A histopathological guide for the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola.

The study of invertebrate pathology relies on histopathological tools to define visible internal structures and processes in understudied taxa like spiders. Histopathology involves the infiltration of tissues and organ structures with wax or resin, allowing for the visualisation of cellular anatomy and morphological structure, which can lead to the identification of abnormalities (e.g.

The Complete Genome Sequences of two Species of Stegodyphus Spiders (Araneae: Eresidae).

We present the complete genome sequences of and . Illumina sequencing was performed on genetic material from specimens collected in Namibia in March 2023. The reads were assembled using a method followed by a finishing step.

Herbivory modifies plant symbiont number and impact on host plant performance in the field.

Species interactions are a unifying theme in ecology and evolution. Both fields are currently moving beyond their historical focus on isolated pairwise relationships to understand how ecological communities affect focal interactions. Additional species can modify both the number of interactions and the fitness consequences of each interaction (i.

Priority effects alter the colonization success of a host-associated parasite and mutualist.

Priority effects shape the assembly of free-living communities and host-associated communities. However, the current literature does not fully incorporate two features of host-symbiont interactions, correlated host responses to multiple symbionts and ontogenetic changes in host responses to symbionts, leading to an incomplete picture of the role of priority effects in host-associated communities. We factorially manipulated the inoculation timing of two plant symbionts (mutualistic rhizobia bacteria and parasitic root-knot nematodes) and tested how host age at arrival, arrival order, and arrival synchrony affected symbiont colonization success in the model legume Medicago truncatula.

The soil microbiome increases plant survival and modifies interactions with root endosymbionts in the field.

Evidence is accumulating that the soil microbiome-the community of microorganisms living in soils-has a major effect on plant traits and fitness. However, most work to date has taken place under controlled laboratory conditions and has not experimentally disentangled the effect of the soil microbiome on plant performance from the effects of key endosymbiotic constituents. As a result, it is difficult to extrapolate from existing data to understand the role of the soil microbiome in natural plant populations.

Invasion-induced root-fungal disruptions alter plant water and nitrogen economies.

Despite widespread evidence that biological invasion influences both the biotic and abiotic soil environments, the extent to which these two pathways underpin the effects of invasion on plant traits and performance remains unknown. Leveraging a long-term (14-year) field experiment, we show that an allelochemical-producing invader affects plants through biotic mechanisms, altering the soil fungal community composition, with no apparent shifts in soil nutrient availability. Changes in belowground fungal communities resulted in high costs of nutrient uptake for native perennials and a shift in plant traits linked to their water and nutrient use efficiencies.

Using clear plastic CD cases as low-cost mini-rhizotrons to phenotype root traits.

Premise: We developed a novel low-cost method to visually phenotype belowground structures in the plant rhizosphere. We devised the method introduced here to address the difficulties encountered growing plants in seed germination pouches for long-term experiments and the high cost of other mini-rhizotron alternatives.

Methods And Results: The method described here took inspiration from homemade ant farms commonly used as an educational tool in elementary schools.

Experimental evidence of frequency-dependent selection on group behaviour.

Evolutionary ecologists often seek to identify the mechanisms maintaining intraspecific variation. In social animals, whole groups can exhibit between-group differences in their collective traits. We examined whether negative frequency-dependent selection (that is, a rare-type advantage) could help to maintain between-group variation.

Carbon gain phenologies of spring-flowering perennials in a deciduous forest indicate a novel niche for a widespread invader.

Strategies of herbaceous species in deciduous forests are often characterized by the timing of life history phases (e.g. emergence, flowering, leaf senescence) relative to overstory tree canopy closure.