Biodiversity & Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University
New paper out on Prenolepis genus group in the Indo-Pacific published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. The study is a collaboration between many of the usual Pacific ants suspects, and was led by our longtime collaborator Milan Janda and his (now former) student Pavel Matos-Maravi. They deftly used complex set of analyses to test a series interesting biogeographic hypotheses. Nice work Pavel and Milan!
A new paper on global macro-invasion dynamics led by Hanno Seebens, Franz Essl, and the GLONAF group has just come out in PNAS. We were happy to contribute our GABI data on alien ant emergence and spread over time. Main punch line is that emergence of new invaders comes from expansion of trade networks and environmental change into new source pools and this keeps the rate of new emergence high. Check it out!
At every OKEON site there is a small green box attached to a tree. These boxes are acoustic monitors, and they are recording natural sounds almost constantly. As part of the OKEON project, we use these natural sound recordings, or “soundscapes”, as a way of monitoring biodiversity.
Sam Ross sets up an acoustic monitoring device at the OIST field site.
We collect more than 1 terabyte of audio data every week. If you wanted to listen to all of the recordings we’ve made so far, it would take you about 8 years… if you listened all day and never went to sleep. To sort through all this audio data, we use two approaches. First, we break the sounds up into sounds at different frequencies (i.e., pitch). This lets us get a big picture view of when and where animals are active on Okinawa. Second, we use machine learning to train our computers to detect species in which we are interested. This helps us understand more about which particular species are in each area of the island, and how their behavior varies across the year.
In many parts of Okinawa, humans and nature live close together. Managing this interaction is important for preserving wild populations of plants and animals.
Ultimately, our project aims to understand the ways that human activity affects Okinawa’s wildlife, and how we can better protect these species in the future. For more information (including videos), please see the OIST press release. A link to the study can be found here.
We have a new paper out today in ZooKeys revising the doryline genus Zasphinctus in the Afrotropical region. Led by Paco Hita Garcia, we do a deep dive into using microCT and 3D data for ant taxonomy. In previous recent papers, we provided 3D models and virtual type specimens to support taxonomic work. Here we go further and exploit more fully the power of micro-CT to discover and examine characters useful for systematics and the 3D representation of virtual specimens.
The three species are named after three important figures in biodiversity conservation. We named one after former US President Barack Obama, for his role in protecting natural areas. The species was found within a few kilometers of Obama’s father’s village in Kenya. The second species was named after E.O. Wilson, discovered from Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, where he and his foundation have done a lot of work over recent years. The third species is named after Nigerian environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.
Interact with the 3D models on Sketchfab.
OIST media release.
A new paper from the lab was published today in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society focusing on aberrant spinescent phenotypes in Pheidole (including the famous dragon ants). We look at spinescence from a number of angles including phylogenetic, ecological, geographic, and 3D morphology. This study sheds light on the complexity of the issue of spine phenotype evolution. There are a number of open questions and some big mysteries. For starters, why the heck has spinescence evolved so many times in the Indo-Pacific, but no spiny Pheidole in New World? Check out the paper here!
