Biogeographia – The Journal of Integrative Biogeography

The microscopic meiofauna dwelling freshwater and limnoterrestrial habitats remain poorly documented, despite representing an important, yet unseen, part of those ecosystems. Here, we report the results of a faunistic survey workshop intended to improve our knowledge of meiofauna diversity and distribution in a protected area: the Lake District National Park, UK. The survey workshop provided 299 occurrence records of 209 distinct morphological taxa of meiofauna belonging to 46 families, 24 orders and 11 phyla. These records are made publicly available through a shared online dataset. The highest number of taxa belonged to Arthropoda (58 taxa; i.e. 28% of records), followed by Rotifera (33; 16%), heterotrophic unicellular eukaryotes (30; 14%), Nematoda (26; 12%), Annelida (20; 10%), Tardigrada (19; 9%), Gastrotricha (12; 6%), and Platyhelminthes (11; 5%). Moss samples returned the highest number of taxa occurrences (136), followed by periphyton (54), epipsammon (34), interstitial (25), plankton (17), peat bogs (16), forest litter (7), soil (6), epizoic lifestyle on crustaceans (2), and lichen (2). By documenting a wide range of habitats and taxonomic groups, this survey workshop contributes to filling knowledge gaps on the distribution of meiofaunal taxa in nearly pristine freshwater and temperate rainforest ecosystems. The second role of  the survey workshop was offering a 15-day field and laboratory training programme for a group of early career researchers, providing hands-on experience in morphotaxonomic identification, molecular barcoding techniques and finally in analysing and communicating the results in the form of the current publication.

The last checklist of Italian Oedemeridae was published by Bologna in 1995, framed by the first version of the checklist of the Italian metazoans. After 31 years, we provide a revised checklist for the Italian Oedemeridae by adding newly recorded taxa, updating taxonomy and increasing the resolution of the presence data to the regional level. Moreover, we present an open-source interactive website allowing data visualization through table-like format or a map, and the possibility of filtering and exporting the data. The checklist now covers 44 species, 3 of which are represented in Italy by 2 subspecies each, belonging to 11 genera. Overall, 13% of the species and subspecies are endemic to the study area, and our biogeographic analysis highlighted how the diversity increases with region size, with a significant proportion of specific and subspecific taxa restricted to a single region. Finally, we discuss the results in the context of Italian biogeography and species diversity in other European countries, and provide the details on how to use the website for exploring the checklist.

This study investigates the north-eastern distributional limits of four short-winged endemic Orthoptera from the north-western Alps: Anonconotus ghilianii, A. pusillus, Epipodisma pedemontana, and Stenobothrus ursulae. Their spatial and altitudinal distributions were addressed within the Special Protection Area (SPA) IT1202020 “Mont Avic and Mont Emilius”, including the Mont Avic Natural Park, representing the north-eastern biogeographical margin for A. pusillus, E. pedemontana, and S. ursulae. In contrast, A. ghilianii occurs in the area as a small and isolated population of particular biogeographical interest. For comparison, two additional short-winged species with broader European ranges, Bohemanella frigida and Podisma pedestris, were also examined. A total of 258 records collected during 2020–2021 allowed the reconstruction of fine-scale distribution patterns within the study area. Most records (91.5%) were obtained above 1,950 m, highlighting the strong altitudinal affinity of these taxa. Higher upper altitudinal limits were documented for E. pedemontana (2,842 m a.s.l.) and S. ursulae (3,074 m), while the other two endemic species were confirmed at their upper elevational thresholds, with occurrences recorded in this study at 2,482 m for A. ghilianii and 2,827 m for A. pusillus. The spatial and altitudinal patterns observed are discussed in a broader Alpine context, and the distribution ranges of the four endemic species are interpreted in relation to adjacent mountainous sectors. The discussion of the genus Anonconotus also includes two additional species distributed adjacent to the study area, A. alpinus and A. occidentalis. These findings contribute to a better understanding of peripheral range dynamics, high-altitude biogeographical structuring, and the biogeographical history of endemic short-winged Orthoptera of the north-western Alps.

The conditioning variables for the establishment of Amblypygi populations and their ecological interactions are currently poorly studied. Delving deeper into this can help to conserve this group of short-range distribution species, which are useful as a model in biogeographic research. In this study, we evaluated the distribution and overlapping patterns of ecological niche in six species of amblypygids (Phrynus araya, P. panche, P. pulchripes, Heterophrynus batesii, H. boterorum, H. cervinus) in the Andean and Amazonian ecosystems of Colombia, revealing a clear biogeographic segregation driven by environmental gradients: Phrynus species were associated with inter-Andean valleys with high thermal and water seasonality.  While the Heterophrynus occupied more stable and humid conditions of foothills and middle elevations. Overlap analyses showed significant divergence (e.g., D=0.105 between P. panche and H. batesii), with high unfilling values (up to 73.2%), indicating limited niche overlap and habitat specialization, although historical coexistence was detected in certain pairs of species (e.g., 99.1% stability between H. cervinus and H. boterorum). In the future, the integration of ecological niche modeling (ENM) with phylogeographic and behavioral approaches will be crucial for identifying niche partitioning mechanisms and optimizing conservation strategies for endemic taxa in complex tropical landscapes.

Macroinvertebrate communities in the Upper Loukkos basin (northern Morocco) exhibited marked spatio-temporal variability across contrasting hydrological phases, reflecting the dynamic nature of Mediterranean intermittent systems. Sampling at 18 sites, comprising both protected and impacted reaches, during post-flood and post-drought periods (2014–2015), revealed a total of 102 species. Assemblage composition changed across seasons and sites, largely driven by hydroseasonal dynamics, habitat connectivity, and environmental gradients. Chorological patterns showed a clear predominance of taxa associated with Mediterranean biogeographical affinities, with endemic species accounting for 25% of the assemblage. Protected headwater sites supported higher diversity and a greater proportion of specialist taxa, particularly under post-drought conditions, highlighting their role in maintaining community structure under hydrological variability. Some groups, notably Coleoptera, persisted under low-flow conditions, demonstrating both resistance and recolonisation capacity. Community structure was primarily shaped by interacting environmental and seasonal filters, with a noticeable decline in sensitive lotic taxa, especially during dry periods. Multivariate analyses showed a diffuse community structure across sites and seasons, reflecting the combined effects of hydroseasonal dynamics and environmental gradients on biotic assemblages. Our results indicate that the Upper Loukkos basin acts as a micro-reserve interface, where geographic position, historical context, and topographic complexity contribute to the maintenance of regionally distinctive biodiversity within the western Mediterranean. This highlights the need to integrate multi-scale environmental drivers into biomonitoring frameworks, particularly in intermittent systems where community dynamics remain closely constrained by hydrological variability and where disturbance-sensitive taxa appear especially vulnerable.

Ant mimicry is a key defensive strategy of Colobopsis ants in the West Palaearctic. The chameleon ant Colobopsis imitans was initially described as a Western Mediterranean species, differing from the widespread sister species Co. truncata by showing morphological and behavioural adaptations to mimic Crematogaster scutellaris instead of Dolichoderus quadripunctatus. Recently, it was discovered to extend its geographic range to the Eastern Mediterranean and to mimic additional species of ants, including D. quadripunctatus and Cr. ionia. Here, we report the presence of Co. imitans in Lebanon for the first time. Lebanese Co. imitans workers were observed living in close association and following the trails of Cr. ionia and belonged to the Cr. ionia-mimicking “dark” colour morph. The Lebanese record represents the first of the species from the Levant, while old Co. truncata records from the region should be considered dubious.

Sporadic sampling over the last decade in the Canary Islands has yielded three added non-native species. One new: Monomorium sahlbergi Emery, 1898 from Los Cristianos (Tenerife); and two recovered: Hypoponera ergatandria (Forel, 1893) from Caldera de Taburiente and Puntagorda (La Palma) and Trichomyrmex destructor (Jerdon, 1851) from San Andrés (Tenerife). In addition, Tapinoma cf. simrothi Krausse, 1911, recently recorded in Fuerteventura, was found in Gran Canaria and is proposed as a cryptogenic species. None currently appears to pose a significant invasive threat. A century after being collected there, and despite having been officially deleted from the BioCan Catalogue, T. destructor is still established at the Playa de las Teresitas (San Andrés; Tenerife). The number of non-native ant species in the Canary Islands has risen to 32, with an exponential trend in recent decades.

We report recent field records of the saproxylic beetle Stephanopachys linearis in Italy, observed in spring 2026 in the Western Alps. The species was found on fire-scorched living Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) and Larix decidua (European larch) trees damaged by a wildfire nine years before the survey. Prior to this discovery, the species was known from Italy only through three museum specimens collected in the Eastern Alps nearly 90 years ago. Based on historical material alone and never confirmed by recent field observations, these records were insufficient to include S. linearis among the Italian species formally requiring protection under the EU Habitats Directive. The present rediscovery fills this gap and effectively adds S. linearis to the list of species for which member states are required to designate Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), ensure regular monitoring, and establish conservation measures where necessary. Notably, the species was found in co-occurrence with S. substriatus on some of the surveyed trees, a likewise protected congener and only recently reconfirmed in Italy. The new locality lies approximately 50 km from the nearest confirmed French occurrence in the Queyras massif (Hautes-Alpes). We discuss the biogeographical significance and conservation implications of the find and outline priorities for future research.

The Ortolan bunting is an Old World bunting distributed across 20.2 million km² in the central and western Palearctic regions, breeding from sea level to 3,300 m. Most of the population is spending the winter in Sub-Saharan Africa north of 5°N migrating mainly along two flyways, on each side of the Mediterranean Sea. The current theory about the bird’s population dynamics and biogeography has been developed from transitory research in geographically disconnected surveys on the European and African continent over the last 30 years, handled in stochastic models and population viability analyses. The theory posits that the species was abundant in antecedent times but the previously continuous population became fragmented and underwent a very steep decline in central and western Europe from the middle of the 20^th century due to negative anthropogenic effects and hunting. The population segment in Fennoscandia has become isolated from the rest of Europe due to lack of contemporary gene flow from the south and the species is directly threatened with extinction. A review of 948 interdisciplinary literary sources across 435 years (1590-2025) from 18 European countries, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia was conducted to explore if the Ortolan bunting’s population development could be understood differently with insight gleaned from empirical material on a large spatiotemporal scale. The review revealed that a hundred-years perspective is necessary to obtain a true picture as shorter time will only expose fractions of events interpreted out of context. Historical data disagree with the claim that current distribution is due to fragmentation of a continuous population. The distribution has been restricted to the same “geographical islands” now perceived as fragments across at least the last 300 years. The structure of the population does not indicate restricted gene flow to Fennoscandia from the south as historically the species has not been established in areas immediately south of the peninsula. It was colonized from the east. Antecedent hunting results cited in current scientific literature to validate immense harvest are erroneous, as are the annual catch estimates from France around the turn of the Millennium used to predict the bird’s extinction in Fennoscandia. In the last 260 years the population in Europe has undergone temporally long fluctuations (range expansions and contractions) with transient shifts between occurrence and absence manifested by distinct peaks and nadirs in abundance, superimposed on a negative trend. The main drivers may have been a variable immigration rate (fluctuations) and asymmetric growth (negative trend).

This study investigates how proximity and elevation relative to Interstate-495 highway (I-495) in Queens, New York, influence soil bacterial community structure. Twelve soil samples were collected across a 673,312-m² area with uniform sand, clay, and silt composition, spanning a gradient of increasing distance and elevation from roadside conditions (RC). Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing targeting the V3/V4 hypervariable regions, microbial diversity and composition were assessed across samples. Results revealed that soils closest to RC but at higher elevation exhibited reduced bacterial diversity and phylogenetic breadth, with dominance of Coxiella burnetii, Streptococcus spp., and Achromobacter. In contrast, the sample at the same elevation as the roadside (CC_I495_3) displayed the highest Shannon diversity (7.67), Faith’s Phylogenetic Diversity (27.14), and a more even taxonomic distribution, including rare and evolutionarily distinct taxa such as Myxococcus and Nitrospira. Notably, uncultured species were significantly more prevalent in this low-elevation RC-exposed sample. Of the 502 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) identified, 189 were unique to RC-exposed soils, 114 were exclusive to NO-RC soils, and 199 were shared across both groups. These findings suggest that both proximity and elevation modulate microbial community assembly.