Convergent Adaptation of True Crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) to a Gradient of Terrestrial Environments.

For much of terrestrial biodiversity, the evolutionary pathways of adaptation from marine ancestors are poorly understood and have usually been viewed as a binary trait. True crabs, the decapod crustacean infraorder Brachyura, comprise over 7600 species representing a striking diversity of morphology and ecology, including repeated adaptation to non-marine habitats. Here, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of Brachyura using new and published sequences of 10 genes for 344 tips spanning 88 of 109 brachyuran families.

A manager's guide to using eDNA metabarcoding in marine ecosystems.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a powerful tool that can enhance marine ecosystem/biodiversity monitoring programs. Here we outline five important steps managers and researchers should consider when developing eDNA monitoring program: (1) select genes and primers to target taxa; (2) assemble or develop comprehensive barcode reference databases; (3) apply rigorous site occupancy based decontamination pipelines; (4) conduct pilot studies to define spatial and temporal variance of eDNA; and (5) archive samples, extracts, and raw sequence data. We demonstrate the importance of each of these considerations using a case study of eDNA metabarcoding in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Landscape analyses using eDNA metabarcoding and Earth observation predict community biodiversity in California.

Ecosystems globally are under threat from ongoing anthropogenic environmental change. Effective conservation management requires more thorough biodiversity surveys that can reveal system-level patterns and that can be applied rapidly across space and time. Using modern ecological models and community science, we integrate environmental DNA and Earth observations to produce a time snapshot of regional biodiversity patterns and provide multi-scalar community-level characterization.

Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections (WeDigBio): The Biocollections Community's Citizen-Science Space on the Calendar.

The digitization of biocollections is a critical task with direct implications for the global community who use the data for research and education. Recent innovations to involve citizen scientists in digitization increase awareness of the value of biodiversity specimens; advance science, technology, engineering, and math literacy; and build sustainability for digitization. In support of these activities, we launched the first global citizen-science event focused on the digitization of biodiversity specimens: Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections (WeDigBio).

Odor Plumes and Animal Navigation in Turbulent Water Flow: A Field Study.

Turbulence causes chemical stimuli to be highly variable in time and space; hence the study of animal orientation in odor plumes presents a formidable challenge. Through combined chemical and physical measurements, we characterized the transport of attractant released by clam prey in a turbulent aquatic environment. Concurrently, we quantified the locomotory responses of predatory crabs successfully searching for sources of clam attractant.