Tropical forest clearance impacts biodiversity and function, whereas logging changes structure.

The impacts of degradation and deforestation on tropical forests are poorly understood, particularly at landscape scales. We present an extensive ecosystem analysis of the impacts of logging and conversion of tropical forest to oil palm from a large-scale study in Borneo, synthesizing responses from 82 variables categorized into four ecological levels spanning a broad suite of ecosystem properties: (i) structure and environment, (ii) species traits, (iii) biodiversity, and (iv) ecosystem functions. Responses were highly heterogeneous and often complex and nonlinear.

Temporal variability in host availability alters the outcome of competition between two parasitoid species.

Variability in the availability of resources through time is a common attribute in trophic interactions, but its effects on the fitness of different consumer species and on interspecific competition between them are not clearly understood. To investigate this, we allowed two parasitoid species, Trichopria drosophilae and Pachycrepoideus vindemiae, to exploit Drosophila host pupae under different temporal variability treatments, either on their own or simultaneously. When tested individually (in the absence of interspecific competition), both parasitoid species had lower fitness when hosts were exposed for a short duration at high density than when exposed for a long duration at low density.

The genome sequence of the Small Angle Shades, (Linnaeus, 1758).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Small Angle Shades; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae). The genome sequence is 661.8 megabases in span.

The genome sequence of the Mottled Pug, (Hübner, 1813).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Mottled Pug; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Geometridae). The genome sequence is 372.9 megabases in span.

The genome sequence of the Marbled White Spot, (Hufnagel, 1766).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Marbled White Spot; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae). The genome sequence is 421.1 megabases in span.

The genome sequence of the Pebble Hook-tip, (Linnaeus, 1758).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Pebble Hook-tip; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Drepanidae). The genome sequence is 326.7 megabases in span.

The genome sequence of the Orange Footman, (Hufnagel, 1766).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Orange Footman; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Erebidae). The genome sequence is 729.4 megabases in span.

Opsin Gene Duplication in Lepidoptera: Retrotransposition, Sex Linkage, and Gene Expression.

Color vision in insects is determined by signaling cascades, central to which are opsin proteins, resulting in sensitivity to light at different wavelengths. In certain insect groups, lineage-specific evolution of opsin genes, in terms of copy number, shifts in expression patterns, and functional amino acid substitutions, has resulted in changes in color vision with subsequent behavioral and niche adaptations. Lepidoptera are a fascinating model to address whether evolutionary change in opsin content and sequence evolution are associated with changes in vision phenotype.

The genome sequence of the Broken-barred Carpet, (Thunberg, 1792).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Broken-barred Carpet; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Geometridae). The genome sequence is 347.5 megabases in span.

The genome sequence of the Dark Spectacle, (Linnaeus, 1758).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Dark Spectacle; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Noctuidae). The genome sequence is 362.7 megabases in span.

Experimental heatwaves facilitate invasion and alter species interactions and composition in a tropical host-parasitoid community.

As mean temperatures increase and heatwaves become more frequent, species are expanding their distributions to colonise new habitats. The resulting novel species interactions will simultaneously shape the temperature-driven reorganization of resident communities. The interactive effects of climate change and climate change-facilitated invasion have rarely been studied in multi-trophic communities, and are likely to differ depending on the nature of the climatic driver (i.

A sampling strategy for genome sequencing the British terrestrial arthropod fauna.

The Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) project aims to sequence and assemble high-quality genomes from all eukaryote species in Britain and Ireland, with the first phase of the project concentrating on family-level coverage plus species of particular ecological, biomedical or evolutionary interest. We summarise the processes involved in (1) assessing the UK arthropod fauna and the status of individual species on UK lists; (2) prioritising and collecting species for initial genome sequencing; (3) handling methods to ensure that high-quality genomic DNA is preserved; and (4) compiling standard operating procedures for processing specimens for genome sequencing, identification verification and voucher specimen curation. We briefly explore some lessons learned from the pilot phase of DToL and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Latitudinal and anthropogenic effects on the structuring of networks linking blood-feeding flies and their vertebrate hosts.

Biting flies (Diptera) transmit pathogens that cause many important diseases in humans as well as domestic and wild animals. The networks of feeding interactions linking these insects to their hosts, and how they vary geographically and in response to human land-use, are currently poorly documented but are relevant to understanding cross-species disease transmission. We compiled a database of biting Diptera-host interactions from the literature to investigate how key interaction network metrics vary latitudinally and with human land-use.

The genome sequence of the Small Phoenix, (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Small Phoenix; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Geometridae). The genome sequence is 316.5 megabases in span.

Microbiome Structure of a Wild Community along Tropical Elevational Gradients and Comparison to Laboratory Lines.

Variation along environmental gradients in host-associated microbial communities is not well understood compared to free-living microbial communities. Because elevational gradients may serve as natural proxies for climate change, understanding patterns along these gradients can inform our understanding of the threats hosts and their symbiotic microbes face in a warming world. In this study, we analyzed bacterial microbiomes from pupae and adults of four species native to Australian tropical rainforests.

The genome sequence of the Lilac Beauty, (Linnaeus, 1758).

We present a genome assembly from an individual female (the Lilac Beauty; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Geometridae). The genome sequence is 544.4 megabases in span.

The genome sequence of the Ruby Tiger, (Linnaeus, 1758).

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the Ruby Tiger; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Erebidae). The genome sequence is 629.4 megabases in span.

Effects of storage conditions and digestion time on DNA amplification of biting midge (Culicoides) blood meals.

Background: Molecular analysis of blood meals is increasingly used to identify the hosts of biting insects such as midges and mosquitoes. Successful host identification depends on the availability of sufficient host DNA template for PCR amplification, making it important to understand how amplification success changes under different storage conditions and with different durations of blood meal digestion within the insect gut before being placed into the storage medium.

Method: We characterised and compared the digestion profile of two species of Culicoides over a 96-h period using a novel set of general vertebrate primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene.

Diversity, duplication, and genomic organization of homeobox genes in Lepidoptera.

Homeobox genes encode transcription factors with essential roles in patterning and cell fate in developing animal embryos. Many homeobox genes, including Hox and NK genes, are arranged in gene clusters, a feature likely related to transcriptional control. Sparse taxon sampling and fragmentary genome assemblies mean that little is known about the dynamics of homeobox gene evolution across Lepidoptera or about how changes in homeobox gene number and organization relate to diversity in this large order of insects.

Trait-mediated competition drives an ant invasion and alters functional diversity.

The assumption that differences in species' traits reflect their different niches has long influenced how ecologists infer processes from assemblage patterns. For instance, many assess the importance of environmental filtering versus classical limiting-similarity competition in driving biological invasions by examining whether invaders' traits are similar or dissimilar to those of residents, respectively. However, mounting evidence suggests that hierarchical differences between species' trait values can distinguish their competitive abilities (e.

Recommendations for environmental risk assessment of gene drive applications for malaria vector control.

Building on an exercise that identified potential harms from simulated investigational releases of a population suppression gene drive for malaria vector control, a series of online workshops identified nine recommendations to advance future environmental risk assessment of gene drive applications.

Effects of distance from semi-natural habitat on fall armyworm (, J. E. Smith) and its potential natural enemies in Ghana.

Insect crop pests are a major threat to food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Configuration of semi-natural habitat within agricultural landscapes has the potential to enhance biological pest control, helping to maintain yields whilst minimising the negative effects of pesticide use. Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda, J.

Altered structure of bat-prey interaction networks in logged tropical forests revealed by metabarcoding.

Habitat degradation is pervasive across the tropics and is particularly acute in Southeast Asia, with major implications for biodiversity. Much research has addressed the impact of degradation on species diversity; however, little is known about how ecological interactions are altered, including those that constitute important ecosystem functions such as consumption of herbivores. To examine how rainforest degradation alters trophic interaction networks, we applied DNA metabarcoding to construct interaction networks linking forest-dwelling insectivorous bat species and their prey, comparing old-growth forest and forest degraded by logging in Sabah, Borneo.