Opencast mining causes severe environmental impacts by removing the vegetation cover and depleting the fauna. Reforestation methods using native species and diverse pre-and post-disturbance approaches aim to recover the original richness and diversity of species found before the impact. Bioindicators are powerful tools to evaluate the restoration of the original environmental conditions in disturbed areas. We used species richness, endemism and diversity measurements of Collembola to compare successional stages in reforested sites of different ages compared with a control undisturbed area. Richness and abundance of Collembola were subjected to correlation analysis with age of plots and vegetational variables. Areas that were reforested for up to 16 years supported a much lower Collembola species richness than undisturbed areas. Both the age of reforestation plots and vegetation variables (number of trees, diameter of crowns, depth of leaf litter and tree species richness) were positively and significantly correlated to collembolan abundance and richness. The results showed that the diversity of the 16-year-old plot was significantly higher than that of younger areas, but significantly less diverse than that of the control area. Endemic species were more sensitive to disturbance than non-endemics. Thus, species richness and diversity of soil Collembola can be only partially restored with appropriate reforestation methods, and although it takes many years, to some extent even endemic species can be gradually restored. Nevertheless, the maintenance of undisturbed diversity reservoirs linked by ecological corridors to reforested plots is imperative, as only undisturbed areas can support most of the endemic species able to re-colonize reforested sites.

The Brazilian semiarid region has a clear distinction between the dry season, which can last up to nine months, and the rainy season. Caves are connected to different extents to surface ecosystems, although they are idealized as stable environments due to their isolation. Furthermore, little is known about the effects of wet and dry seasonal variations on underground biological assemblages. Invertebrate communities were analyzed during dry and rainy seasons in 24 caves in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. We also investigated whether the environmental stability of caves attenuates the effects of seasonality in this particular region. Morphospecies richness and abundance and the diversity indexes of caves were significantly higher during the rainy season. In addition, more stable caves showed less variation in the community composition between seasons. Our data point to a clear influence of the surface ecosystems on the caves in Caatinga. However, the intensity of this influence apparently depends on the environmental stability of the cave, and the most stable caves present smaller changes in the structure of their invertebrate communities during different seasons.

Seirinae is one of the most diverse subfamilies of Collembola. To date no detailed phylogeny of Seirinae has been proposed, which leads to difficulties in the understanding of evolutionary patterns regarding this taxon. The main aim of this study is to clarify the phylogenetic relationships within the Neotropical Seirinae, by generating and analysing the mitochondrial genomes of 26 terminal taxa of Entomobryidae, and one species of Paronellidae. Specifically, we first generated Illumina HiSeq 2000 shotgun sequence data from each species, then reconstructed the mitochondrial genome of each species using two methods: MitoZ and MIRA/MITOBim. Using these data, we were able to generate a well-supported phylogeny that combined all the above species as well as three publicly available mitogenomes from other species.Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods were applied using all 13 protein coding genes. In this way, monophyly for the internal groups of Seirinae was obtained based on molecular evidence for the first time, as was the potential validity of three main internal taxa of the subfamily. We furthermore validated that Tyrannoseira is a distinct lineage and propose the elevation of Lepidocyrtinus to genus. Lastly, we anticipate that these newly available mitogenomes will serve as a useful dataset for future studies on the evolution of the Collembola and Hexapoda.

The status of Heteromurini Absolon & Ksenemann is analyzed and a new diagnosis is proposed to the tribe. New chaetotaxic characteres were added to distinguish Dicranocentrus Schött and Pseudodicranocentrus Mari Mutt. Alloscopus Börner, Heteromurtrella Mari Mutt and Verhoeffiella Absolon, originally proposed as subgenera of Heteromurus Wankel, are reviewed and a new diagnosis and generic status are proposed. The presence of the postantennal organ becomes the main characteristic to distinguish Alloscopus (present) and Heteromurtrella (absent). Alloscopus yosiius Mari Mutt, anteriorly synonymized with Alloscopus tenuicornis Börner, is revalidated. The absence of S0 macrochaeta on head of Heteromurus is reported now as a characteristic also shared with Heteromurtrella. Heteromurtrella zairensis Tshelnokov comb. nov. is transferred from Heteromurus by the presence of macrochaetae on abdomen I. Heteromurtrella anae sp. nov. from Brazilian Amazon is described and illustrated, including detailed dorsal chaetotaxy. This is the first record of Heteromurtrella in Brazil. Heteromurus now has 17, Alloscopus 10 and Heteromurtrella 20 valid species worldwide. An identification key and diagnosis for the six genera of Heteromurini and species of Alloscopus and Heteromurtrella are provided.

Mitogenomes have been widely used as markers to reconstruct phylogenies of various groups of arthropods, but specifically for Collembola they have not been useful to resolve the relationships between some families, such as Paronellidae and Entomobryidae. Here, we present a phylogenetic study integrating previously published data and 20 new mitogenomes, totalling 54 species of Entomobryoidea and two external groups. Eight of the nine subfamilies were included, with species from the most representative genera. The new mitogenomes were sequenced, assembled and annotated, resulting in sequences with a length of approximately 14,000 bp. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted based on the 13 protein‐ and 2 rRNAs‐encoding genes of the 56 mitogenomes. Both maximum likelihood (with six different datasets/models) and Bayesian inference analyses were performed. Orchesellidae, Seirinae and Lepidocyrtinae were reaffirmed as monophyletic groups, while the phylogenetic relationships between Paronellidae and Entomobryidae remain confused. A complete resolution of the Entomobryoidea phylogeny will require a comprehensive genomic sampling of the most informative nuclear and mitochondrial markers to finally overcome traditional systematic problems.

The current total number of species found in Brazil is 270, distributed in 19 families and 92 genera, an increase of 71 species and 12 genera in the last 6 years. The greatest known diversity is found in Rio de Janeiro (132 species), Amazonas (56), Espírito Santo (30) and São Paulo (28), while there are no record to seven Brazilian states (Acre, Alagoas, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Rio Grande do Norte, Roraima and Tocantins). Distribution of the records clearly defines the areas that urge investments in scientific research and taxonomic survey and reflects the concentration of information in those centers that host the few specialists in Collembola, currently working in Brazil.

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We herein present the first reliable record of Lepidosira from Neotropical Region. Lepidosira neotropicalis sp. n. from Brazil is described and illustrated in detail, including its complete mitochondrial genome. We perform a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis to place the new species within the Entomobryidae, and at the same time to test previous contrasting hypotheses on Lepidosira position within the Entomobryinae versus Seirinae for the first time. Phylogenetic analyses were based on one mitochondrial and two nuclear genes, Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I, 18S ribosomal RNA and 28S ribosomal RNA, respectively. Lepidosira neotropicalis sp. n. resembles L. sundana Yoshii and Suhardjono and L. nigropunctata (Nguyen) in dorsal chaetotaxy of abdominal segments I and II, but differs from all other species by the combination of head (dorsally and ventrally) and dorsal trunk chaetotaxy, plus empodial complex morphology. Our phylogenetic analyses support the placement of Lepidosira within Entomobryinae, as the sister group of Lepidocyrtoides. Overall, our revision enables a more objective diagnosis to Lepidosira and suggests that the genus is in need of a full revision due to its variable morphology, and lack of data needed to evaluate its monophyly. Finally, we provide an identification key for Neotropical genera of Entomobryinae.