera) reported from the (former) Dutch Antilles as well as a history of beetle collecting and collectors on the islands. The introductory section provides a concise overview of the location, climate, geology and vegetation of the six islands. The catalogue is concluded with miscellaneous additions, corrections and annotations to the published records of the other islands of the northern Leeward Islands, and a comprehensive bibliography. (ZooBank registration: http://zoobank.org/ \nE2D76464-5AAE-4D75-9AC5-CA119E65D72A)