No abstract

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – http://www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

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Tsetse flies are vectors of human and animal trypanosomoses in sub-Saharan Africa and are the target of the Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC). Glossina palpalis gambiensis (Diptera: Glossinidae) is a riverine species that is still present as an isolated metapopulation in the Niayes area of Senegal. It is targeted by a national eradication campaign combining a population reduction phase based on insecticide-treated targets (ITTs) and cattle and an eradication phase based on the sterile insect technique. In this study, we used species distribution models to optimize control operations. We compared the probability of the presence of G. p. gambiensis and habitat suitability using a regularized logistic regression and Maxent, respectively. Both models performed well, with an area under the curve of 0.89 and 0.92, respectively. Only the Maxent model predicted an expert-based classification of landscapes correctly. Maxent predictions were therefore used throughout the eradication campaign in the Niayes to make control operations more efficient in terms of deployment of ITTs, release density of sterile males, and location of monitoring traps used to assess program progress. We discuss how the models' results informed about the particular ecology of tsetse in the target area. Maxent predictions allowed optimizing efficiency and cost within our project, and might be useful for other tsetse control campaigns in the framework of the PATTEC and, more generally, other vector or insect pest control programs.area-wide integrated pest management | genetic control | aerial release | chilled adult technique

No abstract

Disruptive selection mediated by predation on aquatic immature stages has been proposed as a major force driving ecological divergence and fostering speciation between the M and S molecular forms of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. In the dry savannahs of West Africa where both molecular forms co-occur, the S form thrives in temporary pools filled with rainwater, whereas the M form preferentially breeds in permanent freshwater habitats where predator pressure is higher. Here, we explored the proximal mechanisms by which predation may contribute to habitat segregation between molecular forms using progeny of female mosquitoes captured in Burkina Faso. We show that the S form suffers higher predation rates than the M form when simultaneously exposed to the widespread predator, Anisops jaczewskii in an experimental arena. Furthermore, behavioral plasticity induced by exposure to the predator was observed in the M form, but not in the S form, and may partially explain its habitat use and ecological divergence from the S form. We discuss the role of adaptive phenotypic plasticity in allowing successful colonization of a new ecological niche by the M form and highlight further research areas that need to be addressed for a better understanding of the ultimate mechanisms underlying ecological speciation in this pest of major medical importance.

Mosquito-borne diseases represent a major threat to humankind. Recently, the incidence of malaria has stopped decreasing while that of dengue is increasing exponentially. Alternative mosquito-control methods are urgently needed. The sterile insect technique (SIT) has seen significant developments recently and may play an important role. However, testing and implementing SIT for vector control is challenging, and a phased conditional approach (PCA) is recommended, that is, advancement to the next phase depends on completion of activities in the previous one. We herewith present a PCA to test the SIT against mosquitoes within an area-wide-integrated pest-management programme, taking into account the experience gained with plant and livestock pests and the recent developments of the technique against mosquitoes.The Need for a PCA to Manage Mosquito Populations Using SIT According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 17% of infectious diseases are vectorborne, leading to more than 700 000 deaths annually [1]. Mosquitoes account for a large part of these diseases of which malaria, dengue, and Zika are the most devastating. After a period of success in global malaria control in the past decades, no significant progress was made in the period 2015-2017, with an estimated 219 million cases in 2017, due to various threats including the spread of insecticide resistance of the mosquitoes hampering current control strategies [1]. In addition, dengue incidence has increased dramatically, with yearly new infections estimated at 390 million. Zika epidemics in 2015-2016 had dramatic effects in Latin America, and this disease still poses a major threat to human health [2]. Increased concerns about the impact of insecticides on living organisms and ecosystems is driving a growing number of countries to reduce the number of approved active chemicals and overall broad-spectrum insecticide outdoor applications. The resistance of mosquitoes to pyrethroids, the most commonly used class of insecticides, continues to increase. The WHO expresses the urgent need for alternative mosquito-control methods that should be added to existing tools, particularly against Aedes spp. [3].Many alternative methods are being tested [4][5][6]. Among those methods, the sterile insect technique (SIT) (see Glossary) is an environment-friendly control method which has been used with great success against other insect pests; for example, the New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, has been eradicated from Northern and Central America [7]; the tsetse fly Glossina austeni from Unguja Island, Zanzibar since 1997 [8]; the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, from Mexico and the programme is still ongoing to contain its reinvasion from Guatemala [9]; and the codling moth, Cydia pomonella, has been suppressed using SIT in British Columbia, Canada, for more than 25 years [10]. The development of SIT against mosquitoes has progressed rapidly in recent years with significant advances made with the development of genetic sexing strains [11-13], mass-re...