Molecular phylogeny and morphology reveal three new species of Cantharellus within 20 m of one another in western Wisconsin, USA.

Three new species, Cantharellus phasmatis, Cantharellus flavus and Cantharellus spectaculus, all previously considered Cantharellus cibarius, are described in this study. The circumscription of these three species from C. cibarius and other Cantharellus species is supported by morphological differences and nuclear DNA sequence data (nLSU, ITS, TEF1). All were found under Quercus spp. in a small plot in Hixon Forest Park in La Crosse, Wisconsin, emphasizing the need for further taxonomic study of even common and conspicuous genera in North America. In addition, a review of the current state of C. cibarius sensu lato systematics is presented, including a review of the recent elevation of C. cibarius var. roseocanus to the species rank. Taxonomic descriptions and photographs are provided for the newly described species.

New species of Pyrgulopsis Call & Pilsbry, 1886 (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from two Chihuahuan Desert springs.

Two new populations of Pyrgulopsis were found in springs in the Chihuahuan desert region of Texas. Pyrgulopsis Call & Pilsbry, 1886 are a diverse group of snails occupying freshwater springs, usually narrow-range endemics limited to a single spring. Their small ranges confer substantial conservation concern as the drying or disturbance of a single spring can lead to their extinction. We use mitochondrial COI and nuclear LSU sequences, shell morphometrics, and anatomical features to distinguish a new species of Pyrgulopsis endemic to the Big Bend region of Texas.

Two new species of Pyrgulopsis Call amp; Pilsbry, 1886 (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from springs in the Rio Grande watershed in Texas.

Pyrgulopsis Call Pilsbry, 1886 is a genus of small (<5 mm) spring snails, usually endemic to single freshwater springs. Two new populations of Pyrgulopsis found in very small, isolated springs and spring runs in the mainstem Rio Grande watershed of western Texas are distinguished from congeners. Mitochondrial and nuclear sequences, morphometrics, and morphological characteristics support Pyrgulopsis rubra sp. nov. and Pyrgulopsis harrymilleri sp. nov. as distinct from other known Pyrgulopsis species, including the geographically proximate P. metcalfi.

An unusually sculptured new species of Phreatodrobia Hershler amp; Longley (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Cochliopidae) from central Texas.

There are eight described species in Phreatodrobia, minute, phreatic (subterranean aquatic) snails, all stygobitic and endemic to the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer System of Texas. Two species were described from river drift (Pilsbry Ferriss 1906) and the others more recently by sampling the water flowing from wells or springs (Hershler Longley 1986b; Hershler Longley 1987). Recent sampling from spring orifices and the hyporheic zone of streams have extended the known ranges of the phreatic snails of the region and encountered unknown snails (Alvear et al. 2020). Here we describe Phreatodrobia spica n. sp., a rarely encountered species with a large range of about 400 km (Figure 1). We find P. spica in samples with a diverse assemblage of phreatic animals including other species of Phreatodrobia, isopods, amphipods, coleopterans, and mites. Phreatodrobia spica is distinguished from congeners using morphological and molecular evidence and is characterized by an elevated, trochiform shell with unique sculpture that include spikes and pustules. It has an open umbilicus and a complete, reflected lip that is sometimes appressed to the body whorl.

A new species of stygobitic snail in the genus Antrorbis Hershler & Thompson, 1990 (Gastropoda, Cochliopidae) from the Appalachian Valley and Ridge of eastern Tennessee, USA.

A new species of cave snail (Littorinimorpha: Cochliopidae) in the genus Antrorbis is described from the dark zone of two caves in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge province in eastern Tennessee, United States. The Tennessee Cavesnail, Antrorbis tennesseensis Perez, Shoobs, Gladstone, & Niemiller, sp. nov. is distinguished from its only known congener, Antrorbis breweri, by the absence of raised tubercles on its finely spirally striate protoconch, and its unique radular formula. Moreover, A. tennesseensis is genetically distinct from A. breweri based on substantial divergence at the mitochondrial CO1 locus. This is the first cavesnail to be described from the Appalachian Valley and Ridge (AVR) physiographic province in the state of Tennessee, which previously represented a substantial gap in the distribution of stygobitic (i.e., aquatic, subterranean-obligate) gastropods.

Evaluating signatures of glacial refugia for North Atlantic benthic marine taxa.

A goal of phylogeography is to relate patterns of genetic differentiation to potential historical geographic isolating events. Quaternary glaciations, particularly the one culminating in the Last Glacial Maximum approximately 21 ka (thousands of years ago), greatly affected the distributions and population sizes of temperate marine species as their ranges retreated southward to escape ice sheets. Traditional genetic models of glacial refugia and routes of recolonization include these predictions: low genetic diversity in formerly glaciated areas, with a small number of alleles/haplotypes dominating disproportionately large areas, and high diversity including "private" alleles in glacial refugia. In the Northern Hemisphere, low diversity in the north and high diversity in the south are expected. This simple model does not account for the possibility of populations surviving in relatively small northern periglacial refugia. If these periglacial populations experienced extreme bottlenecks, they could have the low genetic diversity expected in recolonized areas with no refugia, but should have more endemic diversity (private alleles) than recently recolonized areas. This review examines evidence of putative glacial refugia for eight benthic marine taxa in the temperate North Atlantic. All data sets were reanalyzed to allow direct comparisons between geographic patterns of genetic diversity and distribution of particular clades and haplotypes including private alleles. We contend that for marine organisms the genetic signatures of northern periglacial and southern refugia can be distinguished from one another. There is evidence for several periglacial refugia in northern latitudes, giving credence to recent climatic reconstructions with less extensive glaciation.

Geometric Morphometrics as a Tool to Evaluate Teratogenic Effects in Zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Geometric morphometrics allows for the characterization of shape using Cartesian geometric coordinates rather than linear or volumetric measurements, which are dependent upon size and are insufficient to capture geometric shape. By using landmarks on specimens, variations in position, orientation and scale between specimens can be removed to better compare variations in shape. This method has primarily been used in the fields of evolutionary biology and taxonomy. Here we describe how geometric morphometrics can be used to delineate variations in shape caused by teratogenic compounds in zebrafish.

Embryonic exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of triclosan impairs foraging efficiency in zebrafish larvae.

The ubiquitous and persistent contaminant triclosan is known to cause developmental and behavioral toxicity in fish, but few studies have evaluated the long-term effects of these responses. We used a phenotypically anchored approach to evaluate the behavioral responses caused by early exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of triclosan to better understand the risk triclosan poses to fish. Zebrafish were exposed to 0, 0.4, 4, or 40 µg triclosan/L (nominal concentrations) for 5 d followed by depuration for 16 d to assess effects on mortality, development, and foraging efficiency. Because foraging efficiency can be impacted by neurological and structural alterations, we assessed morphological and behavioral indicators of neurotoxicity and morphology of craniofacial features associated with gape to identify potential underlying mechanisms associated with altered foraging behaviors. To our knowledge, we are the first to show that early exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of triclosan impairs foraging efficiency in larval fish by 10%, leading to emaciation and reduced growth and survival. The cause of the impacts of triclosan on foraging efficiency remains unknown, because effects were not associated with overt indicators of neurotoxicity or grossly malformed craniofacial structures. Our results suggest that early exposure to triclosan has the potential to impact the sustainability of wild fish populations, and thus the mechanism underlying behavioral alterations following exposure to triclosan warrants further study. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:3124-3133. © 2018 SETAC.

Two complete mitochondrial genomes from Praticolella mexicana Perez, 2011 (Polygyridae) and gene order evolution in Helicoidea (Mollusca, Gastropoda).

Helicoidea is a diverse group of land snails with a global distribution. While much is known regarding the relationships of helicoid taxa, comparatively little is known about the evolution of the mitochondrial genome in the superfamily. We sequenced two complete mitochondrial genomes from Praticolella mexicana Perez, 2011 representing the first such data from the helicoid family Polygyridae, and used them in an evolutionary analysis of mitogenomic gene order. We found the mitochondrial genome of Praticolella mexicana to be 14,008 bp in size, possessing the typical 37 metazoan genes. Multiple alternate stop codons are used, as are incomplete stop codons. Mitogenome size and nucleotide content is consistent with other helicoid species. Our analysis of gene order suggested that Helicoidea has undergone four mitochondrial rearrangements in the past. Two rearrangements were limited to tRNA genes only, and two involved protein coding genes.

The Dominance Concept Inventory: A Tool for Assessing Undergraduate Student Alternative Conceptions about Dominance in Mendelian and Population Genetics.

Despite the impact of genetics on daily life, biology undergraduates understand some key genetics concepts poorly. One concept requiring attention is dominance, which many students understand as a fixed property of an allele or trait and regularly conflate with frequency in a population or selective advantage. We present the Dominance Concept Inventory (DCI), an instrument to gather data on selected alternative conceptions about dominance. During development of the 16-item test, we used expert surveys (n = 12), student interviews (n = 42), and field tests (n = 1763) from introductory and advanced biology undergraduates at public and private, majority- and minority-serving, 2- and 4-yr institutions in the United States. In the final field test across all subject populations (n = 709), item difficulty ranged from 0.08 to 0.84 (0.51 ± 0.049 SEM), while item discrimination ranged from 0.11 to 0.82 (0.50 ± 0.048 SEM). Internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.77, while test-retest reliability values were 0.74 (product moment correlation) and 0.77 (intraclass correlation). The prevalence of alternative conceptions in the field tests shows that introductory and advanced students retain confusion about dominance after instruction. All measures support the DCI as a useful instrument for measuring undergraduate biology student understanding and alternative conceptions about dominance.

Embryonic exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin impairs prey capture by zebrafish larvae.

As a ubiquitous, persistent environmental contaminant, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) has the potential to cause lethal deformities in larval fishes. Few studies have examined its impacts on larval growth and craniofacial development in conjunction with feeding capability. The authors used morphological and behavioral assessments to demonstrate that feeding capability of larvae is impaired even when craniofacial structures are not grossly malformed. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to 25 pg TCDD/mL, 50 pg TCDD/mL, or 100 pg TCDD/mL or <0.1% dimethyl sulfoxide for 1 h at 4 h postfertilization and then raised in clean water for 21 d or 90 d to assess craniofacial morphology, feeding capability, and long-term survival. The lower jaw was 5% smaller in 21-d larvae exposed to ≥ 50 pg TCDD/mL, and those larvae caught 10% fewer prey items; survival was reduced by 13% to 23%. The direct cause of TCDD's impacts on feeding capability is not known, but feeding success was correlated with growth, length of lower jaw, and survival. Since low larval mortality rates are key for recruitment, this suggests that exposure to concentrations of TCDD during embryonic development that do not initially cause mortality still has the potential to impact the recruitment success of feral fish. Furthermore, the present work provides additional evidence that behavioral end points are often more sensitive than morphological ones and should be included when assessing the sublethal toxicity of environmental contaminants.

The genetic drift inventory: a tool for measuring what advanced undergraduates have mastered about genetic drift.

Understanding genetic drift is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of biology, yet it is difficult to learn because it combines the conceptual challenges of both evolution and randomness. To help assess strategies for teaching genetic drift, we have developed and evaluated the Genetic Drift Inventory (GeDI), a concept inventory that measures upper-division students' understanding of this concept. We used an iterative approach that included extensive interviews and field tests involving 1723 students across five different undergraduate campuses. The GeDI consists of 22 agree-disagree statements that assess four key concepts and six misconceptions. Student scores ranged from 4/22 to 22/22. Statements ranged in mean difficulty from 0.29 to 0.80 and in discrimination from 0.09 to 0.46. The internal consistency, as measured with Cronbach's alpha, ranged from 0.58 to 0.88 across five iterations. Test-retest analysis resulted in a coefficient of stability of 0.82. The true-false format means that the GeDI can test how well students grasp key concepts central to understanding genetic drift, while simultaneously testing for the presence of misconceptions that indicate an incomplete understanding of genetic drift. The insights gained from this testing will, over time, allow us to improve instruction about this key component of evolution.

The EvoDevoCI: a concept inventory for gauging students' understanding of evolutionary developmental biology.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science 2011 report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education encourages the teaching of developmental biology as an important part of teaching evolution. Recently, however, we found that biology majors often lack the developmental knowledge needed to understand evolutionary developmental biology, or "evo-devo." To assist in efforts to improve evo-devo instruction among undergraduate biology majors, we designed a concept inventory (CI) for evolutionary developmental biology, the EvoDevoCI. The CI measures student understanding of six core evo-devo concepts using four scenarios and 11 multiple-choice items, all inspired by authentic scientific examples. Distracters were designed to represent the common conceptual difficulties students have with each evo-devo concept. The tool was validated by experts and administered at four institutions to 1191 students during preliminary (n = 652) and final (n = 539) field trials. We used student responses to evaluate the readability, difficulty, discriminability, validity, and reliability of the EvoDevoCI, which included items ranging in difficulty from 0.22-0.55 and in discriminability from 0.19-0.38. Such measures suggest the EvoDevoCI is an effective tool for assessing student understanding of evo-devo concepts and the prevalence of associated common conceptual difficulties among both novice and advanced undergraduate biology majors.

Getting to evo-devo: concepts and challenges for students learning evolutionary developmental biology.

To examine how well biology majors have achieved the necessary foundation in evolution, numerous studies have examined how students learn natural selection. However, no studies to date have examined how students learn developmental aspects of evolution (evo-devo). Although evo-devo plays an increasing role in undergraduate biology curricula, we find that instruction often addresses development cursorily, with most of the treatment embedded within instruction on evolution. Based on results of surveys and interviews with students, we suggest that teaching core concepts (CCs) within a framework that integrates supporting concepts (SCs) from both evolutionary and developmental biology can improve evo-devo instruction. We articulate CCs, SCs, and foundational concepts (FCs) that provide an integrative framework to help students master evo-devo concepts and to help educators address specific conceptual difficulties their students have with evo-devo. We then identify the difficulties that undergraduates have with these concepts. Most of these difficulties are of two types: those that are ubiquitous among students in all areas of biology and those that stem from an inadequate understanding of FCs from developmental, cell, and molecular biology.

Short lesson plan associated with increased acceptance of evolutionary theory and potential change in three alternate conceptions of macroevolution in undergraduate students.

Undergraduates commonly harbor alternate conceptions about evolutionary biology; these alternate conceptions often persist, even after intensive instruction, and may influence acceptance of evolution. We interviewed undergraduates to explore their alternate conceptions about macroevolutionary patterns and designed a 2-h lesson plan to present evidence that life has evolved. We identified three alternate conceptions during our interviews: that newly derived traits would be more widespread in extant species than would be ancestral traits, that evolution proceeds solely by anagenesis, and that lineages must become more complex over time. We also attempted to measure changes in the alternate conceptions and levels of acceptance of evolutionary theory in biology majors and nonmajors after exposure to the lesson plan. The instrument used to assess understanding had flaws, but our results are suggestive of mixed effects: we found a reduction in the first alternate conception, no change in the second, and reinforcement of the third. We found a small, but significant, increase in undergraduate acceptance of evolutionary theory in two trials of the lesson plan (Cohen's d effect sizes of 0.51 and 0.19). These mixed results offer guidance on how to improve the lesson and show the potential of instructional approaches for influencing acceptance of evolution.

Does displaying the class results affect student discussion during peer instruction?

The use of personal response systems, or clickers, is increasingly common in college classrooms. Although clickers can increase student engagement and discussion, their benefits also can be overstated. A common practice is to ask the class a question, display the responses, allow the students to discuss the question, and then collect the responses a second time. In an introductory biology course, we asked whether showing students the class responses to a question biased their second response. Some sections of the course displayed a bar graph of the student responses and others served as a control group in which discussion occurred without seeing the most common answer chosen by the class. If students saw the bar graph, they were 30% more likely to switch from a less common to the most common response. This trend was more pronounced in true/false questions (38%) than multiple-choice questions (28%). These results suggest that observing the most common response can bias a student's second vote on a question and may be misinterpreted as an increase in performance due to student discussion alone.

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of spring-associated hydrobiid snails of the Great Artesian Basin, Australia.

The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) of Australia underlies some of the driest parts of South Australia and Queensland and feeds numerous freshwater springs. Prominent and endangered components of the GAB spring community are snails of the family Hydrobiidae. This paper examines the evolutionary relationships of the entire hydrobiid fauna associated with the GAB, and includes appropriate non-GAB species to place the GAB fauna in a broader phylogenetic context. The Queensland genus Jardinella is a focus of this paper, providing a fine scale examination of relationships between spring supergroups in the northeastern regions of the GAB. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses performed on 16S, CO1, and combined sequence data from 40 hydrobiid taxa found four major clades of Australian taxa. The analysis revealed that at least three separate colonization events of the GAB spring fauna have occurred. Two of these are represented by considerable radiations, (1) Jardinella to the north and east and (2) Caldicochlea, Fonscochlea, and possibly Trochidrobia in South Australia. The phylogenetic position of the latter is uncertain so it may represent yet another invasion. The third definite invasion is represented by a single species of the speciose SE Australian genus Austropyrgus in the Dalhousie Springs in South Australia. Jardinella is found to be monophyletic, and with one exception, its members in each of the Queensland spring supergroups are found to be monophyletic.