Climate shapes the spatiotemporal variation in color morph diversity and composition across the distribution range of Chrysomela lapponica leaf beetle

Color polymorphism offers rich opportunities for studying the eco-evolutionary mechanisms that drive the adaptations of local populations to heterogeneous and changing environments.We explored the color morph diversity and composition in a Chrysomela lapponica leaf beetle across its entire distribution range to test the hypothesis that environmental and climatic variables shape spatiotemporal variation in the phenotypic structure of a polymorphic species.We obtained information on 13617 specimens of this beetle from museums,private collections,and websites.These specimens(collected from 1830-2020)originated from 959 localities spanning 33°latitude,178°longitude,and 4200 m altitude.We classified the beetles into five color morphs and searched for environmental factors that could explain the variation in the level of polymorphism(quantified by the Shannon diversity index)and in the relative frequencies of individual color morphs.The highest level of polymorphism was found at high latitudes and altitudes.The color morphs differed in their climatic requirements;composition of colour morphs was independent of the geographic distance that separated populations but changed with collection year,longitude,mean July temperature and betweenyear temperature fluctuations.The proportion of melanic beetles,in line with the thermal melanism hypothesis,increased with increasing latitude and altitude and decreased with increasing climate seasonality.Melanic morph frequencies also declined during the past century,but only at high latitudes and altitudes where recent climate warming was especially strong.The observed patterns suggest that color polymorphism is especially advantageous for populations inhabiting unpredictable environments,presumably due to the different climatic requirements of coexisting color morphs.

Twenty-three new spider species(Arachnida:Araneae)from Asia

A new genus,Sinophaena Lin&Li,gen.nov.,of the spider family Anyphaenidae Bertkau,1878 is reported,with S.xiweni Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♀)from Sichuan,China as the type species.Sinophaena bivalva(Zhang&Song,2004)comb.nov.is transferred from Anyphaena Sundevall,1833.Further new species reported in the current paper include:Anyphaena grovyle Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Hainan),A.sceptile Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Hainan),A.shenzhen Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Guangdong),A.tibet Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Tibet),A.treecko Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Hainan),Cybaeus fushun Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♀,Liaoning),C.huadian Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♀,Jilin),Eresus lishizheni Lin,Marusik&Li,sp.nov.(♂,Xinjiang),Alistra pikachu Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Guangdong),Sinopesa gollum Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂,Guangdong),Pimoa gagna Zhang&Li,sp.nov.(♀,India),P.nainital Zhang&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,India),P.shoja Zhang&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,India),Selenops crewsae Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♀,Sichuan),Sinopoda helii Wang&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Sichuan),Phlogiellus jiaxiangi Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Guangxi),Episinus bonjovi Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Yunnan),E.jiangweni Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Yunnan),E.tongyani Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂♀,Yunnan),Meotipa luoqiae Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂,Yunnan),M.menglun Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂,Yunnan),and M.zhengguoi Lin&Li,sp.nov.(♂,Yunnan).The female of Belisana yuexiu Yao&Li,2020 is reported for the first time.All types are deposited in the Institute of Zoology,Chinese Academy of Sciences(IZCAS)in Beijing,China.

Habitat components and population density drive plant litter consumption by Eudrilus eugeniae(Oligochaeta)under tropical conditions

The ingestion of organic and mineral materials by earthworms is a prominent functional role that has profound consequences for the decomposition and stabilization of soil organic matter.To investigate the litter consumption of the African nightcrawler earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae under different tropical conditions,we used DNA barcoding to identify specimens of E.eugeniae collected from sites across the Adamawa region in Cameroon,and studied the influence of habitat suitability(soil properties),soil moisture,litter type,and population density on litter consumption.A total of four litter consumption experiments were carried out using soils collected from refuse disposal sites,agricultural lands,and savannahs dominated by the Mexican sunflower Tithonia diversifolia.The results revealed that litter consumption significantly increased in the refuse disposal and agricultural soils as opposed to the Mexican sunflower(T.diversifolia)soil,a cow dung enriched substrate,and a sterile soil horizon from the savannah(P<0.05).The optimum moistures for litter consumption were between 24%and 50%.Litter type did not affect the consumption rate of the earthworms(P>0.05).We observed a general positive density-dependent consumption with litter mass loss increasing with increasing density.Our results suggest that E.eugeniae has a strong direct effect on the decomposition of plant materials than expected from previous estimations,and that litter consumption rates are determined by several habitat components and population density.