BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

host_distribution, Feather mites (Astigmata: Analgoidea and Pterolichoidea) are among the most abundant and commonly occurring bird ectosymbionts. Basic questions on the ecology and evolution of feather mites remain unanswered because feather mite species identification is often only possible for adult males, and it is laborious even for specialized taxonomists, thus precluding large-scale identifications. Here, we tested DNA barcoding as a useful molecular tool to identify feather mites from passerine birds. Three hundred and sixty-one specimens of 72 species of feather mites from 68 species of European passerine birds from Russia and Spain were barcoded. The accuracy of barcoding and minibarcoding was tested. Moreover, threshold choice (a controversial issue in barcoding studies) was also explored in a new way, by calculating through simulations the effect of sampling effort (in species number and species composition) on threshold calculations. We found one 200-bp minibarcode region that showed the same accuracy as the full-length barcode (602 bp) and was surrounded by conserved regions potentially useful for group-specific degenerate primers. Species identification accuracy was perfect (100%) but decreased when singletons or species of the Proctophyllodes pinnatus group were included. In fact, barcoding confirmed previous taxonomic issues within the P. pinnatus group. Following an integrative taxonomy approach, we compared our barcode study with previous taxonomic knowledge on feather mites, discovering three new putative cryptic species and validating three previous morphologically different (but still undescribed) new species., Peer reviewed

Genome-wide cytosine methylation estimates of 200 plants of Helleborus foetidus obtained by HPLC and Methylation Scoring of MSAP data Genome-wide cytosine methylation estimates in young leaves of 200 plants of Helleborus foetidus obtained using HPLC and the percentage of cytosine methylation in CCGG sites obtained by Methylation Scoring of MSAP data. Methylation scoring (MS50) was calculated as the percentage of MSAP loci scored as methylated (condition II + III). HPLC_MS_data_doi_10.5061_dryad.04d0d.txt, Methylation of DNA cytosines affects whether transposons are silenced and genes are expressed, and is a major epigenetic mechanism whereby plants respond to environmental change. Analyses of methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MS-AFLP or MSAP) have been often used to assess methyl-cytosine changes in response to stress treatments and, more recently, in ecological studies of wild plant populations. MSAP technique does not require a sequenced reference genome and provides many anonymous loci randomly distributed over the genome for which the methylation status can be ascertained. Scoring of MSAP data, however, is not straightforward, and efforts are still required to standardize this step to make use of the potential to distinguish between methylation at different nucleotide contexts. Furthermore, it is not known how accurately MSAP infers genome-wide cytosine methylation levels in plants. Here, we analyse the relationship between MSAP results and the percentage of global cytosine methylation in genomic DNA obtained by HPLC analysis. A screening of literature revealed that methylation of cytosines at cleavage sites assayed by MSAP was greater than genome-wide estimates obtained by HPLC, and percentages of methylation at different nucleotide contexts varied within and across species. Concurrent HPLC and MSAP analyses of DNA from 200 individuals of the perennial herb Helleborus foetidus confirmed that methyl-cytosine was more frequent in CCGG contexts than in the genome as a whole. In this species, global methylation was unrelated to methylation at the inner CG site. We suggest that global HPLC and context-specific MSAP methylation estimates provide complementary information whose combination can improve our current understanding of methylation-based epigenetic processes in nonmodel plants., Peer reviewed

Content and values displayed: The data is displayed in an excel file with spreadsheets representing each of the following spatial scales: -“Fjord-scale”: The data set includes information on measurements representing vertical profiles at sites distributed along a horizontal fjord gradient: Date, site (station), water depth, temperature, pH, Ωarag, oxygen concentration (O2) and fluorescence -“Small-scale/kelp-scale”: The data set includes information from 3 consecutive series of parallel deployments over 2-3 days in shallow subtidal kelp habitats (kelp) and neighboring habitats colonized by benthic microalgae and scattered filamentous algae (bare) in Kobbefjord. We provide information on date and time, deployment number (#1-3), and each of the following variables measured ca 50 cm above the seafloor in the two types of habitat (kelp and bare): temperature, pH, salinity, water depth, O2, PAR and Ωarag. In addition, we provide information on pH-variability within 1m3 of kelp forest measured by an array of 16 pH-sensors placed in 4 layers of the kelp forest: 10 cm above the seafloor, 20 cm above the seafloor, in the canopy and in the water column just above the canopy. -“Micro-scale”: The data set includes information on pH at a millimeter scale measured through the boundary layer of 6 different species of macrophytes (Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus vesiculosus, Saccharina longicruris, Agarum clathratum, Ulva lactuca, Zostera marina) by microelectrode in a laboratory setup. For each point we provide the average and standard deviation (SD) of 3 replicate measurements of each species. -“Tidal pools”: The date set represents parallel diurnal measurements in a vegetated tidal pool and the adjacent vegetated shore in the inner part of Kobbefjord. For each site and sampling time we provide data on O2, salinity, temperature, pH, total alkalinity (AT), total inorganic carbon (CT), partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2)and Ωarag in the water., Access and reuse: The database is subject to a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike International licence 4.0. Contact person for enquiries: Dorte Krause-Jensen, dkj@bios.au.dk., This dataset represents spatiotemporal variability in coastal pH-variability measured in a nested scale in the sub-Arctic Kobbefjord (64⁰10’ N, 51⁰33’ W) which makes part of the extensive Godthåbsfjordsystem near Nuuk, SW Greenland. A sensor array logging pH, oxygen, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), temperature and salinity was applied on spatial scales ranging from km-scale across the horizontal extension of the fjord, over 100 m-scale vertically in the fjord, 10-100 m scale between subtidal habitats with and without kelp forests and between vegetated tidal pools and adjacent vegetated shores, to cm-m scale within kelp forests and pH was also measured at mm-scale across boundary layers of macrophyte tissue. In addition, we assessed the temporal variability in pH on diurnal and seasonal scales. Based on pH-measurements combined with relationships between salinity, total alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon we also estimated variability of the carbonate saturation state for aragonite Ωarag. Fjord-scale data sets were collected during three field campaigns (19 Apr, 18 Jul, 3 Sep 2013), shallow subtidal habitats and microscale data sets represent an intensive campaign (27 August–6 September 2013) and intertidal data were collected ultimo Aug 2014. Methods are described in detail in Krause-Jensen et al. (2015) which also contains a thorough presentation, analysis and discussion of the results., The study was funded by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency 20 within the Danish Cooperation for Environment in the Arctic (DANCEA). L. Meire was funded by the Research foundation Flanders (FWO aspirant grant) and by Defrost under the Nordic Centers of Excellence (NCoE) program. O. Geertz-Hansen, Greenland Climate Research Centre,/ Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, is thanked for help with field work. The study is also a contribution to the Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring program (www.G-E-M.dk) 25 and the Arctic Science Partnership (ASP) asp-net.org., Sí