Chromosome-scale genome assemblies of Himalopsyche anomala and Eubasilissa splendida (Insecta: Trichoptera).

Trichoptera is one of the most evolutionarily successful aquatic insect lineages and is highly valued value in adaptive evolution research. This study presents the chromosome-level genome assemblies of Himalopsyche anomala and Eubasilissa splendida achieved using PacBio, Illumina, and Hi-C sequencing. For H. anomala and E. splendida, assembly sizes were 663.43 and 859.28 Mb, with scaffold N50 lengths of 28.44 and 31.17 Mb, respectively. In H. anomala and E. splendida, we anchored 24 and 29 pseudochromosomes, and identified 11,469 and 10,554 protein-coding genes, respectively. The high-quality genomes of H. anomala and E. splendida provide critical genomic resources for understanding the evolution and ecology of Trichoptera and performing comparative genomics analyses.

Seven new species and four new records of Psychomyiidae (Insecta, Trichoptera) from China.

Seven new species of the family Psychomyiidae Walker, 1852 are described and illustrated from China; they are Psychomyiashunisp. nov., Ps.mangshanensissp. nov., Ps.capricornissp. nov., Lypesagittalissp. nov., Paduniellafasciariasp. nov., Pa.sanyaensissp. nov., and Tinodesaviformissp. nov. The genus Lype is reported for the first time from mainland China. In addition, four psychomyiids are found to be new to the Chinese caddis fauna: Psychomyiaindra Malicky & Chantaramongkol, 1993; Paduniellaandamanensis Malicky, 1979; Pa.dendrobia Malicky & Chantaramongkol, 1993; and Tinodesgapbona Johanson & Oláh, 2008. Moreover, Psychomyiapolyacantha Li, Qiu & Morse, 2021 is reviewed and synonymized with Psychomyiaimamiah Malicky, 2020.

Shifting taxonomic and functional community composition of rivers under land use change.

Land use intensification has led to conspicuous changes in plant and animal communities across the world. Shifts in trait-based functional composition have recently been hypothesized to manifest at lower levels of environmental change when compared to species-based taxonomic composition; however, little is known about the commonalities in these responses across taxonomic groups and geographic regions. We investigated this hypothesis by testing for taxonomic and geographic similarities in the composition of riverine fish and insect communities across gradients of land use in major hydrological regions of the conterminous United States. We analyzed an extensive data set representing 556 species and 33 functional trait modalities from 8023 fish communities and 1434 taxa and 50 trait modalities from 5197 aquatic insect communities. Our results demonstrate abrupt threshold changes in both taxonomic and functional community composition due to land use conversion. Functional composition consistently demonstrated lower land use threshold responses compared to taxonomic composition for both fish (urban p = 0.069; agriculture p = 0.029) and insect (urban p = 0.095; agriculture p = 0.043) communities according to gradient forest models. We found significantly lower thresholds for urban versus agricultural land use for fishes (taxonomic and functional p < 0.001) and insects (taxonomic p = 0.001; functional p = 0.033). We further revealed that threshold responses in functional composition were more geographically consistent than for taxonomic composition to both urban and agricultural land use change. Traits contributing the most to overall functional composition change differed along urban and agricultural land gradients and conformed to predicted ecological mechanisms underpinning community change. This study points to reliable early-warning thresholds that accurately forecast compositional shifts in riverine communities to land use conversion, and highlight the importance of considering trait-based indicators of community change to inform large-scale land use management strategies and policies.

Four New Species of the Genus Eoneureclipsis (Trichoptera: Psychomyiidae) from China Inferred from Morphology and DNA Barcodes.

Four new species of the genus Eoneureclipsis Kimmins, 1955 from China are described, illustrated, and diagnosed based on male genitalia: Eoneureclipsis jianfenglingensis sp. nov. from Hainan, E. foraminulatus sp. nov. from Guangxi, E. spinosus sp. nov. from Guangxi and Guangdong, and E. gei sp. nov. from Fujian. A dichotomous key to Chinese adult males of Eoneureclipsis is provided. A distribution map for all Eoneureclipsis species is also presented. The DNA barcodes (partial mtCOI sequences) of E. jianfenglingensis sp. nov., E. gei sp. nov., and E. hainanensis Mey, 2013 have been generated and compared with all existing sequences of Eoneureclipsis species.

New Mitogenome Features of Philopotamidae (Insecta: Trichoptera) with Two New Species of Gunungiella.

A total of 14 individuals of Philopotamidae, from China, were examined. Six species in four genera, including two new species of the genus Gunungiella, were recognized. Their COI barcode sequences were extracted, mitogenomes were sequenced, assembled and analyzed. All of these sequences were used to further reveal the phylogenetic relationships of the family Philopotamidae. In addition, two new species: Gunungiella wangi n. sp., Gunungiella flabellata n. sp. were described and illustrated.

The First Chromosome-level Genome Assembly of Cheumatopsyche charites Malicky and Chantaramongkol, 1997 (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) Reveals How It Responds to Pollution.

Trichoptera is a highly adapted group of freshwater insects. They are generally more sensitive to dissolved oxygen and water quality than most freshwater organisms, and this sensitivity allows them to be used as reliable biological indicators of water quality. At present, there exists no chromosome-level genome of a hydropsychid species. Cheumatopsyche charites Malicky & Chantaramongkol, 1997 can successfully survive and thrive in polluted streams where other caddisflies are infrequent, suggesting that they are tolerant to latent contamination. Here we report a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly of C. charites generated combining PacBio long reads and Hi-C reads. We obtained a genome assembly of 223.23 Mb, containing 68 scaffolds with an N50 length of 13.97 Mb, and 155 contigs (99.67%) anchored into 16 pseudochromosomes. We identified 36.12 Mb (16.18%) of the genome as being composed of repetitive elements, identified 369 noncoding RNAs, and predicted 8,772 protein-coding genes (96.80% BUSCO completeness). Gene family evolution analyses identified 7,148 gene families, of which 41 experienced rapid evolution. The expanded gene families were shown to be involved in detoxification metabolism, digestive absorption, and resistance to viruses or bacteria. This high-quality genome provides a valuable genomic basis for the study of trichopteran evolution.

Comparative Mitogenomic Analyses of Hydropsychidae Revealing the Novel Rearrangement of Protein-Coding Gene and tRNA (Trichoptera: Annulipalpia).

Gene rearrangement of the mitochondrial genome of insects, especially the rearrangement of protein-coding genes, has long been a hot topic for entomologists. Although mitochondrial gene rearrangement is common within Annulipalpia, protein-coding gene rearrangement is relatively rare. As the largest family in Annulipalpia, the available mitogenomes from Hydropsychidae Curtis, 1835 are scarce, and thus restrict our interpretation of the mitogenome characteristic. In this study, we obtained 19 novel mitogenomes of Hydropsychidae, of which the mitogenomes of the genus Arctopsyche are published for the first time. Coupled with published hydropsychid mitogenome, we analyzed the nucleotide composition evolutionary rates and gene rearrangements of the mitogenomes among subfamilies. As a result, we found two novel gene rearrangement patterns within Hydropsychidae, including rearrangement of protein-coding genes. Meanwhile, our results consider that the protein-coding gene arrangement of Potamyia can be interpreted by the tandem duplication/random loss (TDRL) model. In addition, the phylogenetic relationships within Hydropsychidae constructed by two strategies (Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood) strongly support the monophyly of Arctopscychinae, Diplectroninae, Hydropsychinae, and Macronematinae. Our study provides new insights into the mechanisms and patterns of mitogenome rearrangements in Hydropsychidae.

A New Species of Limnephilus (Insecta: Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) from China, with Revision of the Genus Limnephilus on the Chinese Mainland.

Fifty individuals of Limnephilus from the Qinghai Province, China, were examined, and their COI barcode sequences were extracted and analyzed. Forty individuals of Limnephilus from the Insect Collection of Nanjing Agricultural University (ICNAU), China, were examined, and photos of the male genitalia of four Limnephilus species are here presented. The males, females, larvae, and pupae of a new species, Limnephilus deqianensis n. sp., associated via COI barcode sequences, are described and illustrated. Ecological photos of the male, pupal case, and the habitat of the new species L. deqianensis n. sp. are also provided. Five species groups containing all seventeen Chinese Limnephilus species are revised. Diagnoses, keys, and a distribution map of them are provided. All of the sequences have been uploaded to GenBank. All specimens are deposited in the ICNAU, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China.

Ecological drivers of macroinvertebrate metacommunity assembly in a subtropical river basin in the Yangtze River Delta, China.

Identifying the underlying ecological drivers of macroinvertebrate community assembly is fundamental to metacommunity ecology. Comparably, determining the influence of different drivers on beta diversity patterns can provide insight into processes governing community organization. Exploring the ecological drivers of metacommunity and beta diversity are major avenues to improve bioassessment, restoration, and river management, which are still poorly explored in China, especially in subtropical highly developed river networks. To address this gap, we use a dataset (macroinvertebrate communities and environmental variables) collected from the Yangtze River Delta, China to test the above ideas. We used the K-means clustering method to divide 405 river sites into three anthropogenic impacted groups, nearly pristine sites, moderately impacted sites, and heavily impacted sites, and subsequently used partial Mantel tests to investigate how species sorting and dispersal shaped the metacommunity that varied with the levels of anthropogenic impacts and to explore the responses of different components of beta diversity to environmental and spatial distances among sites for each group. Our results revealed that both species sorting and dispersal shape communities, but the importance of species sorting and dispersal varied with the levels of anthropogenic impacts. Nearly pristine sites were mostly shaped only by species sorting, while heavily impacted sites were shaped by dispersal. We also found that turnover was by far the dominant component of beta diversity across all levels of impact. Therefore, we encourage that environmental variables and spatial processes should be considered in bioassessment approaches. In addition, it is essential to focus on maintaining habitat heterogeneity and identifying and protecting regional species pools that could improve local biodiversity through dispersal for ecosystem management of the Yangtze River Delta of China.

The First Report of the Genera Abaria and Drepanocentron (Trichoptera: Xiphocentronidae) from China, with Descriptions of Two New Species.

The genera Abaria Mosely 1948 and Drepanocentron Schmid 1982 are recorded in China for the first time. In this study, two new species, Abaria herringbona sp. nov., from Guang-xi, and Drepanocentron fuxiensis sp. nov., from An-hui, are described and illustrated. Male genitalia of these two new species is distinguishable from those of other Abaria and Drepanocentron species. In addition, Melanotrichia attia Malicky & Chantaramongkol 1992 is a new record for the Chinese caddisfly fauna.

Five new species of Tinodes (Trichoptera: Psychomyiidae) from China.

Five new species of genus Tinodes Curtis 1834 from China are described, illustrated, and diagnosed based on distinctive characters of male genitalia, including Tinodes falcata n. sp., T. xuzhouorum n. sp., T. shunhuangshanensis n. sp., T. yangae n. sp., and T. lini n. sp. Tinodes falcata n. sp. differs from other members of Tinodes in having an unpaired falcate and strongly sclerotized phallic sheath process. Tinodes xuzhouorum n. sp. differs from T. charmi Malicky 2009 by the relative lengths of the superior appendages and the phallus, the position of the ejaculatory duct, and the angle formed by tergum IX and the superior appendages in lateral view. Tinodes shunhuangshanensis n. sp. can be distinguished from T. sartael Malicky 2017 by the phallic sheath process splitting into paired dorsal branches and an apically incised ventral branch. Tinodes yangae n. sp. differs from T. eris Malicky & Sangpradub 2001 by the dorsal phallic sheath process having extra paired vertical branches. Tinodes lini n. sp. differs from T. dactringa Johanson & Oláh 2008 by the phallic guide with a pair of closely attached dorsal branches.

New species of the genus Molanna Curtis, 1834 (Trichoptera, Molannidae) in China inferred from morphology and DNA barcodes.

The male adult of Molannatruncata Ge, Peng & Sun sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on material collected in Si-chuan, China. It could be diagnosed by the subtriangular superior appendages when viewed dorsally, and by the mesal appendages each having a slender thorn and inferior appendages with a tiny inner process. Based on morphology of genitalia, we provide a dichotomous key to adult males of Molanna from the Oriental region. The DNA barcodes (partial mtCOI sequences) of M.truncata sp. nov. are generated and compared with existing sequences of Molanna species from Oriental and Palearctic regions. The mean intraspecific divergence of Molanna was 1.58% with a maximum of 8.50% in M.moesta. The Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) analysis of Molanna inferred 9 OTUs and thresholds of interspecific divergence of 10%. Divergence of M.truncata sp. nov. haplotypes from all other Molanna haplotypes ranged from 10.1% to 18%. We discuss distribution and potential groups of species within the Oriental Molanna species based on morphology.

Description of adult female, larva, and pupa of Glossosoma (Lipoglossa) kamael Malicky 2012 (Trichoptera: Glossosomatidae) associated by COI sequences from China.

The adult female, larva, and pupa of Glossosoma (Lipoglossa) kamael Malicky 2012 from Qinghai Province, China, are described and illustrated. Molecular associations are based on COI sequences. The immature stages of the subgenus Lipoglossa are described for the first time. Biological and habitat information of G. kamael are presented.

Four new species of Psychomyia (Trichoptera: Psychomyiidae) from China, with re-descriptions of two species.

Four new species of the genus Psychomyia from China are described, illustrated and diagnosed: P. complexa n. sp. (Zhe-jiang), P. conoidea n. sp. (Zhe-jiang), P. obtorta n. sp. (Jiang-xi), and P. tripetala n. sp. (Jiang-xi). Two known species, P. martynovi Hwang 1957 and P. extensa Li, Sun Yang 1999 are re-described and re-illustrated, with new distributional data.

Descriptions of larvae of three species of Hydropsyche Pictet 1834 (Trichoptera, Hydropsychidae) from China.

Adults and larvae of the genus Hydropsyche from Yun-nan and Si-chuan Provinces, China, were examined and the COI barcode gene sequences were obtained and analyzed, adults and larvae of 3 species were successfully associated. Of them, H. uvana Mey 1995 is a new record for the Chinese caddisfly fauna. The larvae of H. cerva Li Tian 1990, H. penicillata Martynov 1931, and H. uvana Mey 1995 are described for the first time. The diagnostic features of the species are described and illustrated.

Descriptions of larvae of three Philopotamidae species from China (Insecta, Trichoptera).

Adults and larvae of the family Philopotamidae from Zhejiang Province, China, were examined and mtCOI gene sequences were extracted and analyzed, males and larvae of 3 species were successfully associated. The larvae of Chimarra sadayu Malicky 1993, Dolophilodes bellatula Sun Malicky 2002, Wormaldia unispina Sun 1998 are described in detail and their diagnostic photographs and illustrations are presented. Diagnostic characters for genera and species are discussed.

Metacommunity Structure of Stream Insects across Three Hierarchical Spatial scales.

A major challenge in community ecology is to understand the underlying factors driving metacommunity (i.e., a set of local communities connected through species dispersal) dynamics. However, little is known about the effects of varying spatial scale on the relative importance of environmental and spatial (i.e., dispersal related) factors in shaping metacommunities and on the relevance of different dispersal pathways. Using a hierarchy of insect metacommunities at three spatial scales (a small, within-stream scale, intermediate, among-stream scale, and large, among-sub-basin scale), we assessed whether the relative importance of environmental and spatial factors shaping metacommunity structure varies predictably across spatial scales, and tested how the importance of different dispersal routes vary across spatial scales. We also studied if different dispersal ability groups differ in the balance between environmental and spatial control. Variation partitioning showed that environmental factors relative to spatial factors were more important for community composition at the within-stream scale. In contrast, spatial factors (i.e., eigenvectors from Moran's eigenvector maps) relative to environmental factors were more important at the among-sub-basin scale. These results indicate that environmental filtering is likely to be more important at the smallest scale with highest connectivity, while dispersal limitation seems to be more important at the largest scale with lowest connectivity. Community variation at the among-stream and among-sub-basin scales were strongly explained by geographical and topographical distances, indicating that overland pathways might be the main dispersal route at the larger scales among more isolated sites. The relative effect of environmental and spatial factors on insect communities varied between low and high dispersal ability groups; this variation was inconsistent among three hierarchical scales. In sum, our study indicates that spatial scale, connectivity, and dispersal ability jointly shape stream metacommunities.

Incorporating functional traits to enhance multimetric index performance and assess land use gradients.

Taxonomic-based multimetric indices (MMIs) have been widely employed for assessing ecosystem status, particularly through the use of stream macroinvertebrate assemblages. However, the functional diversity and composition of assemblages is also important for maintaining stream ecosystem condition. Nonetheless, aquatic insect functional diversity and composition have not commonly been included in MMIs. Our goal was to advance our understanding of the performance and ecological interpretation of an MMI that potentially combined functional and taxonomic metrics. We sampled aquatic insects and natural and land-use variables at 74 temperate Chinese streams. We selected a candidate set of 36 functional and 20 taxonomic metrics that were screened by range tests, natural variation, responsiveness to anthropogenic disturbance, and redundancy for subsequent inclusion in MMIs. We determined if natural variation adjustments improved the performance of a functional-taxonomic MMI. Finally, we evaluated the degree to which the functional-taxonomic MMI served as an early-warning indicator of land use intensity. Natural variation explained between 19.62% and 71.02% of metric variability, indicating that functional metrics changed systematically along natural gradients. The final functional-taxonomic MMI adjusted for natural variation incorporated multiple aspects of assemblage characteristics: functional richness, Rao's quadratic entropy, abundance-weighted frequency of soft bodies, abundance-weighted frequency of predators, and number of Diptera taxa. In contrast to the natural variation unadjusted MMI, the functional-taxonomic adjusted MMI clearly distinguished least-disturbed sites from most-disturbed sites, exhibited high precision and low bias, and showed a significant negative response to land uses. The slope of a linear regression relative to 0-10% urban and 0-20% agriculture was significantly steeper for the functional-taxonomic adjusted MMI than that of the taxonomic adjusted MMI. We conclude that functional-taxonomic adjusted MMIs are more effective indicators of ecological condition and risks to biota from human pressures than are purely taxonomic unadjusted MMIs because functional-taxonomic MMIs are more sensitive to subtle anthropogenic pressures.

Description of larva of Euphaea superba Kimmins, 1936 (Odonata: Zygoptera: Euphaeidae) from China.

The final stadium larva of Euphaea superba Kimmins, 1936 is described and illustrated based on a male and a female specimens collected in Zhejiang province, China. The larvae were associated with the adults by mtCOI gene sequence. The larva of E. superba is diagnosed from other described members of the genus by the gena having 2-4 spines on outer side, the movable hook about 1.6 time as long as median cleft and female with primary genitalia extending to the posterior margin of abdominal segment 10.

A new species of Chimarra from China (Trichoptera, Philopotamidae) with description of its larva.

The adult male and larva of a new species in the genus Chimarra Stephens, Chimarra paramonorum n. sp., are described, diagnosed, and illustrated based on the specimens collected in Zhejiang Province, China. The larva and adult male were associated by mtCOI gene sequences. The male can be separated from C. monorum and C. thienemanni mainly by small preanal appendages and by wrinkled, hairless endotheca. The larva of the new species can be separated from other congeners by a combination of characters including the notch on the anterior margin of the frontoclypeus, the teeth of the mandibles, and the length of the seta-bearing process of each forecoxa. The larval description is the first for Chimarra in China.