Cretaceous Connections Among Camel Cricket Lineages in the Himalaya Revealed Through Fossil-Calibrated Mitogenomic Phylogenetics.

The nocturnal, flightless camel crickets (Rhaphidophoridae) have a global distribution and are believed to have originated prior to the breakup of Pangea. We investigated the phylogeny and the timing of the radiation of East Asian species with mitogenomic data. Initially we analyzed a large taxon dataset (n = 117) using available partial mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences to confirm the monophyly of subfamilies and current taxonomy.

Body mass and mate choice in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) under climate heating.

Climate warming influences the population size, body size, and diversity of bumblebees, important pollinators in agriculture and ecosystems. Increases in developmental temperatures due to climate warming lead to reduction in bumblebee body size, particularly among the worker caste, resulting in reduced pollination activity. However, how reduced body mass resulting from warm conditions influences mate choice between new queens and males remains unclear.

Forecasting Range Shifts in Terrestrial Alpine Insects Under Global Warming.

Anthropogenic planetary heating is disrupting global alpine systems, but our ability to empirically measure and predict responses in alpine species distributions is impaired by a lack of comprehensive data and technical limitations. We conducted a comprehensive, semi-quantitative review of empirical studies on contemporary range shifts in alpine insects driven by climate heating, drawing attention to methodological issues and potential biotic and abiotic factors influencing variation in responses. We highlight case studies showing how range dynamics may affect standing genetic variation and adaptive potential, and discuss how data integration frameworks can improve forecasts.

Two new genera of tokoriro (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae: Macropathinae) from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Two new genera and three new species of forest inhabiting Macropathinae (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) are described from Aotearoa New Zealand. Crux Trewick gen. nov.

Metabolic differentiation of brushtail possum populations resistant and susceptible to plant toxins revealed via differential gene expression.

The Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is adapted to a wide range of food plants across its range and is exposed to numerous physiological challenges. Populations that are resistant to the plant toxin sodium fluoroacetate are of particular interest as this compound has been used since the 1940s for vertebrate pest management around the world. Candidate gene identification is an important first step in understanding how spatial populations have responded to local selection resulting in local physiological divergence.

Wētā Aotearoa-Polyphyly of the New Zealand Anostostomatidae (Insecta: Orthoptera).

The Anostostomatidae of Aotearoa New Zealand are well-characterized at the genus and species level, but the higher-level systematics of the family as a whole remain poorly resolved. We tested the hypothesis that the New Zealand anaostostomatid fauna consists of a single monophyletic group consistent with a single common ancestor. For phylogenetic analysis, we sampled the genera in Aotearoa New Zealand as well as representatives of the family from Australia and New Caledonia.

Ngāokeoke Aotearoa: The Onychophora of New Zealand.

(1) Background: Originally described as a single taxon, (Hutton, 1876) are distributed across both main islands of New Zealand; the existence of multiple distinct lineages of live-bearing Onychophora across this spatial range has gradually emerged. Morphological conservatism obscured the true endemic diversity, and the inclusion of molecular tools has been instrumental in revealing these cryptic taxa. (2) Methods: Here, we review the diversity of the ovoviviparous Onychophora of New Zealand through a re-analysis of allozyme genotype data, mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences, geographic information and morphology.

Fossil-calibrated phylogenies of Southern cave wētā show dispersal and extinction confound biogeographic signal.

The biota of continents and islands are commonly considered to have a source-sink relationship, but small islands can harbour distinctive taxa. The distribution of four monotypic genera of Orthoptera on young subantarctic islands indicates a role for long-distance dispersal and extinction. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred from whole mtDNA genomes and nuclear sequences (45S cassette; four histones).

Mwhitiwhiti Aotearoa: Phylogeny and synonymy of the silent alpine grasshopper radiation of New Zealand (Orthoptera: Acrididae).

Aotearoa New Zealand has a fauna of endemic alpine grasshoppers, consisting of thirteen species distributed among four genera. The many re-classifications of species within this group and the presence of species complexes highlight the uncertainty that surrounds relationships within and between these genera. High-throughput Next Generation Sequencing was used to assemble the complete mitochondrial genomes, 45S ribosomal cassettes and histone sequences of New Zealands four endemic alpine genera: Alpinacris, Brachaspis, Paprides and Sigaus.

A paleoecological investigation of recent cyanobacterial blooms and their drivers in two contrasting lakes.

Cyanobacterial blooms are one of the most significant threats to global water security and freshwater biodiversity. Interactions among multiple stressors, including habitat degradation, species invasions, increased nutrient runoff, and climate change, are key drivers. However, assessing the role of anthropogenic activity on the onset of cyanobacterial blooms and exploring response variation amongst lakes of varying size and depth is usually limited by lack of historical records.

Genotypic detection of barriers to rat dispersal: behind a peninsula predator-proof fence.

Unlabelled: Clear delimitation of management units is essential for effective management of invasive species. Analysis of population genetic structure of target species can improve identification and interpretation of natural and artificial barriers to dispersal. In Aotearoa New Zealand where the introduced ship rat () is a major threat to native biodiversity, effective suppression of pest numbers requires removal and limitation of reinvasion from outside the managed population.

Insect Freeze-Tolerance Downunder: The Microbial Connection.

Insects that are freeze-tolerant start freezing at high sub-zero temperatures and produce small ice crystals. They do this using ice-nucleating agents that facilitate intercellular ice growth and prevent formation of large crystals where they can damage tissues. In Aotearoa/New Zealand the majority of cold adapted invertebrates studied survive freezing at any time of year, with ice formation beginning in the rich microbiome of the gut.

Spatial Variation of (Ephemeroptera), a Mayfly Endemic to Te Ika-a-Māui-North Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

The mayfly of Aotearoa, New Zealand, is widespread in Te Ika-a-Māui North Island streams, but has never been collected from South Island despite land connection during the last glacial maximum. Population structure of this mayfly might reflect re-colonisation after volcanic eruptions in North Island c1800 years ago, climate cycling or conceal older, cryptic diversity. We collected population samples from 33 locations to estimate levels of population genetic diversity and to document phenotypic variation.

Climate change and alpine-adapted insects: modelling environmental envelopes of a grasshopper radiation.

Mountains create steep environmental gradients that are sensitive barometers of climate change. We calibrated 10 statistical models to formulate ensemble ecological niche models for 12 predominantly alpine, flightless grasshopper species in New Zealand, using their current distributions and current conditions. Niche models were then projected for two future global climate scenarios: representative concentration pathway (RCP) 2.

Chemical Ecology and Olfaction in Short-Horned Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae).

Chemoreception plays a crucial role in the reproduction and survival of insects, which often rely on their sense of smell and taste to find partners, suitable habitats, and food sources, and to avoid predators and noxious substances. There is a substantial body of work investigating the chemoreception and chemical ecology of Diptera (flies) and Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies); but less is known about the Orthoptera (grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, and wēta). Within the Orthoptera, the family Acrididae contains about 6700 species of short-horned grasshoppers.

Lack of assortative mating might explain reduced phenotypic differentiation where two grasshopper species meet.

Hybridization is an evolutionary process with wide-ranging potential outcomes, from providing populations with important genetic variation for adaptation to being a substantial fitness cost leading to extinction. Here, we focussed on putative hybridization between two morphologically distinct species of New Zealand grasshopper. We collected Phaulacridium marginale and Phaulacridium otagoense specimens from a region where mitochondrial introgression had been detected and where their habitat has been modified by introduced mammals eating the natural vegetation and by the colonization of many non-native plant species.

A new species of large Hemiandrus ground wētā (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) from North Island, New Zealand.

A new species of Hemiandrus ground wētā is described from North Island, New Zealand. Hemiandrus jacinda sp. nov.

An alpine grasshopper radiation older than the mountains, on Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (Southern Alps) of Aotearoa (New Zealand).

In New Zealand, 13 flightless species of endemic grasshopper are associated with alpine habitats and freeze tolerance. We examined the phylogenetic relationships of the New Zealand species and a subset of Australian alpine grasshoppers using DNA sequences from the entire mitochondrial genome, nuclear 45S rRNA and Histone H3 and H4 loci. Within our sampling, the New Zealand alpine taxa are monophyletic and sister to a pair of alpine Tasmanian grasshoppers.

Loss and gain of sexual reproduction in the same stick insect.

The outcome of competition between different reproductive strategies within a single species can be used to infer selective advantage of the winning strategy. Where multiple populations have independently lost or gained sexual reproduction it is possible to investigate whether the advantage is contingent on local conditions. In the New Zealand stick insect Clitarchus hookeri, three populations are distinguished by recent change in reproductive strategy and we determine their likely origins.

First detection of Wolbachia in the New Zealand biota.

Wolbachia is one of the most widespread intracellular bacteria on earth, estimated to infect between 40 and 66% of arthropod species in most ecosystems that have been surveyed. Their significance rests not only in their vast distribution, but also in their ability to modify the reproductive biology of their hosts, which can ultimately affect genetic diversity and speciation of infected populations. Wolbachia has yet to be formally identified in the fauna of New Zealand which has high levels of endemic biodiversity and this represents a gap in our understanding of the global biology of Wolbachia.