Pensoft Editorial Team

Tackling extinction risks in the EU with invasive species management

A new study identifies where and how targeted action can have the highest conservation impact.

Experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have analysed how targeted management of invasive alien species (IAS) can reduce extinction risks for threatened species across the European Union (EU), in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

Published in the open-access journal NeoBiota, and funded by the European Commission, a new study identifies where and how targeted action against IAS can have the highest conservation impact.

Researchers applied the IUCN Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) metric to measure opportunities for species threat abatement caused by IAS. They estimated that fully removing threats from IAS could reduce extinction risk for EU species by up to 16%.

Methodological outline for the different steps of the STAR-t analyses on Invasive Alien Species threats.

The Macaronesian Islands, namely the Canary Islands (Spain), Madeira (Portugal), and the Azores (Portugal), present the largest opportunities for reducing species extinction risk. The research calculates this at an over 40% reduction in extinction risk if IAS were eliminated, illustrating how IAS pose a significantly higher threat to islands compared to mainland ecosystems. Islands are particularly vulnerable due to their unique biodiversity, high levels of endemism, and often fragile ecosystems.

“Given the alarming impact that invasive alien species have on native biodiversity and the economy, it is essential to identify where action can have the greatest effect. In this context, our work presents the first regional application of the Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) metric, a science-based method that links conservation actions to the reduction of species extinction risk. By applying STAR with data from the EU Red List of threatened species, we highlight opportunities for addressing invasive alien species across national and subnational levels in the EU.
Randall Jiménez Q., Senior Conservation Scientist, IUCN (first author of the research).

For specific IAS, the greatest opportunities to reduce regional species extinction risk by mitigating threats from IAS come from managing feral goats (12.4%), mouflons (8.1%), rabbits (5.3%) and rats (4.6%).

Contribution of IAS threat abatement to extinction risk reduction. Relative contribution (in percentage) to the species extinction risk reduction that could be met by acting to abate IAS threats in each of the EU Member States or Outermost Regions.

Invasive alien species are a major threat to global biodiversity and the total cost of biological invasions across all European Union member states has been estimated at 129.9 billion US dollars between 1960 and 2020. In Europe, measures for IAS management are mainly established through the European Union Biodiversity Strategy 2030, which aims to halve the number of IUCN Red List of Threatened Species at risk from IAS by 2030.

“Mitigating the impacts of invasive alien species offers some of the greatest potential gains for conserving native biodiversity, while also delivering benefits for ecosystem services and local economies.

“This analysis provides decision-makers with guidance on where efforts can achieve the most significant results, supporting progress toward the EU Biodiversity Strategy target of reducing impacts on threatened species from invasive alien species by 50%.”
Boris Erg, IUCN European Regional Director.

Across the EU, 3,759 species (excluding marine animals) have been assessed as Near Threatened or Threatened with extinction, of which 579 (15%) are documented to be threatened by IAS (IUCN 2024).

A 2023 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that IAS have been a significant driver in 60% of documented plant and animal extinctions. The report, informed by experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), identified 3,500 invasive species that are severely harming biodiversity and human livelihood. These are increasing rapidly, with a forecast increase of 36% by 2050 – posing threats to the realisation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Original source:

Jiménez RR, Smith KG, Brooks TM, Scalera R, Mair L, Nunes AL, Costello KE, Macfarlane NBW (2025) Guiding action on invasive alien species towards meeting the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. NeoBiota 99: 109–129. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.99.148323

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Bulgaria joins the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

Led by Pensoft and its CEO Prof. Lyubomir Penev, the partnership marks a major step for Bulgarian science and regional biodiversity leadership.

Bulgaria officially joins the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). This major event for Bulgarian science was initiated by a memorandum signed by the Minister of Environment and Water: Manol Genov.

GBIF is an international network and data infrastructure funded by governments around the world that provides international open access to a modern and comprehensive database of all species of living organisms on the planet.

Joining GBIF is an important step for initiatives such as the Bulgarian Barcode of Life (BgBOL), as it will facilitate the integration of genetic data on species diversity into the global scientific community and support the creation of a more accurate and accessible bioinformatic database. This will increase the scientific visibility and relevance of Bulgarian efforts in molecular taxonomy and conservation.

Newly established Bulgarian Barcode of Life to support biodiversity conservation in the country

World map showing GBIF network participants: green for voting participants, blue for associate participants, gray for non-participants. — Prof. Lyubomir Penev

“First of all, I’d like to congratulate all fellow scientists working in the domain of biology and ecology in Bulgaria with this wonderful achievement,” says Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Penev, founder and CEO of the scientific publisher and technology provider Pensoft, as well as a key participant in the talks and preparations for Bulgaria’s joining GBIF. He is also Chair of BgBOL.

“Becoming a full member of GBIF has been a long-anticipated milestone we have discussed and worked on for several years. Coming not long after we initiated the Bulgarian Barcode of Life, the Bulgarian membership in GBIF gives us yet another uncontested evidence that the nation is on the right path to preserving our uniquely rich fauna and flora,” he adds.

Pensoft is looking forward to sharing our know-how with Bulgarian institutions and scientists in order to streamline the visibility and overall efficiency of biodiversity data collected from Bulgaria.
Prof. Lyubomir Penev

“As close partners of GBIF for over 15 years now, Pensoft is looking forward to sharing our know-how with Bulgarian institutions and scientists, so that they can fully utilise the GBIF infrastructure and tools, in order to streamline the visibility and overall efficiency of biodiversity data collected from Bulgaria.”

GBIF is managed by a Secretariat based in Copenhagen and brings together countries and organisations that collaborate through national and institutional coordinators (also called participant nodes). The mechanism provides common standards, good practices and open access tools for institutions around the world to share information on the location and recording of species and specimens. According to GBIF, a total of 107 countries and organisations currently participate in the network, a significant number of which are European.

The GBIF network, as screenshot from https://www.gbif.org/the-gbif-network on 10/06/2025.

By joining GBIF, biodiversity data generated in Bulgaria can be streamlined through the network’s infrastructure so that the country does not need to build and maintain its own separate infrastructure, which also saves significant financial resources.

As a full voting member, Bulgaria will ensure that biodiversity data in the country will be shared and accessible through the platform, and will contribute to global knowledge on biodiversity, respectively to the solutions that will promote its conservation and sustainable use.

Map of Bulgaria showing biodiversity data with orange heatmap indicating occurrences. — Bulgaria’s page on GBIF, as screenshot from https://www.gbif.org/country/BG/summary on 10/06/2025.

Improvements in data management by Bulgaria will also contribute to better reporting and fulfilment of obligations to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as well as to the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). As a member of GBIF, Bulgaria will be able to apply for funding for flagship activities in Bulgarian institutions and neighbouring Balkan countries. This will enable the country to expand its leadership role in the Balkans in biodiversity research and data accumulation.

GBIF and Pensoft signed a Memorandum of Cooperation

The partnership between GBIF and Pensoft dates back to 2009 when the global network and the publisher signed their first Memorandum of Understanding intended to solidify their cooperation as leaders in the technological advancement relevant to biodiversity knowledge. Over the next few years, Pensoft integrated its whole biodiversity journal portfolio with the GBIF infrastructure to enable multiple automated workflows, including export of all species occurrence data published in scientific articles straight to the GBIF platform. Most recently, over 20 biodiversity journals powered by Pensoft’s scholarly publishing platform ARPHA launched their own hosted portals on GBIF to make it easier to access and use biodiversity data associated with published research, aligning with principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data.

Celebrating One Year on Weibo

One year ago, Pensoft embarked on an exciting new journey to connect with the vibrant scientific community in China by launching our official Weibo account. This initiative was designed to foster closer ties with Chinese researchers, academics, and science enthusiasts—helping to broaden the reach of scientific knowledge and promote international collaboration.

Highlights from Our First Year

Over the past 12 months, we’ve shared a wide range of articles, research highlights, and updates from our diverse portfolio of open-access journals. Here are some of the most memorable moments from our first year:

Our most viewed video featured the discovery of three new species of Nautilus—the iconic deep-sea mollusks. Published in ZooKeys, the study described species from the Coral Sea and South Pacific. The video captivated marine biology fans and drew thousands of views. Videos are a powerful way to share science, and we encourage researchers to include video materials whenever possible!

Video by Gregory J. et al.

Another example was the video from the study Kleptoparasitism in Micrurus mipartitus competing for the same Caecilia sp. in western Colombia, published in Herpetozoa. The footage documented a rare and dramatic interaction between coral snakes fighting over a caecilian, and it fascinated our followers with its unusual ecological behavior.

Video by Henrik Bringsøe, Niels Poul Dreyer

Our most viral post introduced the newly described supergiant Bathynomus vaderi—a massive deep-sea isopod discovered off the coast of Vietnam. Its name, vaderi, was inspired by the creature’s head, which bears a striking resemblance to the iconic helmet worn by Darth Vader in Star Wars.

The Dark Side of the ocean: New giant sea bug species named after Darth Vader

Another popular post highlighted new mimetid spider species (Araneae, Mimetidae) discovered in Guizhou Province, published in Zoosystematics and Evolution. The study shed light on the region’s rich spider biodiversity and sparked strong engagement from our Chinese followers. It seems that spiders are a consistent fan favorite, with arachnid discoveries regularly going viral on our Weibo!

**Male holotype of *Mimetus* *lanmeiae* sp. nov., photograph by Q Lu (Shenzhen)**

This trend continued with our most popular longread, which told the story of Otacilia khezu sp. nov., a newly discovered cave-dwelling spider from Guangxi, China, published in the Biodiversity Data Journal. What truly captured readers’ imaginations—beyond the biological discovery—was the name itself. The spider was named after the Khezu, a wyvern from the popular video game Monster Hunter, known for its blindness and eerie appearance. Just like its namesake, Otacilia khezu completely lacks eyes — a striking adaptation to life in the dark.

Monster Hunter in real life: eyeless spider named after video game monstrosity

We’re also thrilled to see research from Pensoft’s journals featured widely across Chinese media. Articles have appeared in blogs, popular outlets such as People’s Daily, Xinhua, Global Times, Science and Technology Daily, on CCTV, in local news, and even in print newspapers!

Looking Ahead

As we celebrate this milestone, we’re filled with excitement for what lies ahead. We look forward to continuing to share cutting-edge science, uncovering new discoveries, and building stronger connections with our Chinese readers and partners.

Thank you to everyone who has followed, shared, and supported us over the past year. Your engagement has made this journey meaningful and rewarding.

Stay connected with us on Weibo: Pensoft’s Official Weibo Account

Bugging Science Olympiad in 2024 and 2025 with Real Insect Specimens in Georgia, USA

Guest blog post by Dr. Kelly Carruthers, lead author of the research paper, ‘Use of insect specimens for Science Olympiad entomology exam in Georgia, USA,’ published in the open-access journal Natural History Collections and Museomics.

Ask any person around you, “how do you feel about insects?” and you’re likely to get a range of answers, most not so great. As entomologists, we’re always looking for new ways to do outreach and engage with the public at large, mostly so we can move the “feelings about insects” needle toward a little bit less icky.

Outreach can range from standalone events that we’re invited to all the way to large insect festivals that attract considerable audiences… like moths to flames. Occasionally, we do get asked to do something new and intriguing to reach a broader audience, and this time it was the Georgia Science Olympiad.

A box of insect specimens. — Schmitt boxes prepared for students to observe and interact with during the Outreach Day. This box displays families within the orders Diptera, Trichoptera and Hymenoptera and were selected, based on their large size and charismatic features. Students were allowed to view and handle specimens carefully to observe features and characteristics of each family.

Science Olympiad is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 with the goal of increasing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) participation among students of primary and secondary grade levels in the United States. Science Olympiad boasts 23 different science-related events where groups of 2 -3 students participate and can earn awards by placing individually and/or as a team by combining scores.

Events range from testing to lab and build events, where students attempt to build the winning machine to the competition specifications. Additionally, Science Olympiad competitions rotate through a variety of field biology events, including Forestry, Herpetology, Ornithology, and Entomology …which is where I came in!

In 2024 and 2025, the Entomology rotation re-emerged, and the University of Georgia’s Department of Entomology was asked to participate in the organization and test writing for both high school and middle school divisions. Being ever excited to engage in new outreach opportunities, I jumped at the chance to participate.

Three small trays containing inspect specimens. — Sample specimens used for the Science Olympiad Entomology Exam. Unit trays include the specimen for the individual station and the station number pinned in the top right corner.

Yash Sajjan and Vaishnavi Balaji, both students at the University of Georgia who participated in Science Olympiad in middle school and then dedicated themselves to organizing the event as university students, reached out to me to explain what they needed. Typically, entomology exams in other US states use photographs and images, but we decided that using real insect specimens would be much more impactful. Yash also told me he could write the exam easily, and as a point of pride (as both an entomologist and former educator), I let my ego win and offered to write the exam myself instead.

The exam consisted of 15 stations, 14 of which were real insect specimens and 1 that used a model of a bee or diagram of a grasshopper for the high school and middle school exams, respectfully. Each station had 4 – 7 questions that ranged from classification names to pest status to interesting behavioral aspects of the insect specimen, and students were given 50 minutes to complete the exam. For each exam, 9 – 10 insect orders were represented of the 29 listed on the 2025 National Entomology List put out by the Science Olympiad.

Because the Entomology exam was so successful, I was asked to help participate in the inaugural outreach day for Science Olympiad in Georgia which aimed to increase participation in Science Olympiad by providing demonstrations, activities, and resources for underserved counties in neighboring counties to University of Georgia.

Students observing a box of insect specimens. — Students and a teacher observe a Schmitt box with a variety of specimens during the Outreach Day for the Science Olympiad. Descriptions and meanings of the orders of insects are projected on the screen.

For this event, I was able to curate 23 of 29 insect orders and 70 of 100 families listed on the 2025 National Entomology List from a surplus collection from entomology coursework at UGA to show students. I worked to find either a specimen that exemplified the family or one that was extravagant enough to excite or interest students.

Overall, teachers, students, and the State Director for Science Olympiad were supportive and interested in using real insect specimens for the exam and outreach day. It gave students a chance to see an insect in 3-D beyond what an image can show.

Science Olympiad has the power to show students a variety of STEM fields and shape their future major choices and college experiences. Knowing this, entomologists and other professionals in STEM have a chance to engage with a group of often enthusiastic and interested students, encouraging them to see a new aspect of STEM and open their eyes to new experiences. In addition, the outreach day gave me a chance to connect with teachers which may gain confidence in the material, which directly impacts how students engage with and explore various topics. If as entomologists we bug teachers and students into appreciating a few bugs a bit more, then we’ve done our best work for outreach!

Original source

Carruthers K, Sajjan Y, Balaji V (2025) Use of insect specimens for Science Olympiad entomology exam in Georgia, USA. Natural History Collections and Museomics 2: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3897/nhcm.2.153727

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A prolific discovery: three new orchid species from Costa Rica and Panama

The new species utilise an unusual method of asexual reproduction known as prolification.

Researchers have discovered three new Pleurothallis orchid species in the cloud forests of Costa Rica and Panama. The new species utilise an unusual method of asexual reproduction known as prolification.

*Pleurothallis* *winkeliana*. Credit: Karremans et al.

Found in the cool, misty highlands of the Talamanca range at elevations between 1400 and 2550 metres, the newly discovered species, Pleurothallis matrisilvae, Pleurothallis pridgeoniana and Pleurothallis winkeliana are described in the open-access journal PhytoKeys.

Prolific stems in species across Pleurothallidinae. Credit: Karremans et al.

Prolificating plants produce miniature plantlets directly from their flowering stems, allowing them to bypass seed production.

Whilst prolification is rarely a fixed feature within this group of orchids, it becomes common under stressful environmental conditions. The ability may be advantageous in the challenging conditions of cloud forests, but remains underexplored scientifically. Methods of asexual reproduction might also be important when pollinators are scarce.

*Pleurothallis* *matrisilvae*. Credit: Karremans et al.

The new species have each adapted to exhibit prolification in different ways, such as forming long chains or bushy growths. These adaptations helped researchers identify them as distinct species, despite their initial visual similarities with other plants.

With close to 1700 species currently recorded, a third of which not known from anywhere else in the world, Costa Rica is a well-known orchid biodiversity hotspot. The discovery of these orchids displays the Talamanca range’s significance as a rich and largely unexplored area.

*Pleurothallis* *pridgeoniana*. Credit: Karremans et al.

With these additions, Costa Rica now boasts 67 recognised species of Pleurothallis, though researchers believe many more await formal identification. Such abundance highlights the importance of conserving these unique ecosystems.

Thanks to Costa Rica’s robust system of protected areas (SINAC), local institutions such as Lankester Botanical Garden of the University of Costa Rica are able to uncover and describe floristic novelties in an effort to study and conserve the country’s unique biodiversity.

Original source

Karremans AP, Pupulin F, Gange J, Bogarín D (2025) Three new species of Pleurothallis (Orchidaceae) from Costa Rica and Panama, with a note on asexual reproduction by prolification in Pleurothallidinae. PhytoKeys 256: 197-220. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.256.140316

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Europe’s most complete stegosaurian skull unearthed in Teruel, Spain

A new study by palaeontologists from the Fundación Dinópolis, published in the journal Vertebrate Zoology, rewrites the evolutionary history of this dino group.

A photo of a person holding a large, textured fossil resembling a dinosaur skull, with distinct eye sockets, against a backdrop of grass. — Close-up photograph of the *Dacentrurus armatus* skull found in Riodeva (Teruel, Spain).

Palaeontologists from the Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis have published new research in the prestigious scientific journal Vertebrate Zoology published by Senckenberg. The article describes a partial stegosaurian skull discovered in the municipality of Riodeva (Teruel, Spain) and proposes a new hypothesis about the evolutionary history of plated dinosaurs.

Stegosaurs were dinosaurs mainly characterized by being plant-eaters, moving on all fours, and displaying two rows of plates and/or spines from the neck to the end of the tail. The specimen studied was recovered during the palaeontological excavations led by the Fundación Dinópolis at the “Están de Colón” fossil site, located in sediments of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch (around 150 million years ago). It is the best-preserved stegosaurian skull ever found in Europe and has been identified as belonging to the species Dacentrurus armatus.

An illustration of a large, spiked dinosaur with a long neck standing by the shore, roaring against a backdrop of sea and cloudy sky. — Illustration of *Dacentrurus armatus*. Credit: Adrián Blázquez / Fundación Dinópolis.

Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa, a researcher at the Fundación Dinópolis and co-author of the study, explains: “The detailed study of this exceptional fossil has allowed us to reveal previously unknown aspects of the anatomy of Dacentrurus armatus, the quintessential European stegosaur, which in 2025 marks 150 years since its first description. Dinosaurian skulls are rarely preserved due to the extreme fragility of their bones. This discovery is key to understanding how stegosaurian skulls evolved.

A close-up photo of a dinosaur sculpture's head, with another dinosaur in the background. — Head of a *Dacentrurus armatus* sculpture on display at Dinópolis (Teruel, Spain).

Furthermore, alongside the anatomical study, we have also proposed a new hypothesis that redefines the evolutionary relationships of stegosaurs worldwide. As a result of this work, we have formalized the definition of a new group called Neostegosauria”.

According to the researchers, this new group includes medium to large-sized stegosaurian species that at least lived in what is now Africa and Europe during the Middle and Late Jurassic, in North America during the Late Jurassic, and in Asia during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.

Alberto Cobos, managing director of the Fundación Dinópolis and co-author of the publication, adds: “This dual achievement–both the study of an exceptional fossil and the proposal of a new evolutionary hypothesis–positions this research as a global reference in stegosaurian studies.

This fossil site from Riodeva continues to be a subject of research and still holds numerous relevant fossils, including more postcranial elements from the same adult specimen and, notably, juvenile individuals, a particularly rare combination in this type of dinosaurs. These discoveries continue to exponentially increase the palaeontological heritage of the province of Teruel, making it one of the iconic regions for understanding the evolution of life on Earth”.

3D rendering of a fossilized piece of dinosaur skull. — Cranial reconstruction of a stegosaur, showing the studied fossil in its anatomical position.

The scientific article has been published in the renowned international journal Vertebrate Zoology under the title New insights into the phylogeny and skull evolution of stegosaurian dinosaurs: An extraordinary cranium from the European Late Jurassic (Dinosauria: Stegosauria). The authors are palaeontologists Sergio Sánchez Fenollosa and Alberto Cobos from the Fundación Dinópolis. The article is available open access at: https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.75.e146618

Illustration of a Dacentrurus skull from Riodeva, Spain, showing three views: fossil, outlined diagram, and 3D model, scale 10 cm. — Set of images of the most complete stegosaurian skull found in Europe, belonging to *Dacentrurus armatus* and recovered from Riodeva (Teruel, Spain).

This contribution from the Fundación Dinópolis, affiliated with the Dept. of Medio Ambiente y Turismo of the Gobierno de Aragón, is part of the activities of Research Group E04-23R FOCONTUR, funded by the Gobierno de Aragón (through the Dept. of Empleo, Ciencia y Universidades). Additionally, it is part of the research of the Unidad de Paleontología de Teruel, funded by the Gobierno de España (through the Ministry of Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades). The work at this site is also supported by the project titled Los yacimientos paleontológicos de la provincia de Teruel como factor de desarrollo territorial (IV), subsidized by the Gobierno de España and the Gobierno de Aragón through the Teruel Investment Fund (via the Dept. of Presidencia, Economía y Justicia).

Research article:

Sánchez-Fenollosa S, Cobos A (2025) New insights into the phylogeny and skull evolution of stegosaurian dinosaurs: An extraordinary cranium from the European Late Jurassic (Dinosauria: Stegosauria). Vertebrate Zoology 75: 165-189. https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.75.e146618

Image credit: Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis

New copepod species highlights fragile biodiversity in Bermuda’s caves

It is the only member of the Tetragoniceps genus living in caves and could represent an ancient, early-diverging member of its evolutionary lineage.

Bermuda’s Walsingham cave system harbors a wide diversity of cave-dwelling animals not found anywhere else in the world; now, one more joins their ranks as researchers of the University of Cambridge, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and Senckenberg am Meer German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research have discovered a new copepod species.

Three close-up views of a translucent shrimp-like creature, showcasing its segmented body and delicate antennae against a dark background. — Confocal laser scanning microscopy images of *Tetragoniceps bermudensis*.

Copepods are some of the most diverse of all crustaceans, found everywhere from freshwater ponds to the open ocean. These tiny organisms are some of the most abundant animals in the marine plankton, and an essential component of food webs worldwide. However, their huge diversity remains rather poorly known, particularly in challenging environments like subterranean caves.

New species of Brazilian copepod suggests ancient species diversification and distribution

The new Bermudian copepod, Tetragoniceps bermudensis, was first collected in 2016 by Sahar Khodami, Pedro Martinez Arbizu, and Leocadio Blanco-Bercial from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Senckenberg am Meer German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research, who ventured into Roadside Cave through a narrow passageway in Bermuda’s ancient limestone bedrock. However, it was only when researchers analysed it in detail, in 2024, that T. bermudensis was confirmed to be an entirely new species. Like other members of Bermuda’s cave fauna, Tetragoniceps bermudensis – named after the country where it was discovered – might represent an ancient, early-diverging member of its evolutionary lineage, the research team say. Together with other ancient crustaceans inhabiting the island’s caverns, it persisted in a secluded, delicate underground ecosystem relatively free from competitors and predators.

“The new species of copepod crustacean, Tetragoniceps bermudensis, is the first of its genus from Bermuda, as well as the first known cave-dwelling species of the genus anywhere in the world and only the second within its family, Tetragonicipitidae,” says lead author Giovanni Mussini of the University of Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences. “This finding from Roadside Cave adds to the great diversity of endemic crustaceans (and other cave fauna) found in the island’s network of limestone caves.”

The team during the sampling expedition to Roadside Cave in 2016.

The team only found one female egg-bearing individual at Roadside Cave, a small cavern in Bermuda. It is hard to estimate just how rare the new species is based on a single specimen, but the finding “suggests a correspondingly limited area and a probable endemic status, consistent with the high degree of endemism typical of Bermuda’s cave-dwelling fauna,” the researchers write in their paper in the journal ZooKeys.

A photo of a dimly lit cave interior with water dripping from stalactites. — Views of Roadside cave.

Roadside Cave, where the new species was found, may face threats from “urban development, vandalism, dumping, littering and pollution, and sediment disturbance due to unlawful access by humans and domesticated animals,” which makes protecting this small creature all the more urgent. The researchers call for formal protection of the cave and for robust enforcement of existing measures to protect its precious fauna.

“The discovery of this species highlights that there remains a cryptic diversity of cave-dwelling species still to be discovered even in a densely populated island like Bermuda, whose hidden, underground biodiversity is all too often overlooked,” Mussini says in conclusion.

Research article:

Mussini G, Niimi YJ, Khodami S, Kihara TC, Martinez Arbizu P, Blanco-Bercial L (2025) A new species of Tetragoniceps Brady, 1880 (Copepoda, Harpacticoida, Tetragonicipitidae) from an anchialine cave in Bermuda, with an updated key to the species of the genus. ZooKeys 1239: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1239.144436

Journals published on ARPHA now archived in the Biodiversity Heritage Library

To date, the content available on BHL includes 16,000 legacy articles and also extends to future articles.

Content from more than 30 biodiversity journals published on the ARPHA Platform will now be archived in the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives.

A global consortium of natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries, BHL digitises and freely shares essential biodiversity materials. A critical resource for researchers, it provides vital access to material that might otherwise be difficult to obtain.

Under the agreement, over 16,000 articles published on Pensoft’s self-developed ARPHA Platform are now available on BHL. Both legacy content and new articles are made available on the platform, complete with full-text PDFs and all relevant metadata.

Thanks to this integration, content in our journals will become even more accessible and readily discoverable, helping researchers find the biodiversity information they need.
Prof. Lyubomir Penev

More content published on ARPHA will gradually be added to the BHL archive.

The publications will be included in the Library’s full-text search, allowing researchers to easily locate relevant biodiversity literature. Crucially, the scientific names within the articles will be indexed using the Global Names Architecture, enabling seamless discovery of information about specific taxa across the BHL collection.

This automated workflow is facilitated by the ARPHA platform and uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) to enable exposure and harvesting of repository metadata.

“Pensoft is pleased to collaborate with BHL in our joint mission to support global biodiversity research through free access to knowledge. Thanks to this integration, content in our journals will become even more accessible and readily discoverable, helping researchers find the biodiversity information they need,” said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, CEO and founder of Pensoft and ARPHA.

The news comes soon after BHL announced it is about to face a major shift in its operation. From 2026, the Smithsonian Institution – one of BHL’s 10 founding members – will cease to host the administrative and technical components of BHL. As the consortium explores a range of options, the BHL team is confident that “the transition opens the door to a reimagined and more sustainable future for BHL.”

Probiotic supplementation may help reduce chemotherapy side effects in breast cancer

A new study published in the journal Pharmacia showed that multi-strain probiotics can have impact on chemotherapy-related side effects.

Chemotherapy is one of the most popular ways to treat breast cancer. Even though it has proven to be effective, it also has downsides, such as a higher risk of side effects, as it doesn’t only attack the cancer cells but can also affect normal cells. Chemotherapy-related side effects such as fatigue, weakness, and proneness to infections can influence treatment adherence and undermine the effectiveness of the therapy and the patients’ quality of life.

Probiotics are among the emerging alternative supplements being studied for their potential benefit in cancer treatment. A new study published in the open-access journal Pharmacia explored the effects of multi-strain probiotics on chemotherapy-related side effects using Karnofsky performance score, complete blood count, and blood biochemistry.

The findings show that probiotics with 7 strains have a potential effect in patients with breast cancer, especially in the improvement of common chemotherapy-related side effects, such as fatigue and nausea. Another potential effect of multi-strain probiotics is improving blood urea nitrogen levels. Significant improvement was observed in the ability to perform activities of daily living, which means patients can go about their lives more independently and reduce their reliance on others. This might also be related to the improvement of nausea and fatigue symptoms.

Close-up photo of a Black doctor showing pills and pill bottle at the camera

In conclusion, multi-strain probiotics have been shown to have potential benefits in chemotherapy-related side effects for patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Further, larger study is needed to explore these effects and to confirm the benefits of multi-strain probiotics before they are used in clinical practice.

Research article:
Kirtishanti A, Wijono H, Kok T, Setiawan E, Tanggo VVCM, Zahara GS, Davina W, Presley B (2025) Effect of multi-strain probiotics supplementation on chemotherapy-related side effects among patients with breast cancer: A pilot trial. Pharmacia 72: 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3897/pharmacia.72.e144998

The Scientific Annals of the Danube Delta Institute joins Pensoft’s portfolio

The journal, now published on Pensoft’s full-featured platform ARPHA, invites research in a variety of fields related to the Danube delta.

Scholarly publisher and technology provider Pensoft welcomes the latest addition to its diverse portfolio of scholarly outlets: the open-access, peer-reviewed journal Scientific Annals of the Danube Delta Institute (SADDI).

The official journal of the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development in Tulcea, Romania, SADDI publishes research in a variety of fields related to the Danube Delta and similar wetland ecosystems. Established in 1993, it offers a multidisciplinary platform for studies in the fields of ecology, biodiversity, environmental protection, hydrology, ichthyology, ornithology, limnology, and sustainable development related to wetlands and deltaic environments.

Cover of "Scientific Annals of the Danube Delta Institute" featuring a photo of Thalasseus sandvicensis birds.

SADDI is led by Editor-in-Chief Iuliana-Mihaela Tudor of the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development.

As a diamond open-access journal, SADDI will be free to read and publish and invites researchers and scientists to submit their manuscripts.

In joining Pensoft, SADDI will get access to improved publishing infrastructure and benefit from increased visibility and discoverability for its published research, making use of Pensoft’s full-featured platform ARPHA, an end-to-end publishing solution that makes it easy for both humans and machines to access, cite, and reuse research.

The 5 Most Distinct Features of ARPHA

At the 32^nd International Symposium “Deltas and Wetlands” in Tulcea, which will take place on 12–17 May, Pensoft’s CEO Prof. Lyubomir Penev will give a talk how the newly revamped SADDI has changed now that it is powered by the ARPHA publishing platform, and will also discuss how scholarly publishing can help advance Danube conservation.

“The Pensoft team is excited to cooperate with the Danube Delta National Institute for Research and Development as we support SADDI’s growth and development. We appreciate this new partnership and look forward to seeing the journal thrive using our advanced publishing services,” Prof. Penev said ahead of the event.