Population genomic structure of a widespread, urban-dwelling mammal: The eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).

Urbanization is a persistent and widespread driver of global environmental change, potentially shaping evolutionary processes due to genetic drift and reduced gene flow in cities induced by habitat fragmentation and small population sizes. We tested this prediction for the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), a common and conspicuous forest-dwelling rodent, by obtaining 44K SNPs using reduced representation sequencing (ddRAD) for 403 individuals sampled across the species' native range in eastern North America. We observed moderate levels of genetic diversity, low levels of inbreeding, and only a modest signal of isolation-by-distance. Clustering and migration analyses show that estimated levels of migration and genetic connectivity were higher than expected across cities and forested areas, specifically within the eastern portion of the species' range dominated by urbanization, and genetic connectivity was less than expected within the western range where the landscape is fragmented by agriculture. Landscape genetic methods revealed greater gene flow among individual squirrels in forested regions, which likely provide abundant food and shelter for squirrels. Although gene flow appears to be higher in areas with more tree cover, only slight discontinuities in gene flow suggest eastern grey squirrels have maintained connected populations across urban areas in all but the most heavily fragmented agricultural landscapes. Our results suggest urbanization shapes biological evolution in wildlife species depending strongly on the composition and habitability of the landscape matrix surrounding urban areas.

Butterfly foraging is remarkably synchronous in an experimental tropical macrocosm.

Diel patterns in foraging activity are dictated by a combination of abiotic, biotic and endogenous limits. Understanding these limits is important for insects because ectotherm taxa will respond more pronouncedly to ongoing climatic change, potentially affecting crucial ecosystem services. We leverage an experimental macrocosm, the Montreal Insectarium Grand Vivarium, to test the importance of endogenous mechanisms in determining temporal patterns in foraging activity of butterflies. Specifically, we assessed the degree of temporal niche partitioning among 24 butterfly species originating from the Earth's tropics within controlled environmental conditions. We found strong niche overlap, with the frequency of foraging events peaking around solar noon for 96% of the species assessed. Our models suggest that this result was not due to the extent of cloud cover, which affects radiational heating and thus limits body temperature in butterflies. Together, these findings suggest that an endogenous mechanism evolved to regulate the timing of butterfly foraging activity within suitable environmental conditions. Understanding similar mechanisms will be crucial to forecast the effects of climate change on insects, and thus on the many ecosystem services they provide.

The global spread of misinformation on spiders.

In the internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may also amplify the spread of misinformation. This problem is gaining global attention, as evidence accumulates that misinformation may interfere with democratic processes and undermine collective responses to environmental and health crises1,2. In an increasingly polluted information ecosystem, understanding the factors underlying the generation and spread of misinformation is becoming a pressing scientific and societal challenge3. Here, we studied the global spread of (mis-)information on spiders using a high-resolution global database of online newspaper articles on spider-human interactions, covering stories of spider-human encounters and biting events published from 2010-20204. We found that 47% of articles contained errors and 43% were sensationalist. Moreover, we show that the flow of spider-related news occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism is a key factor underlying the spread of misinformation.

"What's This Bug?" Questions from the Public Provide Relevant Information on Species Distribution and Human-Insect Interactions.

In general, insects and arthropods polarizing: they either fascinate people, disgust people, or both, and they generate lots of questions. Museums are perceived as reliable sources of information and, as such, a go-to destination for the public to receive answers. Since its opening in 1990, the Montreal Insectarium has offered an entomological information service, allowing the public to send questions, photographs, and specimens for identification. All requests are answered by entomologists. Spatiotemporal variations in taxonomic, geographic, and thematic profiles of the 4163 requests received in 2010-2011 and 2017-2018 were analyzed. Requests came from 35 countries, and most of those requests came from Canada. The majority of requests were identification requests. Representing 25% of identification requests, the five most frequent species were the eastern dobsonfly Corydalus cornutus, the masked hunter Reduvius personatus, the giant water bug Lethocerus americanus, the western conifer-seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis, and the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica. A comparison with the data from the citizen science platform iNaturalist shows that the EIS can be a valuable tool for invasive species detection. Frequent subjects included school projects, entomophagy (eating insects), and wasp and bee nests. Finally, we discuss the role of entomologists in providing scientific information but also in addressing common concerns regarding cohabitation with arthropods.