Distribution and habitat database of fluvial Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Coleoptera from Sierra Nevada, Spain.

Sierra Nevada (southern Iberian Peninsula) harbours a great biodiversity and the studies on some aquatic insect groups have been and continue to be numerous there. This database brings together information on Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Coleoptera inhabiting running waters of this mountain system above 800 m of altitude. It includes data on the number, life stage and sex of individuals as well as the available information on abiotic characteristics of their habitats.

What do molecular data and vibrational communication tell us about the taxonomy of the genus Tyrrhenoleuctra Consiglio, 1957 (Plecoptera: Leuctridae) in Spain?

In this paper we present the results of a study of different populations of the genus Tyrrhenoleuctra, which includes morphologically cryptic species, in the Iberian Peninsula. A total of six populations were analysed from a molecular point of view and a behavioural study was conducted on three of them. Two phylogenetic trees, maximum likelihood (ML) and neighbour joining (NJ), were constructed using both new COI sequences and COI sequences already available in GenBank.

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morphology, life history and behaviour provides useful dispersal proxies, but information remains scattered or unpublished for many taxa.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.

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.

Molecular identity of Nemoura lacustris (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) throughout its distributional range.

The recent report of Nemoura lacustris Pictet, 1865 in Great Britain has raised doubts on its identity, given the isolation with respect to the Mediterranean and continental populations of this species. Using molecular analyses, we tested if populations from  the United Kingdom and the Iberian Peninsula were conspecific and tested the hypotheses of a recent colonization event versus a more ancient origin for the British populations. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial marker COI allowed us to conclude that the United Kingdom specimens morphologically ascribed to N.

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).

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.

A second new species of Tyrrhenoleuctra discovered by means of molecular data: Tyrrhenoleuctra lusohispanica n. sp. (Plecoptera: Leuctridae).

Tyrrhenoleuctra lusohispanica sp. n., a new species of the leuctrid genus Tyrrhenoleuctra from the southern Iberian Peninsula (southern Portugal and Spain) is described solely on molecular characters.

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.