The First Study of Mating Mistakes in Stoneflies (Plecoptera) from China, with Remarks on Their Biological Implications.

Currently, information on the biology of Plecoptera from China is scarce, particularly on mating behavior. In this paper, the existence of mating mistakes (erroneous mating attempts) involving 13 Chinese stonefly species (belonging to nine genera and three families) is reported. These erroneous mating behaviors can be included into three different categories: mating attempts between conspecific males (including the formation of erroneous mating balls), mating attempts between different taxa (including displacement attempts during copulation), and mating-related behaviors with non-living objects. From these behaviors, some aspects of stoneflies during mating, such as the physical competition between males, the sensorial mechanisms implied in triggering a mating behavior, the conditions favoring the mating mistakes, and the possible consequences of interspecific mating in the hybrid production, are discussed.

DISPERSE, a trait database to assess the dispersal potential of European aquatic macroinvertebrates.

Dispersal is an essential process in population and community dynamics, but is difficult to measure in the field. In freshwater ecosystems, information on biological traits related to organisms' morphology, life history and behaviour provides useful dispersal proxies, but information remains scattered or unpublished for many taxa. We compiled information on multiple dispersal-related biological traits of European aquatic macroinvertebrates in a unique resource, the DISPERSE database. DISPERSE includes nine dispersal-related traits subdivided into 39 trait categories for 480 taxa, including Annelida, Mollusca, Platyhelminthes, and Arthropoda such as Crustacea and Insecta, generally at the genus level. Information within DISPERSE can be used to address fundamental research questions in metapopulation ecology, metacommunity ecology, macroecology and evolutionary ecology. Information on dispersal proxies can be applied to improve predictions of ecological responses to global change, and to inform improvements to biomonitoring, conservation and management strategies. The diverse sources used in DISPERSE complement existing trait databases by providing new information on dispersal traits, most of which would not otherwise be accessible to the scientific community.

The InBIO Barcoding Initiative Database: contribution to the knowledge on DNA barcodes of Iberian Plecoptera.

BACKGROUND: The use of DNA barcoding allows unprecedented advances in biodiversity assessments and monitoring schemes of freshwater ecosystems; nevertheless, it requires the construction of comprehensive reference collections of DNA sequences that represent the existing biodiversity. Plecoptera are considered particularly good ecological indicators and one of the most endangered groups of insects, but very limited information on their DNA barcodes is available in public databases. Currently, less than 50% of the Iberian species are represented in BOLD. NEW INFORMATION: The InBIO Barcoding Initiative Database: contribution to the knowledge on DNA barcodes of Iberian Plecoptera dataset contains records of 71 specimens of Plecoptera. All specimens have been morphologically identified to species level and belong to 29 species in total. This dataset contributes to the knowledge on the DNA barcodes and distribution of Plecoptera from the Iberian Peninsula and it is one of the IBI database public releases that makes available genetic and distribution data for a series of taxa.The species represented in this dataset correspond to an addition to public databases of 17 species and 21 BINs. Fifty-eight specimens were collected in Portugal and 18 in Spain during the period of 2004 to 2018. All specimens are deposited in the IBI collection at CIBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources and their DNA barcodes are publicly available in the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) online database. The distribution dataset can be freely accessed through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

Antennal sensilla of the stonefly Dinocras cephalotes (Plecoptera: Perlidae).

Plecoptera, one of the most primitive groups of Neoptera, are important aquatic insects usually employed as bioindicators of high water quality. Notwithstanding the well-developed antennae of the adult, its sensory abilities are so far not well known. The present paper describes at ultrastructural level under scanning and transmission electron microscopy the antennal sensilla of the adult stonefly Dinocras cephalotes (Plecoptera, Perlidae). Adult males and females show a filiform antenna constituted of a scape, a pedicel and a flagellum composed of very numerous segments with no clear sexual dimorphism in the number and distribution of the antennal sensilla. The most represented sensilla are sensilla trichodea, with different length, whose internal structure reveal their mechanosensory function, sensilla chaetica, with an apical pore, with an internal structure revealing a typical gustatory function, porous pegs representing single-walled olfactory sensilla, digitated pegs with hollow cuticular spoke channels representing double-walled olfactory sensilla, pegs in pits for which we hypothesize a thermo-hygrosensory function. The diversity of described sensilla is discussed in relation to known biological aspects of the studied species. This opens new perspectives in the study of the behavior of these aquatic insects during their adult stage.

Continental drift and climate change drive instability in insect assemblages.

Global change has already had observable effects on ecosystems worldwide, and the accelerated rate of global change is predicted in the future. However, the impacts of global change on the stability of biodiversity have not been systematically studied in terms of both large spatial (continental drift) and temporal (from the last inter-glacial period to the next century) scales. Therefore, we analyzed the current geographical distribution pattern of Plecoptera, a thermally sensitive insect group, and evaluated its stability when coping with global change across both space and time throughout the Mediterranean region--one of the first 25 global biodiversity hotspots. Regional biodiversity of Plecoptera reflected the geography in both the historical movements of continents and the current environmental conditions in the western Mediterranean region. The similarity of Plecoptera assemblages between areas in this region indicated that the uplift of new land and continental drift were the primary determinants of the stability of regional biodiversity. Our results revealed that climate change caused the biodiversity of Plecoptera to slowly diminish in the past and will cause remarkably accelerated biodiversity loss in the future. These findings support the theory that climate change has had its greatest impact on biodiversity over a long temporal scale.

Life in the dark: on the biology of the cavernicolous stonefly Protonemura gevi (Insecta, Plecoptera).

Protonemura gevi is a Palearctic stonefly with unique morphological adaptations for a cavernicolous life. In this study, the development, nymphal and adult feeding, adult behavior, and mate encounter mechanisms of this species are investigated. This species inhabits a stream flowing through a cave, in darkness and at a constant temperature. Nymphs of different sizes cohabit throughout the whole year, showing a nonseasonal life cycle. Nymphs at the entrance of the cave feed mainly on coarse particulate organic matter and hyphae, and nymphs at the end of the cave feed principally on detritus and occasionally on animal matter. Adults were present year-round and aggregated on emergent stones at the end of the cave. No drumming signals were recorded; therefore, this species seems to rely mainly on aggregation to maximize pair encounters. As shown in this study, P. gevi have adaptations suited to life in the dark and the completion of its entire life cycle inside a cave.