Performance of DNA metabarcoding, standard barcoding and morphological approaches in the identification of insect biodiversity.

For two decades, DNA barcoding and, more recently, DNA metabarcoding have been used for molecular species identification and estimating biodiversity. Despite their growing use, few studies have systematically evaluated these methods. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of barcoding methods in identifying species and estimating biodiversity, by assessing their consistency with traditional morphological identification and evaluating how assignment consistency is influenced by taxonomic group, sequence similarity thresholds and geographic distance.

Exploring Biodiversity through the Lens of Pollinators: Pollinator Walks as a Monitoring Method.

Declining populations of native pollinators, especially wild bees, underline the urgent need for effective monitoring within agricultural ecosystems. This study aims to (i) establish the ' Pollinator Walk' as an innovative pollinator monitoring method, (ii) examine the link between pollinator richness/density and land cover, and (iii) assess if specialist solitary bees indicate pollinator abundance and morphogroup richness. The approach involves surveying 500 inflorescences per site thrice per season.

Pollinator activity and flowering in agricultural weeds in Sweden.

The extent to which weeds in arable land are useful to pollinators depends in part on the temporal pattern of flowering and insect flight activity. We compiled citizen science data on 54 bees and hoverflies typical of agricultural areas in southern Sweden, as well as 24 flowering weed species classified as pollinator-friendly in the sense that they provide nectar and/or pollen to pollinators. The flight periods of the bees and hoverflies varied greatly, but there were also some consistent differences between the four groups studied.

Genetic structure, UV-vision, wing coloration and size coincide with colour polymorphism in Fabriciana adippe butterflies.

Colour polymorphisms have long served as model systems in evolutionary studies and continue to inform about processes involved in the origin and dynamics of biodiversity. Modern sequencing tools allow for evaluating whether phenotypic differences between morphs reflect genetic differentiation rather than developmental plasticity, and for investigating whether polymorphisms represent intermediate stages of diversification towards speciation. We investigated phenotypic and genetic differentiation between two colour morphs of the butterfly Fabriciana adippe using a combination of ddRAD-sequencing and comparisons of body size, colour patterns and optical properties of bright wing spots.

Anthropogenic Influence on Moth Populations: A Comparative Study in Southern Sweden.

As moths are vital components of ecosystems and serve as important bioindicators, understanding the dynamics of their communities and the factors influencing these dynamics, such as anthropogenic impacts, is crucial to understand the ecological processes. Our study focuses on two provinces in southern Sweden, Västergötland and Småland, where we used province records from 1974 to 2019 in combination with light traps (in 2020) to record the presence and abundance of moth species, subsequently assessing species traits to determine potential associations with their presence in anthropogenically modified landscapes. This study design provides a unique opportunity to assess temporal changes in moth communities and their responses to shifts in environmental conditions, including anthropogenic impacts.

Century-long butterfly range expansions in northern Europe depend on climate, land use and species traits.

Climate change is an important driver of range shifts and community composition changes. Still, little is known about how the responses are influenced by the combination of land use, species interactions and species traits. We integrate climate and distributional data for 131 butterfly species in Sweden and Finland and show that cumulative species richness has increased with increasing temperature over the past 120 years.

An Approach to the Impact Simulation on Foamed Injection Molded Polypropylene Parts: An Example of Application in the Automotive Industry.

An approach to the simulation of foamed injection molded Polypropylene parts subjected to impact loading is presented in this paper. The proposed method, which considers strain-rate-dependent material properties and the possible occurrence of fracture, is, in particular, suitable for parts manufactured with core-back technology. The method was developed to be used within the functionality of a commercial Finite Element solver using a shell-type element mesh.

Associations of 16-Year Population Dynamics in Range-Expanding Moths with Temperature and Years since Establishment.

Parallel to the widespread decline of plants and animals, there is also an ongoing expansion of many species, which is especially pronounced in certain taxonomic groups and in northern latitudes. In order to inform an improved understanding of population dynamics in range-expanding taxa, we studied species richness, abundance and population growth in a sample of 25,138 individuals representing 107 range-expanding moth species at three light-trap sites in southeastern Sweden over 16 years (from 2005 to 2020) in relation to temperature and years since colonisation. Species richness and average abundance across range-expanding moths increased significantly over time, indicating a continuous influx of species expanding their ranges northward.

Differences in phenology, daily timing of activity, and associations of temperature utilization with survival in three threatened butterflies.

We used observational data collected during a mark-recapture study that generated a total of 7503 captures of 6108 unique individuals representing three endangered butterfly species to quantify inter-and intraindividual variation in temperature utilization and examine how activity patterns vary according to season, time of day, and ambient temperature. The Marsh Fritillary, the Apollo, and the Large Blue differed in utilized temperatures and phenology. Their daily activity patterns responded differently to temperature, in part depending on whether they were active in the beginning, middle or end of the season, in part reflecting interindividual variation and intraindividual flexibility, and in part owing to differences in ecology, morphology, and colouration.

Urban moth communities suggest that life in the city favours thermophilic multi-dimensional generalists.

Biodiversity is challenged worldwide by exploitation, global warming, changes in land use and increasing urbanization. It is hypothesized that communities in urban areas should consist primarily of generalist species with broad niches that are able to cope with novel, variable, fragmented, warmer and unpredictable environments shaped by human pressures. We surveyed moth communities in three cities in northern Europe and compared them with neighbouring moth assemblages constituting species pools of potential colonizers.

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project.

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.

Faster poleward range shifts in moths with more variable colour patterns.

Range shifts have been documented in many organisms, and climate change has been implicated as a contributing driver of latitudinal and altitudinal range modifications. However, little is known about what species trait(s) allow for faster environmental tracking and improved capacity for distribution expansions. We used data for 416 species of moths, and show that range limits in Sweden have shifted to the north by on average 52.

Predicting bee community responses to land-use changes: Effects of geographic and taxonomic biases.

Land-use change and intensification threaten bee populations worldwide, imperilling pollination services. Global models are needed to better characterise, project, and mitigate bees' responses to these human impacts. The available data are, however, geographically and taxonomically unrepresentative; most data are from North America and Western Europe, overrepresenting bumblebees and raising concerns that model results may not be generalizable to other regions and taxa.

Functional traits help to explain half-century long shifts in pollinator distributions.

Changes in climate and land use can have important impacts on biodiversity. Species respond to such environmental modifications by adapting to new conditions or by shifting their geographic distributions towards more suitable areas. The latter might be constrained by species' functional traits that influence their ability to move, reproduce or establish.

Variable coloration is associated with dampened population fluctuations in noctuid moths.

Theory and recent reviews state that greater genetic and phenotypic variation should be beneficial for population abundance and stability. Experimental evaluations of this prediction are rare, of short duration and conducted under controlled environmental settings. The question whether greater diversity in functionally important traits stabilizes populations under more complex ecological conditions in the wild has not been systematically evaluated.

Surveying moths using light traps: effects of weather and time of year.

Light trapping is an ideal method for surveying nocturnal moths, but in the absence of standardised survey methods effects of confounding factors may impede interpretation of the acquired data. We explored the influence of weather, time of year, and light source on nightly catches of macro moths in light traps, and compared four strategies for sampling by estimating observed species richness using rarefaction. We operated two traps with different light sources for 225 consecutive nights from mid-March to the end of October in eastern Germany in 2011.

Population fluctuations and synchrony of grassland butterflies in relation to species traits.

Population fluctuations and synchrony influence population persistence; species with larger fluctuations and more synchronised population fluctuations face higher extinction risks. Here, we analyse the effect of diet specialisation, mobility, length of the flight period, and distance to the northern edge of the species' distribution in relation to between-year population fluctuations and synchrony of butterfly species. All butterfly species associated with grasslands were surveyed over five successive years at 19 grassland sites in a forest-dominated landscape (50 km(2)) in southern Sweden.

High population variability and source-sink dynamics in a solitary bee species.

Although solitary bees are considered to play key roles in ecosystem functions, surprisingly few studies have explored their population dynamics. We investigated the population dynamics of a rare, declining, solitary bee (Andrena humilis) in a landscape of 80 km2 in southern Sweden from 2003 to 2011. Only one population was persistent throughout all years studied; most likely this population supplied the surrounding landscape with 11 smaller, temporary local populations.

With that diet, you will go far: trait-based analysis reveals a link between rapid range expansion and a nitrogen-favoured diet.

Recent global change has had a substantial influence on the distribution of organisms, and many species are currently expanding their ranges. To evaluate the underlying processes, long-term data with good geographic resolution are essential. One important but generally overlooked data source is offered by the taxon-specific national catalogues of first provincial records that are kept in many countries.

Species-area relationships are controlled by species traits.

The species-area relationship (SAR) is one of the most thoroughly investigated empirical relationships in ecology. Two theories have been proposed to explain SARs: classical island biogeography theory and niche theory. Classical island biogeography theory considers the processes of persistence, extinction, and colonization, whereas niche theory focuses on species requirements, such as habitat and resource use.

Both population size and patch quality affect local extinctions and colonizations.

Currently, the habitat of many species is fragmented, resulting in small local populations with individuals occasionally dispersing between the remaining habitat patches. In a solitary bee metapopulation, extinction probability was related to both local bee population sizes and pollen resources measured as host plant population size. Patch size, on the other hand, had no additional predictive power.

What is the required minimum landscape size for dispersal studies?

Among small animals dispersal parameters are mainly obtained by traditional methods using population studies of marked individuals. Dispersal studies may underestimate the rate and distance of dispersal, and be biased because of aggregated habitat patches and a small study area. The probability of observing long distance dispersal events decreases with distance travelled by the organisms.