Local- versus broad-scale environmental drivers of continental ß-diversity patterns in subterranean spider communities across Europe.

Macroecologists seek to identify drivers of community turnover (ß-diversity) through broad spatial scales. However, the influence of local habitat features in driving broad-scale ß-diversity patterns remains largely untested, owing to the objective challenges of associating local-scale variables to continental-framed datasets. We examined the relative contribution of local- versus broad-scale drivers of continental ß-diversity patterns, using a uniquely suited dataset of cave-dwelling spider communities across Europe (35-70° latitude). Generalized dissimilarity modelling showed that geographical distance, mean annual temperature and size of the karst area in which caves occurred drove most of ß-diversity, with differential contributions of each factor according to the level of subterranean specialization. Highly specialized communities were mostly influenced by geographical distance, while less specialized communities were mostly driven by mean annual temperature. Conversely, local-scale habitat features turned out to be meaningless predictors of community change, which emphasizes the idea of caves as the human accessible fraction of the extended network of fissures that more properly represents the elective habitat of the subterranean fauna. To the extent that the effect of local features turned to be inconspicuous, caves emerge as experimental model systems in which to study broad biological patterns without the confounding effect of local habitat features.

The first report of Bathynellacea in the subterranean water of Mongolia: A new species of Altainella Camacho, 2020 (Crustacea, Bathynellidae).

Background: We report the first finding of Bathynellacea, discovered in Mongolia. We also report a new species of the genus Altainella Camacho, 2020, which was previously recorded only in the western edge of Russia. New information: Altainellamongoliensis sp. nov. was found in the interstitial hyporheic region of the Onon River Basin, Mongolia, by inserting a core approximately 1.2 m deep and extracting the underground interstitial water. The new species exhibited sexual dimorphism in thoracopod VII, uniquely observed within the genus Altainella. We provide a morphological description and remarks on the new species with molecular information based on the 18S rDNA and partial CO1 gene sequences. We emphasise the need for continued research on the subterranean biodiversity in previously neglected regions by reporting the first discovery of macro-stygobionts in Mongolia.

Amphichorda monjolensis sp. nov., a new fungal species isolated from a Brazilian limestone cave, with an update on acremonium-like species in Bionectriaceae.

Caves are unique environments characterized by spatial limitations, partial or total absence of direct light, and scarcity of organic carbon and nutrients. Caves are shelters for a variety of adapted animals and microorganisms such as fungi, many of which are still unknown. Amphichorda is a fungal genus belonging to the family Bionectriaceae, which includes cave-dwelling and entomopathogenic species with biotechnological applications. In this study, a new fungal species was identified using morphological and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of the ITS, LSU, and TEF loci, in the Gruta Velha Nova limestone cave located in the Southern Espinhaço Range, Monjolos, Minas Gerais, Brazil. During the exposure of potato dextrose agar plates to the cave environment, an insect from the family Rhaphidophoridae passed by and fed on the culture medium, resulting in three fungal isolates. Phylogenetic analyses showed that these isolates formed a clade distinct from all known species, leading us to introduce a new species, Amphichorda monjolensis, which may be associated with this insect. Here, we also proposed two new combinations for species of acremonium-like fungi in the Bionectriaceae: Bulbithecium globosisporum (synonym: Acremonium globosisporum) and Hapsidospora curva (synonym: Acremonium curvum). The discovery of A. monjolensis highlights the potential of caves as shelters for new species with significant biotechnological importance.

A collaborative backbone resource for comparative studies of subterranean evolution: The World Asellidae database.

Transition to novel environments, such as groundwater colonization by surface organisms, provides an excellent research ground to study phenotypic evolution. However, interspecific comparative studies on evolution to groundwater life are few because of the challenge in assembling large ecological and molecular resources for species-rich taxa comprised of surface and subterranean species. Here, we make available to the scientific community an operational set of working tools and resources for the Asellidae, a family of freshwater isopods containing hundreds of surface and subterranean species. First, we release the World Asellidae database (WAD) and its web application, a sustainable and FAIR solution to producing and sharing data and biological material. WAD provides access to thousands of species occurrences, specimens, DNA extracts and DNA sequences with rich metadata ensuring full scientific traceability. Second, we perform a large-scale dated phylogenetic reconstruction of Asellidae to support phylogenetic comparative analyses. Of 424 terminal branches, we identify 34 pairs of surface and subterranean species representing independent replicates of the transition from surface water to groundwater. Third, we exemplify the usefulness of WAD for documenting phenotypic shifts associated with colonization of subterranean habitats. We provide the first phylogenetically controlled evidence that body size of males decreases relative to that of females upon groundwater colonization, suggesting competition for rare receptive females selects for smaller, more agile males in groundwater. By making these tools and resources widely accessible, we open up new opportunities for exploring how phenotypic traits evolve in response to changes in selective pressures and trade-offs during groundwater colonization.

Spelaeogammarus uai (Bogidielloidea: Artesiidae): a new troglobitic amphipod from Brazil.

A new species was recently found in a cave from Southeastern Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais, which is here described. Considering all the species of the genus, Spelaeogammarus uai sp. nov. is very similar to S. santanensis and S. sanctus, although the new species differs mainly in relation to the number of plumose setae in the apical margin of maxilliped inner plate, number of setae in the anterior margin of gnathopod 1 basis and number of setae in the posterior margin of gnathopod 2 basis. Furthermore, the ratio "length/width" of several articles of the new species is higher than in other species. An identification key of the Spelaeogammarus genus is provided, as well as a complemented multivariate statistical approach of the morphometry of the genus based on a previous work of the genus.

Subterranean biodiversity in the Serra da Bodoquena karst area, Paraguay river basin, Mato Grosso do Sul, Southwestern Brazil / Biodiversidade subterrânea na área cárstica da Serra da Bodoquena, bacia do Rio Paraguai, Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, Sudoeste do Brasil

We present herein a synthesis of faunistic data from caves in the Serra da Bodoquena karst area, middle Paraguay River basin, Mato Grosso do Sul State. Those include phreatic, submerged and dry caves. Emphasis is given to troglobites (exclusively subterranean species), potentially threatened due to their morphological, physiological and behavioral specializations, associated to generally small distributions. The Bodoquena karst area distinguishes as a spot of high diversity of troglobites, such as trichomycterid and heptapterid catfishes, aquatic planarians and gastropods, arachnids (Eusarcus opilionids, ctenid spiders), Polydesmida diplopods, several collembolans, some insects, and Peracarida crustaceans, which include interesting phylogenetic relicts as spelaeogriphaceans. Four geographic compartments corresponding to microbasins, seemingly with biogeographic importance for the subterranean fauna, are recognized. Phreatobic troglobites (Trichomycterus catfishes, aquatic peracarids, planarians) distribute widely across these compartments and some well beyond (the spelaeogriphacean Potiicoara brasiliensis reaches Mato Grosso state), while those living in base-level streams (Rhamdia and Ancistrus catfishes) and the terrestrial ones, that live in the vadose (aerated zone) are generally restricted to one compartment. Many subterranean ecosystems in Mato Grosso do Sul are endangered by several threats described here and urgent actions for effective protection are required to guarantee a sustainable use of the land and the karst aquifers.

Neste trabalho, são reunidos dados faunísticos sobre os táxons registrados em cavernas, freáticas, submersas e secas, da área cárstica da Serra da Bodoquena, na bacia do médio Rio Paraguai, Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul. É dada maior ênfase ès espécies exclusivamente subterrâneas (troglóbias), potencialmente ameaçadas de extinção devido ès especializações morfológicas, fisiológicas e comportamentais, e a distribuição geralmente restrita. A Serra da Bodoquena destaca-se por sua alta diversidade de troglóbios, entre peixes siluriformes, planárias aquáticas e gastrópodes, aracnídeos (opiliões Eusarcus, aranhas Ctenidae), diplópodes Polydesmida, diversos colêmbolos e alguns insetos, e crustáceos Peracarida, que incluem destacados relictos filogenéticos, como os crustáceos Speleogriphacea e anfípodes Megagidiella. São reconhecidos quatro compartimentos de aparente relevância biogeográfica para cavernícolas, correspondendo a microbacias na área. Troglóbios freáticos (bagres Trichomycterus, crustáceos Peracarida aquáticos, planárias) apresentam distribuições amplas através desses compartimentos, atingindo áreas distantes, como o Mato Grosso no caso dos Spelaeogriphacea Potiicoara brasiliensis, enquanto as espécies aquáticas que vivem em riachos (siluriformes como Rhamdia e Ancistrus) e os terrestres em geral, que vivem na zona vadosa, descontínua, tendem a apresentar distribuições restritas aos respectivos compartimentos. Muitos ecossistemas subterrâneos do Mato Grosso do Sul estão vulneráveis ès várias ameaças descritas aqui e ações urgentes de proteção efetiva são necessárias para garantir uma utilização sustentável da terra e dos aquíferos cársticos.