Investigating the impacts of agricultural land use on soil earthworm communities: A case study of northern Zagros Mountains of Iran.

Earthworms play a crucial role in the invertebrate community of soil by contributing to the belowground biomass and biogeochemical cycle. Environmental stresses, such as human activities and land use changes, have been found to negatively affect their abundance and diversity. To investigate the impact of agricultural land use and pastures on earthworms' genetic diversity in the Northern Zagros Mountains, we used COI molecular marker and DNA barcoding approaches. We collected earthworm specimens from four farmland sites and six pastures and assessed the abundance and species composition of earthworm communities across the two land uses using quadrat sampling. Using the barcoding method, we identified 13 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) among the captured earthworms. Our results showed that the number of total MOTUs, density, and earthworm communities differed significantly between the two land uses. We also found that pastures had more abundant earthworms, while farmlands had greater diversity. The diversity of OTUs in the Lumbricidae family was dominant in the agricultural system. Overall, the population of invasive earthworm species in cultivation systems is influenced by chemical inputs and organic materials from plant residues, cover crops, manure, or organic fertilizers. Given the rapid rate of land use change worldwide, especially in Iran, it is crucial to understand the impact of disturbances on earthworms.

Diversification in the mountains: Evolutionary history and molecular phylogeny of Anatolian rock lizards.

Mountains play a key role in forming biodiversity by acting both as barriers to gene flow among populations and as corridors for the migration of populations adapted to the conditions prevailing at high elevations. The Anatolian and the Zagros Mountains are located in the Alpine-Himalayan belt. The formation of these mountains has influenced the distribution and isolation of the animal population since the late Cenozoic. Apathya is a genus of lacertid lizards distributed along these mountains with two species, i.e., Apathya cappadocica and Apathya yassujica. The taxonomy status of lineages within the genus is complicated. In this study, we tried to collect extensive samples from throughout the distribution range, especially within the Zagros Mountains. Also, we used five genetic markers, two mitochondrial (COI and Cyt b) and three nuclear (C-mos, NKTR, and MCIR), to resolve the phylogenetic relationships within the genus and explain several possible scenarios that shaped multiple genetic structures. The combination of results in the current study indicated eight well-support monophyletic lineages that separated to two main groups; group 1 including A. c. cappadocica, A. c. muhtari and A. c. wolteri, group 2 contains four regional clades Turkey, Urmia, Baneh and Ilam, and finally a single clade belonging to the species A. yassujica. In contrast to previous studies, Apathya cappadocica urmiana was divided into four clades and three clades were recognized within Iranian boundaries. The clades have dispersed from Anatolia to adjacent regions in the south of Anatolia and the western Zagros Mountains. According to the evidence generated in this study this clade is paraphyletic. Based on our assumption, orogeny activities and also climate fluctuations in Middle Miocene and Pleistocene have influenced to formation of lineages. In this study we revisit the taxonomy of the genus and demonstrate that the species diversity was substantially underestimated. Our findings suggest that each of the eight clades corresponding to subspecies and distinct geographic regions deserve to be promoted to species level.

A new species of Acanthodactylus Fitzinger, 1834 (Sauria: Lacertidae) from the Zagros Mountains, Iran.

Acanthodactylus boskianus is a widespread species in Northern Africa and Western Asia. In this study, we used morphological and genetic approaches to study populations of A. boskianus from the Zagros Mountains in western Iran, the easternmost limit of the species distribution. Our morphological and genetic data indicate that populations of A. boskianus in Iran are distinct from other populations of A. boskianus. Therefore, we describe the Iranian populations as Acanthodactylus zagrosicus sp. nov. The new species is the third endemic species of Acanthodactylus in Iran and the ninth Acanthodactylus species distributed in Iran overall. According to our surveys, this species is distributed widely in the Zagros Mountains including Kermanshah, Lorestan, Ilam, and Khuzestan Provinces.

Pleistocene climate fluctuations as the major driver of genetic diversity and distribution patterns of the Caspian green lizard, Lacerta strigata Eichwald, 1831.

Green lizards of the genus Lacerta have served as excellent models for studying the impact of Pleistocene climatic oscillations on genetic structures. The Caspian green lizard, Lacerta strigata, occupies various habitats across the Caucasus and the South Caspian Sea, with the Hyrcanian Forests and north of the Alborz Mountains forming the core of the range. This study aimed to re-examine the phylogenetic relationships of L. strigata with other congeneric members and to assess the genetic structure and historical demography of the species. Furthermore, Species Distribution Models (SDMs) were performed to infer the species' potential habitat suitability and were then projected on climate scenarios reflecting current and past (6 ky and 21 ky before present) conditions. A total of 39 individuals collected from most of the distribution range, together with additional lacertid species sequences from the GenBank database, were examined using mtDNA (Cyt b and 12S ribosomal RNA) and nuclear (C-mos and ß-fibrinogen) sequence data. Based on the phylogenetic analyses, L. strigata was found to be a sister taxon to all other members of the genus. The species included two main clades (regional western and eastern) that diverged in a period between the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Based on the BBM and S-Diva analyses, both dispersal and vicariance events explained the phylogeographic structure of the species in the Hyrcanian Forests. The historical demographic analyses using Bayesian skyline plots showed a mild increase in the effective population size from about 120 Kya for the western regional clade. According to phylogeographic structures and SDMs evidence, as in other species within the region, it appears that the south of the Caspian Sea (Hyrcanian Forests), and the Alborz Mountains acted as multiple refugia during cold periods and promoted expansion outwards amid the warm periods. Overall, the results provided evidence that the genetic structure of the species has been influenced by the Pleistocene climatic fluctuations.

Fahimi's racerunner, a new species of the genus Eremias Fitzinger, 1834 (Sauria: Lacertidae) from Iran.

We describe a new species of Lacertid lizard of the genus Eremias from the border of the northeastern side of Markazi Province to the western side of Tehran Province in Iran. Eremias fahimii sp. nov. is part of the Eremias subgenus (or morphotype) by virtue of lacking lateral fringes on the fourth toe, having movable eyelids, a lower nasal shield that rests on two supralabials, and ventral plates arranged in oblique longitudinal rows. It can be further differentiated from previously described species assigned to this morphotype by the absence of distinctly keeled upper caudal scales, gular scales that do not extend to the second inframaxiallary scales, shape and relative size of frontoparietals, parietal and parietals, scale counts and absence of lateral color ocellus. In addition, the molecular phylogeny of the most common Iranian racerunners including Eremias fahimii sp. nov. was studied using mitochondrial Cytochrome b (Cyt b) and 12S ribosomal RNA (12S) genes. Our results support the validation of the new species which depicts a sister group relationship to E. persica. Of the 20 species of Eremias known from Iran, E. fahimii sp. nov. is the seventh endemic species along with E. andersoni, E. isfahanica, E. lalezharica, E. kavirensis, E. montana and E. papenfussi. Despite the fact that up to now E. fahimii sp. nov. is only known from the type locality, it is highly probable that it also occurs in Tehran, Alborz, Qom, Qazvin and Zanjan Provinces due to topological characteristics and habitat similarities in these areas.

Dispersal beyond geographic barriers: a contribution to the phylogeny and demographic history of Pristurus rupestris Blanford, 1874 (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) from southern Iran.

Pristurus rupestris is a member of Semaphore geckos with a wide distribution range. Recently, 14 candidate species of P. rupestris rupestris have been identified in the Hajar Mountains (Arabia), yet the knowledge on the Iranian counterparts is limited. The present study elucidates the phylogenetic position of the Iranian P. rupestris and investigates the hypothesis on its historical colonization from Oman to Iran and the associated islands. Therefore, 20 Iranian specimens along with 115 individuals from Oman were examined using two mitochondrial genes including the Cytochrome b and the 12S ribosomal RNA. The molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the individuals collected from Iran are well nested within the candidate Species 3 of P. r. rupestris, demonstrating a single population with high gene flow. Additionally, the molecular analyses showed that the genetic diversity within the Iranian Blanford's Semaphore geckos is low and that the candidate Species 3 experienced a recent expansion approximately 17 thousand years ago (Kya). The historical demographic analyses (BSP) showed a mild increase in the effective population size between 15-20 Kya. These time estimations coincide with the Last Glacial Maximum, when the Persian Gulf was almost dry, reinforcing the hypothesis that the species might have colonized southern Iran from Oman through the Persian Gulf. In addition, we propose P. r. iranicus to be synonymized with P. r. rupestris.

A phylogenetic assessment of the meadow lizard Darevskia praticola (Eversmann, 1834) from Iran.

The meadow lizard Darevskia praticola (Eversmann, 1834) displays a wide distribution range from the Western Balkans and Caucasus to the Hyrcanian forest in Iran. Based on previous studies, four subspecies have been described (D. p. praticola, D. p. pontica, D. p. hyrcanica and D. p. loriensis), but molecular evidence suggests two main phylogenetic lineages, Balkan and Caucasus. In this study we incorporated geographic records and analysed new samples from Alborz Mountains (Gilan Province, Iran), exploring their phylogenetic affinities using two mitochondrial markers (Cyt b and ND4). For the first time, Iranian samples are included in a molecular phylogeny. Our results meet the previous suggestions regarding the presence of a nuclear mitochondrial DNA fragment (numt) in Cyt b, causing misleading phylogenetic inferences since it renders the species paraphyletic. In contrast, the ND4 genealogy groups the species into a monophyletic clade, as expected. Samples attributed to D. p. hyrcanica (Azerbaijan and Iran) and D. p. loriensis (Armenia) are settled in a single clade with minute genetic distance, suggesting synonymisation.