Category: Guest Blog Posts

Otters as ocean doctors: how a 40-year watch on Brazil’s coasts reveals hidden threats to estuaries

Neotropical otters are key for estuarine health, providing insights into ecosystem integrity and pollution impacts.

Guest blog post by Dr. Oldemar de Oliveira Carvalho Junior

For four decades, we’ve been quietly watching otters along the southern coast of Brazil. Not just because they’re charismatic and playful, but because they are among nature’s most honest diagnosticians. Just like a doctor checks your pulse, blood, and behavior to assess your health, scientists can use otters to monitor the condition of estuaries, those vital transition zones where rivers meet the sea.

Published in Estuarine Management and Technologies, our new study, ‘Otters as Bioindicators of Estuarine Health,’ synthesizes 40 years of field data from from Projeto Lontra in Brazil’s Peri Lagoon, along with global ecological research. The findings reinforce the role of semi-aquatic mammals as “living sensors” of ecosystem integrity.

This study is part of the topical collection: Otters as Bioindicators of Estuarine Health: Innovations in Monitoring and Management from Tropical Coastal Brazil

Why otters and not another animal?

Neotropical otter (*Lontra longicaudis*). Photo credit to: Projeto Lontra / Instituto Ekko Brasil

Otters sit at the top of the food chain in estuaries. They need clean water, healthy fish populations, connected habitats, and safe denning sites. If any of these elements falter, otters are among the first to respond, with fewer sightings, changes in their diet, or markers of disease.

While a water sample offers only a fleeting snapshot, otters aggregate environmental signals across time and space.

Neotropical otter with a cub. Photo credit to Projeto Lontra / Instituto Ekko Brasil

In fact, their very presence, or absence, tells a story. In regions where Atlantic Forest fragmentation has severed the connection between land and water, otter sightings have plummeted by 30% in just a decade.

This isn’t just a loss of biodiversity; it’s a warning for everyone downstream. Fewer otters mean degraded waterways, disrupted food webs, and weakened natural buffers against floods and erosion.

A “living record” of pollution

Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) feeding on fish. Video credit to: Projeto Lontra / Instituto Ekko Brasil

The diet of otters consists of 70-80% fish, as well as crabs and other aquatic animals. As they consume prey, they also accumulate pollutants, like heavy metals, microplastics, and industrial chemicals, that have built up in those animals. Their bodies effectively become archives of contamination.

Think of an otter as a biological hard drive: by analyzing its scat (feces), we can reconstruct what pollutants are moving through the estuary, even if they’re invisible to the naked eye.

For instance, in Brazil, we’ve found microplastic fibers in otter droppings from protected lagoons, proof that no coastal system is truly isolated from human impact.

The tropical knowledge gap

Neotropical otter. Photo credit to: Projeto Lontra / Instituto Ekko Brasil

Globally, over 70% of otter research focuses on temperate species like the Eurasian or sea otter. Meanwhile, the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) receives less than 4% of scientific attention, despite inhabiting the world’s most biodiverse and threatened estuaries.

This imbalance in the research poses a great conservation risk. Tropical estuaries face unique pressures: rapid urbanization, mangrove deforestation, and climate-driven sea-level rise. Without focused research, we risk managing these ecosystems with tools designed for entirely different environments.

Our work aims to close this divide, establishing the Neotropical otter as a key indicator to drive evidence-based conservation across the Global South.

Land-based diseases in aquatic sentinels

Video from trap camera of two Neotropical otters in a shelter. Video credit to: Projeto Lontra / Instituto Ekko Brasil

One of our most striking findings showed that 66% of otters tested positive for Toxoplasma gondii – a parasite shed only by domestic cats. How does a land-based pathogen end up in an aquatic mammal? The answer is through runoff.

The rain washes cat feces from the streets, gardens, and informal settlements into rivers and lagoons. This reveals a sobering truth: even within protected areas, otters are exposed to threats originating far inland. To protect these sentinels of ecosystem health, we must implement integrated management strategies that address sewage overflow, urban runoff, and domestic animal impact.

What comes next?

Neotropical otter inside a shelter. Video credit to: Projeto Lontra / Instituto Ekko Brasil

We’re finalizing the Otter Health Index (OHI), a low-cost toolkit for municipalities, NGOs, and community groups to monitor estuaries using simple metrics: spraint frequency, habitat connectivity, contaminant screening, and local knowledge. It’s designed for places with limited labs but rich ecological insight.

After 40 years of observing otters, we’ve learned this: protecting them isn’t just about saving a species. It’s about safeguarding the intricate web of processes that sustain clean water, fisheries, flood resilience, and human well-being.

Otters aren’t just inhabitants of our estuaries; they are their guardians. If we listen to what they’re telling us, we’ll know exactly what these ecosystems need to survive and thrive.

Original sources:

Carvalho Junior, O., Bez Birolo, A., Tosatti, M., Haddout, S., Ljubenkov, I. and Jayachandran, P.R. eds., (n.d.). Otters as Bioindicators of Estuarine Health: Innovations in Monitoring and Management from Tropical Coastal Brazil. PEstuarine Management and Technologies. doi:https://doi.org/10.3897/emt.coll.317

Birolo, A.B., Tosatti, M., Junior and Assiya Haddout (2026). Otters as bioindicators of estuarine health: Scientific gaps, field-based insights, and a framework for future research. Estuarine Management and Technologies., 3, pp.65–78. doi:https://doi.org/10.3897/emt.3.185117.

Corals’ Boldest Cousins: UH Scientists Discover Marine Creatures Bending the Laws of Evolution

A new Frontiers of Biogeography study shows zoantharian hexacorals defy biogeographic norms with narrow genetic differences across the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

Guest blog post by Dr. Maria “Duda” Santos and Maria Frostic

In the realm of marine biogeography, there is a widely held scientific principle: the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans are worlds apart. If you dive in Brazil and then in Okinawa, you expect to see entirely different groups of fish and coral. But according to a new global study published today in Frontiers of Biogeography, one group of colorful hexacorals, anemone-like creatures—known as zoantharians—is breaking all the rules.

The study, led by Dr. Maria “Duda” Santos of the UH Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) ToBo Lab and the University of the Ryukyus, began with a moment of “déjà vu” underwater.

Diver in Malaysia looking at a coral reef — **Underwater view in a Malaysian coral reef with Duda searching for zoantharian species. Photo by Sam Webster.**

“During my first dive in Okinawa, I was surrounded by a multitude of species I had never seen in my homeland of Brazil. But then I saw the zoantharians. They looked exactly like the ones back home—the same colors, shapes, and sizes. It was striking.”
shares Dr. Santos

While the Indo-Pacific typically hosts ten times the species diversity of the Atlantic for most reef animals, this research found that the genetic and morphological divergence between oceans for these creatures is surprisingly narrow.

The Secrets of the Ultimate Travelers

Zoantharians from different parts of the ocean that surprisingly show narrow evolution despite the distance — **Sibling zoantharians from the Indo-Pacific (A) and the Atlantic (B) oceans. Images by Dr. Maria “Duda” Santos.**

The researchers suggest that zoantharians may be the ultimate oceanic travelers. Their secret likely lies in high dispersal via an “epic” larval phase, where young zoantharians can survive in open water for over 100 days, paired with an ability to “raft” across ocean basins by hitchhiking on floating objects.

Furthermore, an unusually slow evolutionary rate appears to keep distant populations looking and acting like siblings, even after millions of years of separation by continental barriers.

This discovery has major implications for the future of our oceans. As climate change stresses traditional stony corals, zoantharians are increasingly moving in to fill the void.

“In habitats impacted by stress, some zoantharian species can outcompete stony corals. We are seeing ‘phase shifts‘ where reefs once dominated by corals are being taken over by zoantharians. Understanding how they spread helps us forecast what the reefs of the future will look like.”
explains Dr. Santos

A Global Atlas for a Changing Ocean

This landmark study represents a massive international effort, uniting a team from Hawai’i, Okinawa, Russia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Indonesia. By combining DNA data and records from Mexico to the Philippines, the team has provided the first-ever global “atlas” for a group of animals that has remained in the shadows of their more famous coral cousins for decades. This map of the past and present provides a vital baseline for monitoring how marine life will navigate a warming world.

Original source

Santos, M.E.A., Kise, H., Fourreau, C.J.L., Kiriukhin, B., Kitahara, M.V., Baker, D.M., Toonen, R.J., Liu, P.J., Chang, A., Tu, T.-H., Widiastuti, Agustini, K.M.P., Bowen, B.W. and Reimer, J.D. (2026). Global biogeography of zoantharians indicates a weak genetic differentiation between the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans, and distinct communities in tropical and temperate provinces. Frontiers of Biogeography, 19. doi: https://doi.org/10.21425/fob.19.174247

More Than 55% of Cerrado Native Vegetation Already Lost, New Review Reveals

With 55% of its native habitat gone, the Cerrado is in crisis. Preserving this biodiversity hotspot demands immediate reform and the protection of Indigenous rights.

Guest blog post by Cássio Cardoso Pereira

“In addition to surviving some of the poorest soils in intertropical Brazil, the vegetation of the Cerrado has achieved the ecological feat of withstanding wildfires, rising from its own ashes like a kind of phoenix among Brazil’s ecosystems. It cannot, however, withstand the violent technological artifices invented by so-called civilized men.”
Aziz Ab’Saber, 2003 (translated)

Often overshadowed by the Amazon, the Cerrado is the second-largest Ecodomain in South America. Despite covering 24% of the territory and sustaining major watersheds, it has historically been sidelined in global conservation dialogues.

Our detailed review recently published in Nature Conservation warns that this biodiversity hotspot is currently facing a massive, multi-faceted ecological crisis. Despite its significance, the region has seen more than 55% of its native vegetation converted, an area exceeding 1 million km², with the vast majority of this destruction occurring within the last five decades.

Detailed maps of the Cerrado Ecodomain in Brazil. — Land use and land cover (LULC) in the Cerrado Ecodomain in 1985 and 2023, revealing significant changes in the spatial structure of the territory. An intensification of human activities can be observed, with emphasis on agricultural expansion,
which resulted in the significant replacement of native vegetation by alternative uses. This process represents an accelerated landscape transformation over the last four decades. These maps were made using the Cerrado shapefile developed by Cássio Cardoso Pereira, with LULC data available from MapBiomas (2024).

While recent data suggests a slight reduction in annual deforestation rates, the accumulated loss continues to climb, making the Cerrado the Ecodomain in Brazil with the greatest loss of native vegetation.

Graph presenting the annual clearing in Cerrado Ecodomain. — Annual clearing in the Cerrado (2001–2025) according to PRODES (INPE 2025). Bars represent the total area cleared each year (km²), with colors ranging from dark orange (highest values) to light orange (lowest values), indicating relative variation in intensity. Arrows indicate the percentage change compared to the previous year: increases (↑, red), decreases (↓, green), and stability (→, black, 0.0%). These data do not detect degradation, only complete removal of natural vegetation. Annual data refer to the so-called “reference year”, which runs from August of one year to July of the following year, based on satellite images with a resolution of 10 to 30 meters. The icons used in this figure are from Wikimedia licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Figure design: Cássio Cardoso Pereira.

This expansion is driven by a combination of agricultural and urban growth, mining, and land speculation, creating a landscape that is increasingly fragmented and ecologically compromised.

Inverted forest and hidden carbon

One of the things that make Cerrado truly unique is its “inverted forest“. Unlike tropical rainforests that store their biomass in high canopies, the Cerrado has achieved an ecological feat of survival by storing approximately 90% of its carbon belowground through massive, deep root systems. This underground network makes the Ecodomain a critical carbon sink and a primary regulator of water.

Schematic of the inverted forest carbon sink capacities in the Cerrado Ecodomain. — Schematic representation of the distribution of carbon stocks in the Cerrado, characterized as an “inverted forest” due to the predominance of biomass and carbon belowground. Estimates were obtained from Terra et al. (2023). Figure design: Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira.

However, misguided restoration efforts that focus solely on planting exotic trees in naturally open areas can further exacerbate this issue, highlighting the need for restoration strategies that prioritize ecological functionality and native seed banks over simple afforestation.

Ecosystem diversity and conservation challenges

However, it is not just the vast tropical savanna in Cerrado that makes up this inverted forest, but the complex and interdependent mosaic of grasslands, savannas, and forests, each with distinct structures, ecological processes, and vulnerabilities. Treating it as homogeneous invisibilizes both grassland and forest formations, complicating effective conservation policies.

For example, natural grasslands, especially in the montane Campos Rupestres, occupy limited areas, harbor high endemism, and face strong pressures from mining, biological invasions, and increased fire. Whilst savannas, although dominant in the area, have been widely converted into monocultures, exotic pastures, and forestry, compromising ecological integrity.

The major anthropogenic threats to the ecosystems of Cerrado Ecodomain — Main anthropogenic threats to the Cerrado resulting from land-use changes, ranked by impact on each ecosystem type (I–III: grassland, savanna, and forest). The ecosystems illustrated are according to Ribeiro and Walter (2008). For more details on each ecosystem. Figure design: Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira.

Even though some species are adapted to natural fire, many ecosystems, such as forests, the marshland formations Veredas, and the montane Campos Rupestres, are highly vulnerable. Exotic species invasions and increased frequency and intensity of fires exacerbate ecological losses even without direct deforestation. We’ve found out that nearly all fires in the Cerrado are human-induced and occur outside natural regimes, causing cumulative degradation.

Threatened biodiversity and conservation gaps

Our research highlights a troubling pattern of ‘silent extinctions’ across the Cerrado. While this Ecodomain is home to thousands of unique plants and animals, we have identified a massive gap in how these species are monitored. Plants and invertebrates are the most threatened yet the least studied. This means species are vanishing before they can even be scientifically documented. Current policies are failing because they rely on incomplete data; we cannot protect what we have not yet cataloged. To prevent total collapse, we must expand our conservation criteria to protect not just individual species, but the complex ecological interactions that sustain the region’s water and soil.

The threatened species in Cerrado Ecodomain — Percentage distribution of threatened species among different biological groups in the Cerrado. The information was adapted from the IUCN Red List (2024), the Flora and Funga of Brazil portal (2024), the official national list of threatened species by MMA (2022), terrestrial vertebrate data from Vieira-Alencar et al. (2025), freshwater fish data from Lima and Ribeiro (2011), and invertebrate data from Embrapa (2023). Figure design: Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira.

Cerrado’s water crisis

The environmental crisis in the Cerrado is also a “silent water crisis” that threatens Brazil’s national security. The Ecodomain sustains the country’s main watersheds and major aquifers, yet this balance is being disrupted by irrigated agriculture, agrochemical contamination, and dam construction. Excessive surface and groundwater withdrawal is already leading to reduced river flows and the degradation of Veredas, which are essential for water regulation.

Paradoxically, the very sectors that drive this degradation, such as agribusiness and energy production, are the most dependent on these water resources, creating a cycle of increasing water insecurity. Protecting the Cerrado’s riparian zones and aquifers is no longer just an environmental concern but a prerequisite for the survival of the regional economy and climate resilience.

Disconnect between law and reality

The Cerrado is facing a dangerous disconnect between environmental law and ecological reality. Our research reveals that current protection is startlingly thin: while we cataloged 706 Conservation Units, they cover only 8% of the Ecodomain, with less than 3% under strict protection.

To assist researchers and policymakers, we have compiled an unprecedented dataset of these units, including the often overlooked Private Natural Heritage Reserves (RPPNs) and crucial ecotones, available at: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.61.168273.suppl1.

However, data alone isn’t enough. The Brazilian Forest Code, specifically the 20% Reserva Legal (RL) and the narrow 30-meter Áreas de Preservação Permanent (APPs) are ecologically insufficient. These leave vital formations like Veredas and Campos Rupestres as isolated, vulnerable fragments.

To prevent ecosystem collapse and secure Brazil’s water supply, we advocate for urgent reforms: increasing RL requirements to at least 35%, expanding protection zones to reflect biological reality, and enforcing strict traceability to decouple agricultural production from habitat loss.

Recognition and protection of Indigenous lands

Two Kayapó indigenous people — Kayapó people from the state of Pará. Their lands are located in the Amazon, but include a Cerrado enclave, which is shown in the review. Photo credit to: Adriano Adriano Jerozolimski

Beyond legal designations, we emphasize that the future of the Cerrado depends on recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples, whose traditional knowledge and sustainable land management have maintained the ecosystem’s balance for millennia.

For instance, recent laws such as the Marco Temporal and agribusiness proposals threaten to reduce their territories and accelerate biodiversity loss, making it urgent to protect and fully recognize these lands to conserve the Cerrado and its ecological resilience.

Mobilizing knowledge and adding value

Effective conservation requires recognizing the Cerrado as a biodiversity hotspot with dedicated legal instruments capable of protecting its full ecological heterogeneity.

Moving forward, the extractive logic of the past must be replaced with with regenerative systems, prioritizing conservation, restoration, and biodiversity-based economic alternatives, including agroforestry, payments for ecosystem services, fiscal incentives such as ICMS Ecológico. Ultimately, these measures will help promote conservation, social justice and sustainable certifications that recognize the Cerrado’s biodiversity as a core economic asset

Original publicaiton:

Pereira, C.C., Walisson Kenedy-Siqueira, Maia, L.R., da, V., Arantes-Garcia, L., Fernandes, S., França, G., Carvalho, G., Rodrigues, J., Salm, R. and Fearnside, P.M. (2026). The Cerrado crisis review: highlighting threats and providing future pathways to save Brazil’s biodiversity hotspot. Nature Conservation, 61, pp.29–70. doi: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.61.168273

From field trip to first paper: the colorful arable fields of Lemnos, Greece

From fieldwork to first publication in the journal Vegetation Classification Survey, Lina Rinne reflects on her research in Lemnos, Greece. Alongside Erwin Bergmeier and Stefan Meyer, she tracks her path from a 2024 field trip to a 2025 publication, exploring the island’s unique agro-ecosystems.

Guest blog post by Lina Rinne

I was introduced to the island of Lemnos during a university field trip in 2024, while I was still a master’s student. At the time, I admittedly questioned Erwin’s and Stefan’s choice of destination—why not go to a “cool” island like Crete? However, now, after two visits to Lemnos, I have to say that this island is very special. As my very first scientific publication focuses on this island—and was selected as an Editors’ Choice paper in the last quarter of 2025—Lemnos will always have a place in my heart.

The path to that publication was anything but straightforward. Fortunately, my supervisors and co-authors, Erwin and Stefan, supported me throughout the entire process.

Erwin Bergmeier and Stefan Meyer are well known to researchers working on arable plant diversity, whether in Greece, Germany, or beyond. They have been involved in numerous projects, and only a few people know arable fields, their plant species, and communities better than they do.

Their work on Lemnos began in 2018 as part of the Terra Lemnia project , a local initiative established by the Mediterranean Institute for Nature and Anthropos (MedINA). The project aims to understand and preserve the island’s arable plant diversity and to support farmers to maintain the less intensive, “traditional” agriculture on the island.

beautiful barley field with a rich diversity of arable plants — Barley field with a rich diversity of arable plants, among others *Papaver rhoeas*, *Rapistrum rugosum*, *Glebionis segetum*, and *Agrostemma githago*, Lemnos, May 2025. The harsh volcanic landscape of the Fakos peninsula is visible in the background (photo credit: Lina Rinne)

On Lemnos, most agricultural fields are used to grow rain-fed fodder crops for sheep and goats. As they are mainly interested in biomass, eradicating wild arable plants (“weeds”) would be more costly than simply tolerating them. This farming reality has allowed an exceptionally high diversity of arable plants to persist—a central focus of our study.

During the master’s field trip in spring 2024, Erwin and Stefan introduced us to the island, the Terra Lemnia project, and local farmers. We explored a wide range of landscapes and attractions: the medieval castle overlooking the island’s capital Myrina, the wetlands and salt lakes in eastern Lemnos, the Ammothínes—striking inland sand dunes resembling a small desert—and Poliochni, often referred to as the “oldest city in Europe”.

At the time, arable plants played only a minor role in my perception, and I certainly did not expect that my academic journey would soon lead me back to Lemnos—and specifically to its agricultural fields.

That changed when I started my PhD in July 2024 with a research focus on Greek agro-ecosystems. We decided to use Lemnos as the basis for my first publication, contributing to the VCS Special Collection “Vegetation classification of islands and archipelagos”. Given my familiarity with the island and the extensive vegetation survey data collected by Erwin and Stefan over several years, it was the perfect starting point.

In January 2025, Erwin and Stefan handed me their dataset, wished me “good luck,” and I began working through the data in R. It was a learning process in every sense. Many species were unfamiliar to me, and even online resources did not always provide clear answers. Gradually, however, my understanding of the data—and of the community patterns it contained—improved. This was greatly helped by accompanying Erwin and Stefan during their fieldwork on Lesvos and Lemnos in spring 2025.

Standing in the agricultural fields and seeing species I had previously known only from spreadsheets and photographs brought the data to life. It also reinforced just how unusual Lemnos is from a Central European perspective. Many people of my generation grew up surrounded by heavily managed and sprayed fields, where a single red poppy is a photo-worthy sight.

In contrast, the cereal and pulse fields of Lemnos are colorful: yellow Brassicaceae grow alongside seas of red poppies, the pink flowers of Agrostemma githago (which is basically eradicated in Germany), and so many Trifolium species that it was difficult to keep track of them all.

Erwin Bergmeier conducting a vegetation survey on a rotational fallow dominated by *Anchusa hybrida* in front of a small Greek chapel on Lemnos, May 2025 (photo credit: Lina Rinne)

During our fieldwork, I learned a lot from Erwin and Stefan. We sampled additional fields for our study, and Erwin pointed out the soil differences (from sandy to loamy) that translated into the vegetation patterns revealed in the data analysis. I also took many pictures and notes to remember the fields and the species.

Fieldwork in Greece, of course, also comes with its own rewards: bathing in hot springs or the Mediterranean Sea, enjoying local dishes grown on the very fields we studied, encountering rare and fascinating bird species (including flamingos!), and meeting local colleagues and friends. Some of them joined us during fieldwork or helped us talk to local farmers, which provided valuable insight into agricultural management practices on the island and their socio-ecological context.

Back in Germany, it was time for a major overhaul of the analyses and manuscript. I incorporated what I had learned during fieldwork, and together with my co-authors, we integrated their extensive knowledge of Lemnos’ agro-ecosystems and arable plant communities.

By May, the writing and revision process was in full swing. Drafting, discussing, revising, and finalizing figures and tables continued until July, when we finally submitted the manuscript to Vegetation Classification and Survey.

As my first publication, the peer-review and production process has been a steep learning experience, involving multiple rounds of revisions and corrections. In the end, however, it was immensely rewarding.

We are very happy to have drawn attention to this remarkable island and to the often-overlooked topic of arable plant biodiversity. Lemnos is well worth visiting in spring (or any other season)—whether for its colorful fields, the diversity of migrating birds, unique landscapes, historical landmarks, or great food. Just be prepared for strong winds and surprisingly cold temperatures; at times, I wore nearly all my clothes at once to stay warm.

Original source:

Rinne, L., Meyer, S. and Bergmeier, E. (2025). Soil and season shape less intensively managed agro-ecosystems of a Mediterranean island—Insights from Lemnos (Greece). Vegetation Classification and Survey, 6, pp.253–271. doi: https://doi.org/10.3897/vcs.164437

An island, a classification, and a handful of botanists

Vegetation classification is complex and often subjective, shaped by diverse perspectives. The 4th EDGG Field Workshop in Sicily underscored these challenges, highlighting the need for collaborative observation and the ongoing refinement of ecological definitions in an ever-changing landscape.

Guest blog post by Riccardo Guarino, Thomas Becker, Iwona Dembicz & Jürgen Dengler

Long before any field workshop, before any grant application and academic unfairness, before any politely worded review that praises the dataset while questioning the premises, there was a man standing on a slope of sunburnt clay, wondering whether vegetation really wished to be classified at all.

That man knew (though he rarely said it aloud) that vegetation classification is an act of faith disguised as method. Like all faiths, it requires ritual (the plot, the relevé, the cover estimate), a shared language (alliances, orders, classes), officiants (distinguished professors), and a community small enough to agree without ever fully agreeing. He also knew, with a lucidity bordering on pessimism, that this faith is always betrayed by arithmetic: too few observers, too many species, too much heterogeneity compressed into too small a square of ground. Even if Sicily was overrun by phytosociologists, the resulting map would still be a pale approximation of what the vegetation actually is: a shimmering, restless negotiation among climate, soil, disturbance, chance, and time. These ideas would later harden into equations and arguments, written with some disenchantment in a paper about classification efficiency and sustainable compromise (Guarino et al., 2022).

Botanists sampling of a nested plot in a dry grassland in western Sicily — Careful sampling of a nested plot in a dry grassland in western Sicily during the EDGG Field Workshop 2012. Photo credit: Thomas Becker, 2012

But in 2012, there was still considerable unease. Unease, however, can be productive. Schopenhauer would have called it the friction between Will and Representation; Calvino might have imagined it as a labyrinth of syntaxonomic schemes; a vegetation ecologist would simply recognize it as the moment when field reality refuses to align with inherited categories. In Sicily, this moment occurs often. Annuals and perennials intertwine like disputing narratives. Communities appear discrete in full summer, when annuals almost disappear, and blur by the next spring. The same slope, revisited a year later, tells a different story with the same protagonists.

It was from this discomfort – and not despite it – that the idea emerged to invite outsiders. Not reviewers, not authorities, but colleagues shaped by different landscapes and different traditions: Central and Northern European vegetation ecologists accustomed to recording every detectable species within a plot, mosses and lichens included, trusting that completeness might tame ambiguity. Bringing them to Sicily was an experiment in epistemology: what would Mediterranean vegetation look like through Central European eyes?

Would the preconceptual separation into separate sampling units, Lygeo-Stipetea versus Stipo-Trachynietea, Ammophilion versus Alkanno-Maresion nanae, survive such scrutiny? Or would they collapse into something less Manichean, but perhaps more honest?

Thus, the fourth EDGG Field Workshop was organized, quietly radical in its intent (Guarino et al. 2012). The island became a laboratory of perspectives. On coastal sands, inland clays, volcanic substrates, and evaporitic hills, small squares of ground were subjected to a level of attention usually reserved for more anthropocentric (eco?) systems. Every terricolous autotrophic organism was invited to the census. The plots filled with names, then with doubts, then with discussions that were sometimes technical, sometimes philosophical, in a distinctly Pirandellian sense: Which community is this? And who am I to decide?

Botanists searching for a suitable plot in a dry grassland on the eastern flank of Mt. Etna (Sant’Alfio) — Searching for a suitable place for a nested plot in dry grasslands on the eastern flank of Mt. Etna (Sant’Alfio) at 1200 m a.s.l. Photo credit: Iwona Dembicz, 2012

The reader knows how this story ends, because it has already been written several times. The analyses would show higher diversity than expected, blurred boundaries where syntaxonomical schemes promised clarity, and clusters that made ecological sense without offering metaphysical comfort. The separation between annual and perennial grasslands, so carefully defended in Mediterranean sampling tradition, would refuse to emerge cleanly when confronted with comprehensive data. The resulting paper, gestated over years of reflection and discussion, would eventually articulate these tensions with composure (hopefully…), acknowledging both the power and the limits of any classification.

And yet, the true outcome of the 4^th EDGG Field Workshop was not a dendrogram or a table of diagnostic species. It was the confirmation of a long-harboured suspicion: that objectivity in vegetation science is not a destination, but a direction. One walks toward it, knowing it will never be reached, much like the horizon across Sicilian hills. The value lies in the walking, in the shared protocols, the disagreements conducted in good faith, and the willingness to see one’s own landscape through new eyes.

From the outside, the decision to organize an international field workshop might appear strategic, even confident. In truth, it is an existential gesture: a way of saying that if classification is inevitably subjective, then the only ethical response is to multiply viewpoints; if approximation is unavoidable, then one must at least approximate together.

Vegetation, after all, does not care how it is classified. But vegetation ecologists do. And in that caring, temporally limited, often contested, and persistently unfinished, lies both the burden and the dignity of their work.

Group photo of the botanists from the 4th EDGG Field Workshop in Mt. Etna — In spring, there was still a bit of snow on Mt. Etna, giving the team of the 4th EDGG Field Workshop the chance to present themselves in front of the EDGG logo carved in the snow. Photo credit: Thomas Becker, 2012

Original study:

Guarino, R., Becker, T., Iwona Dembicz, Dolnik, C., Kozub, Ł. and Dengler, J. (2025). Dry grasslands of Sicily: Multi-taxon diversity and classification challenges. Vegetation Classification and Survey, 6, pp.301–327. doi: https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.175402

If you wish to know how the author team, 13 years after the field sampling, combined their contrasting viewpoints into a joint perspective, please visit our paper (Guarino et al. 2025). If you are interested in the EDGG Field Workshops, you can find information on the EDGG webpage at https://edgg.org/fw/overview. More details about sampling methodology are available in Dengler et al. (2016). To understand how the Field Workshops in general contribute to the understanding of the diversity patterns of Palaearctic open habitats, you might visit the GrassPlot Diversity Explorer (https://edgg.org/databases/GrasslandDiversityExplorer; see also Biurrun et al. 2021). There have been 21 EDGG Field Workshops since the first event in Transylvania in 2009 (Dengler et al. 2012). They often give rise to influential papers on biodiversity patterns (e.g., Turtureanu et al. 2014; Cancellieri et al. 2024) and syntaxonomy (e.g., García-Mijangos et al. 2021; Vynokurov et al. 2024). In 2025, there were two great Field Workshops, one in the Maritime and Ligurian Alps of Italy and one in the Turku Archipelago of Finland (Miskova et al. 2025). In 2026, there will again be one or two Field Workshops, one in conjunction with the Eurasian Grassland Conference in Bulgaria (Vynokurov et al. 2025), the second still to be discussed. If you are interested in more details, please consult the webpage or contact Jürgen Dengler, the Deputy Field Workshop Coordinator.

References:

Biurrun, I., Pielech, R., Dembicz, I., Gillet, F., Kozub, L., Marcenò, C., Reitalu, T., Van Meerbeek, K., Guarino, R., (…) & Dengler, J. (2021) Benchmarking plant diversity of Palaearctic grasslands and other open habitats. Journal of Vegetation Science 32: e13050. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13050
Cancellieri, L., Sperandii, M.G., Rosati, L., Bellisario, B., Franceschini, C., Aleffi, M., Bartolucci, F., Becker, T., Belonovskaya, E., (…) & Filibeck, G. (2024) Drivers of vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen richness in grasslands along a precipitation gradient (central Apennines, Italy). Journal of Vegetation Science 35: e13305. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13305
Dengler, J., Becker, T., Ruprecht, E., Szabó, A., Becker, U., Beldean, M., Bita-Nicolae, C., Dolnik, C., Goia, I., (…) & Uğurlu, E. (2012): Festuco-Brometea communities of the Transylvanian Plateau (Romania) – a preliminary overview on syntaxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity. Tuexenia 32: 319–359.
Dengler, J., Boch, S., Filibeck, G., Chiarucci, A., Dembicz, I., Guarino, R., Henneberg, B., Janišová, M., Marcenò, C., (…) & Biurrun, I. 2016. Assessing plant diversity and composition in grasslands across spatial scales: the standardised EDGG sampling methodology. Bulletin of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group 32: 13−30.
García-Mijangos, I., Berastegi, A., Biurrun, I., Dembicz, I., Janišová, M., Kuzemko, A., Vynokurov, D., Ambarlı, D., Etayo, J., (…) & Dengler, J. (2021) Grasslands of Navarre (Spain), focusing on the Festuco-Brometea: classification, hierarchical expert system and characterisation. Vegetation Classification and Survey 2: 195–231.
Guarino, R., Becker, T., Dembicz, I., Dolnik, C., Kącki, Z., Kozub, Ł., Rejžek, M., Dengler, J. (2012) Impressions from the 4th EDGG Research Expedition to Sicily: community composition and diversity of Mediterranean grasslands. Bulletin of the European Dry Grassland Group 15: 12–22.
Guarino, R., Guccione, M., Gillet, F. (2022) Plant communities, synusiae and the arithmetic of a sustainable classification. Vegetation Classification and Survey 3: 7–13. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.60951
Guarino, R., Becker, T., Dembicz, I., Dolnik, C., Kozub, Ł., Dengler, J. (2025) Dry grasslands of Sicily: Multi-taxon diversity and classification challenges. Vegetation Classification and Survey 6: 301−327. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.175402
Miskova, O., Borovyk, D., Dengler, J., Fahs, N., Mussaari, M., Nikolei, R., Rabyk, I., Skobel, N., Tyshchenko, O., Vynokurov, D. (2025) Diversity of grasslands and other open habitats in the Turku Archipelago, Finland: Impressions from the 21st EDGG Field Workshop, 28 June to 6 July 2025. Palaearctic Grasslands 65: 36-51. https://doi.org/10.21570/EDGG.PG.65.36-51
Turtureanu, P.D., Todorova, S., Becker, T., Dolnik, C., Ruprecht, E., Sutcliffe, L.M.E., Szabó, A. & Dengler, J. 2014. Scale- and taxon-dependent biodiversity patterns of dry grassland vegetation in Transylvania (Romania). Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 182: 15–24.
Vynokurov, D., Aleksanyan, A., Becker, T., Biurrun, I. Borovyk, D., Fayvush, G., García-Mijangos, I., Magnes, M., Palpurina, S., (…) & Dengler, J. (2024) Dry grasslands and thorn-cushion communities of Armenia: a first syntaxonomic classification. Vegetation Classification and Survey 5: 39–73. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.119253
Vynokurov, D., Dengler, J., Vassilev, K., Velev, N. (2025) Announcement of the 22nd EDGG Field Workshop – Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria, 14-18 July 2026. Palaearctic Grasslands 65: 14-15.

After 150 years, butterfly collected by Alfred Russel Wallace finds its name

A monograph by a team of international researchers revised the diverse Neotropical butterfly genus Euptychia.

Guest blog post by Shinichi Nakahara

A new Amazonian butterfly

In a drawer of the butterfly collection at the Natural History Museum in London (NHMUK) sit a handful of rather unassuming butterfly specimens from Amazonia. Marked only with a couple of bands and eyespots on the underside of their wings, these specimens were thought to be pitch-brown black-eyed satyrs (Euptychia picea) for over 150 years. Labels attached to some of them suggest that they were collected by 19^th-century naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace during his expedition to the Amazon rainforest along with his good friend, Henry Walter Bates. A recent 300-page monographic study of this group of butterflies has recognised these specimens as a species new to science: Euptychia andrewberryi, or Berry’s black-eyed satyr.

A mounted butterfly with brown and cream patterns, featuring prominent eye spots, displayed alongside various small labels. — *Euptychia andrewberryi*. Photo credit: © Trustees of NHMUK

*Euptychia andrewberryi*. Photo credit: © Trustees of NHMUK

A monograph by a team of international researchers revised the diverse Neotropical butterfly genus Euptychia. The study was led by Shinichi Nakahara, a Lepidoptera subject editor for ZooKeys, Biodiversity Data Journal, and Neotropical Biology and Conservation.

The story behind the eponym

In 1848, Wallace and Bates set sail on an epic voyage for the Amazon to explore and research its neotropical biodiversity. Their trip was funded by Samuel Stevens, a natural history agent in London. In 1852, after four years of collecting, Wallace returned from Brazil with all his specimens loaded on a ship named the Helen. However, on his way back to London, the Helen caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and sank. In the blink of an eye, Wallace lost all of his material. This shipwreck is one of the most disastrous events in the history of science, yet fortunately some of Wallace’s Amazonian material escaped the tragedy and made its way to London.

A black-and-white photo of an old gentleman in formal attire, sitting in an ornate chair at a photo studio. — Alfred Russel Wallace.

Throughout the course of his travels in Amazonia, Wallace occasionally shipped back specimens to Stevens in London. In a letter to Stevens, dated 15 November 1849, Wallace wrote from Santarém (500 miles above Pará), “I spent about three weeks at Montealegre and have now been back here nearly a month, so before I leave for the Rio Negro, I send you a small lot of insects; they consist almost entirely of Lepidoptera…”

The registration records at the NHMUK suggest that the holotype of Euptychia andrewberryi entered the collection in 1850, supporting the notion that it was shipped to London while Wallace was still in Brazil.

A photo of a middle-aged man with short, light gray hair wearing black, seated in a vibrant café setting. — Andrew Berry. Photo by Shori Hijikata

Andrew J. Berry is a historian of science with a long-standing interest in Wallace. A lecturer in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, Andrew teaches evolutionary biology and related subjects. While working on the Euptychia monograph, Andrew’s dry sense of humor and undying zest were critical in the completion of a study of such great magnitude.

Why monographs are important

Taxonomic monographs serve as a foundation for understanding species diversity and phylogenetic relationships within a given group of organisms. They enhance our understanding of the myriad species with which we share our planet. Undertaking work on a monograph typically requires travelling to many museums, incorporating morphological and molecular studies, and conducting field work, as well as reviewing literature to solve taxonomic or nomenclatural conundrums. Despite this tedious process, which requires a great deal of perseverance, monographs underscore the rather underappreciated nature of taxonomy, representing “a small gain for a huge effort.” Unfortunately, most diverse tropical groups of organisms have not yet received a comprehensive taxonomic treatment.　

Euptychia is the largest Neotropical satyrine genus ever to be revised. This monograph increased the known diversity of Euptychia to 50 species, significantly more than hitherto estimated. Although further testing is needed, it is worth emphasising that only 16 described species were recognised in the genus in 2004. It is remarkable to realise that such a profound discrepancy existed between perceived and actual species richness, especially within a well-studied group of invertebrates such as butterflies. This further underscores the importance of revisionary monographic works.

Mining nature’s knowledge: turning text into data

By using natural language processing, researchers created a reliable system that can automatically read and pull useful data from thousands of articles.

Guest blog post by Joseph Cornelius, Harald Detering, Oscar Lithgow-Serrano, Donat Agosti, Fabio Rinaldi, and Robert M Waterhouse

In a groundbreaking new study, scientists are using powerful computer tools to gather key information about arthropods—creatures like insects, spiders, and crustaceans—from the large and growing collection of scientific papers. The research focuses on finding details in published texts about how these animals live and interact with their environment. By using natural language processing (a type of artificial intelligence that helps computers understand human language), the team created a reliable system that can automatically read and pull useful data from thousands of articles. This innovative method not only helps us learn more about the variety of life on Earth, but also supports efforts to solve environmental challenges by making it easier to access important biological information.

Illustration depicting species literature feeding data on arthropod traits into a database, linking researchers and the community. — Mining the literature to identify species, their traits, and associated values.

The challenge

Scientific literature contains vast amounts of essential data about species—like what arthropods eat, where they live, and how big they are. However, this information is often trapped in hard-to-access files and old publications, making large-scale analysis almost impossible. So how can we convert these pages into usable data?

The goal

The team set out to develop an automatic text‑mining system using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning to scan thousands of biology papers and extract structured information about insects and other arthropods to build a database linking species names with traits like “leg length” or “forest habitat” or “predator”.

How it works in practice

Collect curated vocabularies of terms to be searched for in the texts:

~1 million species names from the Catalogue of Life
390 traits, categorised into feeding ecology, habitat, and morphology

Create “Gold‑standard” data needed to train language models:

Experts manually annotated 25 papers—labelling species, traits, values, and their links—to use as a training benchmark

Train NLP models so they “learn” which are the terms of interest:

Named‑Entity Recognition using BioBERT for identifying species, trait, and value words or phrases in the texts
Relation Extraction using LUKE to link the words/phrases e.g. “this species has this trait” and “this trait has this value”

Automated extraction of words/phrases and their links:

Processed 2,000 open‑access papers from PubMed Central
Identified ~656,000 entities (species, traits, values) and ~339,000 links between them

Publish results in an open searchable online resource:

Developed ArTraDB, an interactive web database where users can search, view, and visualise species‑trait pairs and full species‑trait‑value triples

Text-mining is a conceptually and computationally challenging task.

What is needed for the next steps

Annotation complexity: Even experts struggled to agree on boundaries and precise relationships, underscoring the need for clearer guidelines and more training examples to improve the performance of the models
Gaps in the vocabularies of terms: Many were unrecognised due to missing synonyms, outdated species names, and variations in phrasing. Expanding vocabularies will help improve the ability to find the species, traits, and values
Community curation: Planned features in ArTraDB will allow scientists and citizen curators to improve annotations, helping retrain and refine the models over time

How it impacts science

Speeds up research: Scientists can find species‑trait data quickly and accurately, boosting studies in ecology, evolution, and biodiversity
Scale and scope: This semi‑automated method can eventually be extended well beyond arthropods to other species
Supports global biodiversity efforts: Enables creation of large, quantitative trait datasets essential for monitoring ecosystem changes, climate impact, and conservation strategies

Illustration of a butterfly with icons and arrows outlining key biological data: barcode, genome, distribution, nutrition, habitat, and more. — A long-term vision to connect species with knowledge about their biology.

The outcomes

This innovative work demonstrates how combining text mining, expert curation, and interactive databases can unlock centuries of biological research. It lays a scalable foundation for building robust, open-access trait databases—empowering both scientists and the public to explore the living world in unprecedented ways.

Research article:

Cornelius J, Detering H, Lithgow-Serrano O, Agosti D, Rinaldi F, Waterhouse R (2025) From literature to biodiversity data: mining arthropod organismal traits with machine learning. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e153070. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e153070

Bridging citizen science and expert surveys in urban biodiversity monitoring: Insights from insect diversity in Macao

Using insects as a model group, researchers examined the potential of citizen science to uncover undocumented biodiversity.

Guest blog post by Kaiyun Zheng, Mark K. L. Wong, Toby P. N. Tsang, Chi Man Leong

A photo of a cicada emerging from its shell, clinging to a branch among green leaves at night. — Eclosion of *Cryptotympana* sp. during a nighttime bioblitz activity in Macao. Photo courtesy Dr. Danny Chi Man Leong

During a field trip for an ecology course in a city park, lead author Ms Kaiyun Zheng was fascinated by the incredible insect biodiversity surrounding her. Insects serve as important bioindicators—their diversity and assemblage can reveal ecological processes and environmental health. However, sampling insect diversity is often challenging, requiring extensive equipment and field effort. Despite being one of the most species-rich animal groups, insects are undergoing a global decline due to habitat loss, pollution, and urbanization. Traditional insect surveys typically demand significant time and resources and are limited in scope.

Curious to find a more accessible approach, Kaiyun began exploring insect records from both expert-led field surveys and citizen science platforms such as iNaturalist. Together with her supervisor, Dr. Danny Chi Man Leong from Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, and co-authors Dr. Mark Wong from The University of Western Australia and Dr. Toby Tsang from University of Toronto Scarborough, they posed a key question: Can citizen science reveal hidden biodiversity beyond what expert surveys have recorded?

A photo of a woman standing outdoors, wearing a white shirt and brown skirt, holding a phone and a hat, with a backpack slung over one shoulder. — Ms. Kaiyun Zheng

A photo of a man with arms crossed, wearing a dark green sweater over a collared shirt, and a watch, standing against a wooden background. — Ms. Kaiyun Zheng

Citizen science involves participation by people without formal scientific training, who contribute to scientific research by collecting and sharing data. In biodiversity documentation, citizen scientists can use smartphones and digital platforms to record species, helping expand scientific knowledge at scale.

Using insects as a model group, the authors examined the potential of citizen science to uncover undocumented biodiversity and discussed how large-scale citizen-contributed data could enhance ecosystem monitoring. To evaluate the strengths and complementarities of different data sources, they compared an expert dataset with a citizen science dataset.

Four panels depicting insect observation data: a map, trend graphs for observations, observers, and species over time. — Spatial distribution of insect observations in Macao from the citizen science dataset (iNaturalist.org) (A), along with cumulative increases in verified identifiers (B), insect observations (C), and recorded insect species (D).

In total, 1,889 insect species were recorded across both datasets, but only 462 species (24%) overlapped. The expert dataset included 1,339 species, of which 877 (65%) were not found in the citizen science records. Conversely, the citizen science dataset documented 1,012 species, with 550 (54%) unique to it. This substantial non-overlap indicates that the two approaches capture different facets of insect diversity. For example, there was relatively high overlap for insect groups such as butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), likely due to their conspicuous appearance and popularity among observers. In contrast, groups such as wasps, bees and ants (Hymenoptera) and flies (Diptera) were underrepresented in the citizen science dataset, suggesting challenges in detecting smaller or more cryptic species.

Venn diagram showing species counts: 877 expert recorded, 550 citizen science recorded, and 462 shared species. — Venn diagram of insect diversity between expert and citizen science datasets.

These findings highlight the importance of integrating expert surveys with citizen science efforts to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of insect biodiversity, especially in urban areas which benefit from a high participation from citizen scientists.

Their study also highlights the unique strengths of citizen science for urban biodiversity monitoring. Residents living near parks and green spaces are ideally placed to document insect occurrences in real time across a wide range of locations. Notably, the study includes a citizen-contributed record of Mortonagrion hirosei, a Near Threatened damselfly rarely observed in Macao. This example illustrates how citizen science can detect rare or cryptic species, uncovering important biodiversity records and filling gaps left by traditional surveys, making it an indispensable tool for future biodiversity monitoring.

Research article:

Zheng K, Wong MKL, Tsang TPN, Leong CM (2025) Bridging Citizen Science and Expert Surveys in urban biodiversity monitoring: Insights from insect diversity in Macao. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e153402. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e153402

Inspiring a new generation of taxonomists

New species of Australian miracine wasps described with school students as part of the Insect investigators citizen science project

Guest blog post by Mollie Slater-Baker

It is estimated that only around 20% of the world’s insects are formally described. A formal description is the foundational understanding of a species, including a scientific name, information on how to identify the species, its biology, and where it can be found. With such a large proportion of our insects lacking this foundational information, we are left viewing the insect world through a very small window. This has major implications for conservation of insects and the ecosystems in which they play integral roles. It also limits our understanding of our natural resources, with the study of insects being valuable in a variety of fields, from healthcare and biochemistry, to biological pest control, to insect-inspired engineering.

Unfortunately, with a worldwide lack of taxonomic experts, limited funding, and the immense scale of describing the world’s insects, documenting our insect diversity before it’s lost to extinction is a considerable challenge. But this is where community engagement and citizen science can shine.

Experts in insect taxonomy “threatened by extinction” reveals the first European Red List of Taxonomists

The Insect Investigators citizen science project, which ran in Australia in 2022, aimed to involve schools throughout the taxonomic process, to contribute to large-scale collection and documentation of Australian insects, while fostering an appreciation for insect diversity and the role of taxonomy. Fifty rural schools from Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia participated by setting up Malaise traps (tent-like passive insect traps) to sample local invertebrates near their schools over four weeks. This project resulted in over 60 thousand insect specimens being collected from often under-sampled, more remote parts of Australia. The resulting specimens are preserved and deposited in Australian museums for future research, including taxonomic work.

Malaise traps set up at Kwoorabup Nature School (left) and Beerwah State High School (right) to sample insects as part of the Insect Investigators project.

Through this project, several schools were involved in collecting a rarely collected group of parasitoid wasps belonging to the subfamily Miracinae (aka miracine wasps). These tiny wasps (typically 1-2mm in length) are very difficult to collect using traditional methods, though they appear to be quite diverse in Australia. As parasitoids, miracine wasps require an invertebrate host to complete their lifecycle. For miracine wasps, this host is a leaf-mining caterpillar – the kind that eats small twisting tunnels on the inside of leaves. The wasps lay their eggs inside these caterpillars, and the wasp larvae hatch and eat the caterpillar from the inside out!

‘Insect soup’ – specimens collected via Malaise Trap at Kwoorabup Nature School.

Due to their caterpillar-eating biology, and the fact that they are picky eaters, usually targeting a specific species, these wasps can be used to control pests. For example, the miracine wasp species Mirax insularis in Puerto Rico, and Centistidea striata in Brazil, are known to attack coffee leaf-miners, a major pest of coffee plantations – so you may have one of these wasps to thank for your morning coffee!

As part of this project, we engaged with schools to involve them throughout the process of describing the miracine wasps they had collected. First, we ran in-person and online or hybrid workshops with the students to teach them about the new wasp they had discovered, and the taxonomic process involved in describing and naming it. The students then brainstormed a variety of creative names for the new species, which were collaboratively curated and voted upon to arrive at the final species names.

From Queensland, we have Mirax supremus, meaning ‘highest’ in Latin, named after the Pinnacle program at Beerwah State High School, which the students were a part of.

From South Australia, comes Ceduna Area School’s species, Mirax ceduna, named after the school and town the wasp was collected from (colloquially known as the ‘golden bum wasp’).

And from Kwoorabup Nature School in Western Australia (WA), Mirax kaatijan, meaning knowledge/learning in the Noongar language of the south-west region of WA, to represent the new knowledge the students had learnt about insect diversity, and the importance of knowledge about our insects.

Though the descriptions themselves are a small step towards the immense task of describing Australia’s insects, it was inspiring to see the students and their communities really engage with the process and build a connection with their local insects, and an appreciation for these tiny, often-overlooked wasps. We hope this project plays a role in inspiring the next generation of budding entomologists and taxonomists in Australia.

References

1. Stork, N.E., How Many Species of Insects and Other Terrestrial Arthropods Are There on Earth? Annual Review of Entomology, 2018. 63(1): p. 31-45.

2. Song, C., et al., Bee Sting-Inspired Inflammation-Responsive Microneedles for Periodontal Disease Treatment. Research (Wash D C), 2023. 6: p. 0119.

3. Mika, N., H. Zorn, and M. Rühl, Insect-derived enzymes: a treasure for industrial biotechnology and food biotechnology. Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol, 2013. 136: p. 1-17.

4. Galli, M., et al., Can biocontrol be the game-changer in integrated pest management? A review of definitions, methods and strategies. Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection, 2024. 131(2): p. 265-291.

5. Gorb, S.N. and E.V. Gorb, Insect-inspired architecture to build sustainable cities. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2020. 40: p. 62-70.

6. Zhang, Y., A. Reid, and J.F.C. Windmill, Insect-inspired acoustic micro-sensors. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2018. 30: p. 33-38.

7. Suzuki, K., et al., Development of water surface mobile robot inspired by water striders. Micro & Nano Letters, 2017. 12(8): p. 575-579.

8. Engel, M.S., et al., The taxonomic impediment: a shortage of taxonomists, not the lack of technical approaches. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2021. 193(2): p. 381-387.

9. Slater‐Baker, M.R., et al., First record of miracine parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from Australia: molecular phylogenetics and morphology reveal multiple new species. Austral Entomology, 2022. 61(1): p. 49-67.

10. Navarro, P. and F. Gallardo, Host instar preference of Mirax insularis (Muesebeck) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a koinobiont parasitoid of Leucoptera coffeella Guerin-Meneville (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae). Journal of Agriculture- University of Puerto Rico, 2009. 93: p. 139-142.

11. Penteado-Dias, A.M., New species of parasitoids on Perileucoptera coffeella ( Guérin-Menèville) (Lepidoptera, Lyonetiidae) from Brazil. Zoologische Mededelingen, 1999. 73: p. 189-197.

12. Slater-Baker M-R, Guzik M, Rodriguez J, Howe A, Woodward A, Ducker N, Fagan-Jeffries E (2025) Three new species of Australian miracine parasitoid wasps collected by regional schools as part of the Insect Investigators citizen science project (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Miracinae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 98: 19-45. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.98.137806

Diversification of Agroecotettix: Grasshoppers of Aridland Scrub in the United States and Mexico

16 new species of Agroecotettix were identified from the United States and Mexico.

Guest blog post by JoVonn Hill

Back in 2018, I began conducting fieldwork on grasshoppers in Texas. Among the specimens I collected that year, I noticed something intriguing—what appeared to be a new species of Agroecotettix. That initial discovery set the stage for years of research, stretching through 2024. During this time, I continued to collect Agroecotettix specimens and studied collections from several institutions, including the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Brigham Young University, and the Mississippi Entomological Museum.

By analyzing these specimens, I identified 16 new species of Agroecotettix from the United States and Mexico. Interestingly, most of these species are associated with mountainous of Texas and Mexico. Some also inhabit the South Texas Plains ecoregion and the Edwards Plateau.

Habitat and Behavior of Agroecotettix

Agroecotettix grasshoppers are often found on thorny, leguminous shrubs such as Acacia and Vachella. Mesquite is typically not a host. In the Big Bend region of Texas, I often found them on Sotol—sometimes consuming pollen, other times seeking shade beneath the leaves during the heat of the day.

Individuals of Agroecotettix dorni roosting during the heat of the day on Dasylirion leaves

One sweltering day in Big Bend National Park, it was 113°F, and I was trudging through Boquillas Canyon, searching for grasshoppers. After two hours of seeing a couple grasshoppers, I was ready to leave. Then, glancing up, I spotted 40 or 50 grasshoppers clustered on the undersides of Sotol leaves, sheltering from the mid-day sun. Many of them were Agroecotettix, alongside other flightless desert grasshoppers like Phaulotettix and Netrosoma. It was just like picking fruit off a tree—no net needed.

Much of what we now know about Agroecotettix species stems from the work of Dr. Theodore Cohn. During the 1950s and 1960s, he conducted extensive fieldwork in Mexico, often in areas that are now too dangerous to access. His collections were invaluable for identifying several of the new species, highlighting the enduring importance of historical specimens and natural history collections.

Naming these species offered a unique opportunity to honor individuals and ideas that have influenced me such as:

Image of LeVar Burton courtesy of Super Festivals under a CC BY 2.0 license

LeVar Burton: One species is named after this the Reading Rainbow and Star Trek icon. Burton is an American treasure who has inspired a love of reading in millions, including me. As a child, I grew up watching Reading Rainbow and later found myself reading those same books to my own kids during school events.

Image of Ted Turner courtesy of by Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license

Ted Turner: Another species honors Ted Turner, the entrepreneur and conservationist. Turner’s efforts to preserve vast swaths of the western U.S. have will have a lasting impact on biodiversity.

Image of Michael Dorn courtesy of Supercon Conventions under a CC BY 2.0 license

Michael Dorn: Known for playing Worf on Star Trek, Dorn inspired another species name. Work was always my favorite character. A portion of this species anatomy resembled a Klingon weapon, making the connection apt.

IDIC: One species is named after the Vulcan philosophy of “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.” This Star Trek principle seemed a fitting name for a species in this group of cryptic species.

Jay Silverheels: another species honors Silverheels’ cultural impact and the Texas landscapes where the series was set. A Native American athlete and actorwho most famously portrayed the fictional character Tonto in “The Lone Ranger” television series from 1949-1957, Silverheels was one of the first Native American actors to portray a major Indigenous character on a television series. Throughout his career, Silverheels advocated for more inclusion of Indigenous people in media and founded the Indian Actors Workshop in Los Angeles during the 1960’s.

Image of Clayton Moore courtesy of twm1340 under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license

Clayton Moore: Known for playing the Lone Ranger, “moorei” honors Clayton Moore for his portrayal of this fictional Texas Ranger that embodied justice, bravery, and connection to the American West.

Frida Kahlo: The species name kahloae patronym the iconic Mexican painter known for her vivid and symbolic artwork. Her enduring connection to Mexican culture makes her an apt figure to be commemorated through this species, which is endemic to Mexico.

Exploring the Agroecotettix genus has been a journey into the unexpected. What began as a few curious specimens turned into the discovery of 16 species (and counting). The biodiversity of this group, particularly in Mexico, is likely even greater than we currently realize.

The natural world never ceases to amaze. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you look a little closer using new techniques or tools—and suddenly, there’s a universe of diversity waiting to be discovered.

Research article:

Hill JG (2024) Desert diversification: revision of Agroecotettix Bruner, 1908 (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Melanoplinae) with descriptions of sixteen new species from the United States and Mexico. ZooKeys 1218: 177-230. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1218.133703