Past and current climate as a driver in shaping the distribution of the Longitarsus candidulus species group (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Longitarsus candidulus (Foudras) is a thermophilic flea beetle species widely distributed in the Mediterranean Basin and associated with Daphne gnidium L. and Thymelaea hirsuta (L.).

 Motschulsky from Madagascar with descriptions of six new species (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini).

The revision of the flea beetle genus Motschulsky, 1860 in Madagascar is provided. Six new species are described: , , and from the northern area; , , and from the central area. A new synonym of Weise, 1895 is established: Weise, 1895, , since is shown to be a chromatic form of .

Up and down from North to South: Latitudinal Distribution of Flea Beetle Genera in Continental Africa (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini).

The distribution of global biodiversity can be investigated based on comprehensive datasets and many methods to process them. The taxonomic diversity of phytophagous insects is typically linked to plant diversity, which increases from temperate to tropical latitudes. In this paper, we explored the latitudinal distribution of the flea beetle genera (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini) on the African continent.

Survived the Glaciations, Will They Survive the Fish? Allochthonous Ichthyofauna and Alpine Endemic Newts: A Road Map for a Conservation Strategy.

The Calabrian Alpine newt () is a glacial relict with small and extremely localised populations in the Catena Costiera (Calabria, Southern Italy) and is considered to be "Endangered" by the Italian IUCN assessment. Climate-induced habitat loss and recent fish introductions in three lakes of the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Laghi di Fagnano threaten the subspecies' survival in the core of its restricted range. Considering these challenges, understanding the distribution and abundance of this newt is crucial.

Climatic Niche, Altitudinal Distribution, and Vegetation Type Preference of the Flea Beetle Genus in New Caledonia (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae).

New Caledonia is one of the major biodiversity hotspots. The flea beetle genus (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae) is present with 21 species, all endemic. We investigated, using GIS analyses and ecological niche models, the habitat preferences of these species in terms of vegetation types, altitude, and climate, and assessed the adequacy of knowledge on the spatial parameters affecting the distribution of the genus in New Caledonia.

Assessing future shifts in habitat suitability and connectivity to old-growth forests to support the conservation of the endangered giant noctule.

Background: Suitable climate and availability of habitats for roosting, foraging, and dispersing are critical for the long-term persistence of bat species. The giant noctule () represents one of the lesser-known European bats, especially regarding the environmental factors which shape its distribution.

Methodology: We integrated climate-based ecological niche models with information about topography and rivers' network to model weighted suitability for in the western Palearctic.

Taxonomy, Habitat Preference, and Niche Overlap of Two Arrow-Poison Flea Beetle Species of the Genus in Sub-Saharan Africa (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae).

Coupling the geographic distribution and the ecological requirements of species often supports taxonomy and biogeography. In this contribution, we update the distribution of two flea beetle species of ethno-entomological interest, and , by analyzing original data. In addition, we supply their main morphological diagnostic characters, describing their aedeagal and spermathecal shapes for the first time.

 species-group from sub-Saharan Africa with descriptions of two new species from KwaZulu-Natal (Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini).

Heyden is a flea beetle genus with a largely sub-Saharan distribution and currently comprising 34 species. The examination of new material is revealing an increase in species richness and intraspecific variability. and , both from KwaZulu-Natal in the Republic of South Africa, are here described and attributed to the (Jacoby) species group, mainly based on genitalic characters.

DBSCAN and GIE, Two Density-Based "Grid-Free" Methods for Finding Areas of Endemism: A Case Study of Flea Beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) in the Afrotropical Region.

Areas of endemism (AoEs) are a central area of research in biogeography. Different methods have been proposed for their identification in the literature. In this paper, a "grid-free" method based on the "Density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise" (DBSCAN) is here used for the first time to locate areas of endemism for species belonging to the beetle tribe Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini in the Afrotropical Region.

Climate change favours connectivity between virus-bearing pest and rice cultivations in sub-Saharan Africa, depressing local economies.

Aims: Rice is a staple food for many countries, being fundamental for a large part of the worlds' population. In sub-Saharan Africa, its importance is currently high and is likely to become even more relevant, considering that the number of people and the per-capita consumption are both predicted to increase. The flea beetles belonging to the species group ( group), a harmful rice pest, are an important vector of the Rice Yellow Mottle Virus, a disease which leads even to 80-100% yield losses in rice production.

Determinants of habitat suitability models transferability across geographically disjunct populations: Insights from .

Transferability of habitat suitability models (HSMs), essential to accurately predict outside calibration conditions, has been seldom investigated at intraspecific level. We targeted , a meadow viper from southeastern France and central Italy, to assess determinants of transferability among geographically disjunct populations. We fitted HSMs upon occurrences of the Italian and French populations separately, as well as on the combined occurrence dataset.

Habitat Specificity, Host Plants and Areas of Endemism for the Genera-Group s.l. in the Afrotropical Region (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini).

The genus Heyden (Chrysomelidae) is mainly distributed in the eastern and southern parts of sub-Saharan Africa, with some extensions northward, while Bechyné occurs in the intertropical zone of Africa, with two subgenera, s. str. and Biondi and D'Alessandro.

Spatial distribution of stygobitic crustacean harpacticoids at the boundaries of groundwater habitat types in Europe.

The distribution patterns of stygobitic crustacean harpacticoids at the boundaries of three different groundwater habitat types in Europe were analysed through a GIS proximity analysis and fitted to exponential models. The results showed that the highest frequency of occurrences was recorded in aquifers in consolidated rocks, followed by the aquifers in unconsolidated sediments and, finally, by the practically non-aquiferous rocks. The majority of the stygobitic harpacticoid species were not able to disperse across the boundaries between two adjacent habitats, with 66% of the species occurring in a single habitat type.

Adamastoraltica humicola, new genus and new species: the first example of possible moss-inhabiting flea beetle genus from sub-Saharan Africa (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae).

Adamastoraltica humicola gen. nov. and sp.

Investigating the Current and Future Co-Occurrence of and in Europe through Ecological Modelling and Remote Sensing Data Analysis.

The common ragweed has spread throughout Europe since the 1800s, infesting croplands and causing severe allergic reactions. Recently, the ragweed leaf beetle was found in Italy and Switzerland; considering that it feeds primarily on in its invaded ranges, some projects started biological control of this invasive plant through the adventive beetle. In this context of a 'double' invasion, we assessed the influence of climate change on the spread of these alien species through ecological niche modelling.

Phylogeography and species distribution modelling of (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): is this alpine endemic species close to extinction?

The alternation of glacial and interglacial cycles of the Quaternary period contributed in shaping the current species distribution. Cold-adapted organisms experienced range expansion and contraction in response to the temperature decrease and increase, respectively. In this study, a fragment of the mitochondrial marker COI was used to investigate the phylogeography of , a cold-adapted alpine leaf beetle species endemic of Orobie Alps, northern Italy.

Revision of the Afrotropical flea beetle subgenus Blepharidina s. str. Bechyné (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae).

A taxonomic revision of the species attributed to the flea beetle subgenus Blepharidina s. str. Bechyné, 1968 from sub-Saharan Africa is provided.

Evidences for a shared history for spectacled salamanders, haplotypes and climate.

The so-called glacial refugia, formed during the Pleistocene climatic oscillations, played a major role in shaping the distribution of European species, triggering migrations or isolating populations. Many of these events were recently investigated by genetic data, mainly for the European Last Glacial stage, in the Iberic, Italian and Greek-Balkan peninsulas. The amphibian genus Salamandrina, the most ancient living salamandrid lineage, was widespread in Europe until the climatic oscillations of Miocene probably forced it to shelter in the only suitable territory at that time, the Apennines.

Coupling GIS spatial analysis and Ensemble Niche Modelling to investigate climate change-related threats to the Sicilian pond turtle , an endangered species from the Mediterranean.

The pond turtle is an endangered endemic species of Sicily showing a fragmented distribution throughout the main island. In this study, we applied "Ensemble Niche Modelling", combining more classical statistical techniques as Generalized Linear Models and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines with machine-learning approaches as Boosted Regression Trees and Maxent, to model the potential distribution of the species under current and future climatic conditions. Moreover, a "gap analysis" performed on both the species' presence sites and the predictions from the Ensemble Models is proposed to integrate outputs from these models, in order to assess the conservation status of this threatened species in the context of biodiversity management.

Unraveling climate influences on the distribution of the parapatric newts and .

Background: Climate is often considered as a key ecological factor limiting the capability of expansion of most species and the extent of suitable habitats. In this contribution, we implement Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to study two parapatric amphibians, and , investigating if and how climate has influenced their present and past (Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene) distributions. A database of 901 GPS presence records was generated for the two newts.

Comparing pseudo-absences generation techniques in Boosted Regression Trees models for conservation purposes: A case study on amphibians in a protected area.

Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) is one of the modelling techniques most recently applied to biodiversity conservation and it can be implemented with presence-only data through the generation of artificial absences (pseudo-absences). In this paper, three pseudo-absences generation techniques are compared, namely the generation of pseudo-absences within target-group background (TGB), testing both the weighted (WTGB) and unweighted (UTGB) scheme, and the generation at random (RDM), evaluating their performance and applicability in distribution modelling and species conservation. The choice of the target group fell on amphibians, because of their rapid decline worldwide and the frequent lack of guidelines for conservation strategies and regional-scale planning, which instead could be provided through an appropriate implementation of SDMs.