#LIBresearch: Sometimes, species look identical on the outside—but have been evolving separately for millions of years.
🪲 A new LIB-led study shows that even when males and females disperse very differently, such cryptic species can be surprisingly old.
→ doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
🪲 A new LIB-led study shows that even when males and females disperse very differently, such cryptic species can be surprisingly old.
→ doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
October 24, 2025 at 9:03 AM
#LIBresearch: Sometimes, species look identical on the outside—but have been evolving separately for millions of years.
🪲 A new LIB-led study shows that even when males and females disperse very differently, such cryptic species can be surprisingly old.
→ doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
🪲 A new LIB-led study shows that even when males and females disperse very differently, such cryptic species can be surprisingly old.
→ doi.org/10.1093/sysb...
#LIBresearch: New study by Dennis Rödder & colleagues models #ClimateChange impacts on the tiger gecko (Goniurosaurus luii). Results show a “narrow door” effect, where only species with certain traits can persist. 🦎
→ doi.org/10.3897/natu...
© Adobe Stock, Pavaphon
#Geckos #ExtinctionRisk
→ doi.org/10.3897/natu...
© Adobe Stock, Pavaphon
#Geckos #ExtinctionRisk
October 2, 2025 at 2:12 PM
#LIBresearch: New study by Dennis Rödder & colleagues models #ClimateChange impacts on the tiger gecko (Goniurosaurus luii). Results show a “narrow door” effect, where only species with certain traits can persist. 🦎
→ doi.org/10.3897/natu...
© Adobe Stock, Pavaphon
#Geckos #ExtinctionRisk
→ doi.org/10.3897/natu...
© Adobe Stock, Pavaphon
#Geckos #ExtinctionRisk
#LIBresearch - worth reading 🤩🪲🦋🦗
@cscherber.bsky.social #AmeliKirse #PhDs #insects #biodiversity #monitoring
@cscherber.bsky.social #AmeliKirse #PhDs #insects #biodiversity #monitoring
Ever dreamt of an insect trap that is non lethal? Check out this new paper by our PhD student Juan Chiavassa! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
The Field Automatic Insect Recognition‐Device—A Non‐Lethal Semi‐Automatic Malaise Trap for Insect Biodiversity Monitoring: Proof of Concept
The FAIR-Device, a novel nonlethal field tool, combines semi-automatic image capture and AI-based species identification to monitor insect biodiversity. In a 26-day proof-of-concept evaluation, it re....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 6, 2024 at 10:46 AM
#LIBresearch - worth reading 🤩🪲🦋🦗
@cscherber.bsky.social #AmeliKirse #PhDs #insects #biodiversity #monitoring
@cscherber.bsky.social #AmeliKirse #PhDs #insects #biodiversity #monitoring
🌍📱 #LIBresearch: New smartphone tech revolutionises digitisation of natural history collections! 🦋🌱
Researchers at the LIB developed a method to digitally capture insect label data with just a phone, wirelessly and for free. This accelerates the preservation of biodiversity data! 🙌
🔗 t1p.de/jjapb
Researchers at the LIB developed a method to digitally capture insect label data with just a phone, wirelessly and for free. This accelerates the preservation of biodiversity data! 🙌
🔗 t1p.de/jjapb
March 27, 2025 at 10:45 AM
🌍📱 #LIBresearch: New smartphone tech revolutionises digitisation of natural history collections! 🦋🌱
Researchers at the LIB developed a method to digitally capture insect label data with just a phone, wirelessly and for free. This accelerates the preservation of biodiversity data! 🙌
🔗 t1p.de/jjapb
Researchers at the LIB developed a method to digitally capture insect label data with just a phone, wirelessly and for free. This accelerates the preservation of biodiversity data! 🙌
🔗 t1p.de/jjapb
New findings from #LIBresearch: six brand-new species of Ecuadorian Microstigmatidae spiders have just been described! This taxonomic revision unmasks hidden diversity among Mygalomorphae and shows how much biodiversity is still waiting to be discovered.
-> doi.org/10.5852/ejt....
🌿🕷️ #Taxonomy
-> doi.org/10.5852/ejt....
🌿🕷️ #Taxonomy
September 11, 2025 at 12:22 PM
New findings from #LIBresearch: six brand-new species of Ecuadorian Microstigmatidae spiders have just been described! This taxonomic revision unmasks hidden diversity among Mygalomorphae and shows how much biodiversity is still waiting to be discovered.
-> doi.org/10.5852/ejt....
🌿🕷️ #Taxonomy
-> doi.org/10.5852/ejt....
🌿🕷️ #Taxonomy
#LIBresearch Museum collections are gems for genomic research! We refined amplification-free long-read DNA sequencing, which led to the assembly of new genomes and moved us closer to reference genomes for all eukaryotes! #Genomics #Biodiversity Read more: doi.org/10.1186/s130...
Long-read sequencing and genome assembly of natural history collection samples and challenging specimens - Genome Biology
Museum collections harbor millions of samples, largely unutilized for long-read sequencing. Here, we use ethanol-preserved samples containing kilobase-sized DNA to show that amplification-free protoco...
doi.org
February 20, 2025 at 10:24 AM
#LIBresearch Museum collections are gems for genomic research! We refined amplification-free long-read DNA sequencing, which led to the assembly of new genomes and moved us closer to reference genomes for all eukaryotes! #Genomics #Biodiversity Read more: doi.org/10.1186/s130...
#LIBresearch Spider silk is more flexible than steel and spidroins are the main components of it. They come in various forms. Using newly generated genomes an international team with LIB contribution studied the evolution of these genes. doi.org/10.1111/1755...
Three Novel Spider Genomes Unveil Spidroin Diversification and Hox Cluster Architecture: Ryuthela nishihirai (Liphistiidae), Uloborus plumipes (Uloboridae) and Cheiracanthium punctorium (Cheiracanthii...
Spiders are a hyperdiverse taxon and among the most abundant predators in nearly all terrestrial habitats. Their success is often attributed to key developments in their evolution such as silk and ve....
doi.org
October 29, 2024 at 9:54 AM
#LIBresearch Spider silk is more flexible than steel and spidroins are the main components of it. They come in various forms. Using newly generated genomes an international team with LIB contribution studied the evolution of these genes. doi.org/10.1111/1755...
#LIBresearch: A new study using anatomical, developmental & phylogenetic evidence challenges classic views of insect head segments and neural organization.
→ doi.org/10.1016/j.as...
© Boudinot 2025 (CC BY 4.0)
#InsectEvolution #InsectHead #Morphology
→ doi.org/10.1016/j.as...
© Boudinot 2025 (CC BY 4.0)
#InsectEvolution #InsectHead #Morphology
November 6, 2025 at 2:02 PM
#LIBresearch: A new study using anatomical, developmental & phylogenetic evidence challenges classic views of insect head segments and neural organization.
→ doi.org/10.1016/j.as...
© Boudinot 2025 (CC BY 4.0)
#InsectEvolution #InsectHead #Morphology
→ doi.org/10.1016/j.as...
© Boudinot 2025 (CC BY 4.0)
#InsectEvolution #InsectHead #Morphology
#LIBresearch The first fossil pseudoscorpion species has been found in Burmese amber! The authors provide detailed measurements, photographs and 3D-models from synchrotron scanning.
#fossils #pseudoscorpion @unihh @wamuseum
doi.org/10.7717/peer...
#fossils #pseudoscorpion @unihh @wamuseum
doi.org/10.7717/peer...
First fossil species of family Hyidae (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) confirms 99 million years of ecological stasis in a Gondwanan lineage
Burmese amber preserves a diverse assemblage of Cretaceous arachnids, and among pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones), ten species in five families have already been named. Here, we describe a...
doi.org
July 12, 2024 at 12:43 PM
#LIBresearch The first fossil pseudoscorpion species has been found in Burmese amber! The authors provide detailed measurements, photographs and 3D-models from synchrotron scanning.
#fossils #pseudoscorpion @unihh @wamuseum
doi.org/10.7717/peer...
#fossils #pseudoscorpion @unihh @wamuseum
doi.org/10.7717/peer...
#LIBresearch @droedder.bsky.social Myanmar's reptiles need protection! The Southeast Asian country is a biodiversity hotspot with rare reptiles found nowhere else. Protected areas and zoos can help to conserve the star tortoise and other reptiles. Find out more here: t1p.de/r2psp
Gaps in the Protection of the Reptiles of Myanmar—Threat Status, Endemism, Protected Area Coverage, and One Plan Approach Conservation
Upper left: Cyrtodactylus myintkyawthurai, upper right: Hemiphyllodactylus montawaensis, and bottom left: Gyiophis salweenensis, just recently described, microendemic taxa not yet covered by any prot...
t1p.de
May 6, 2025 at 9:31 AM
#LIBresearch @droedder.bsky.social Myanmar's reptiles need protection! The Southeast Asian country is a biodiversity hotspot with rare reptiles found nowhere else. Protected areas and zoos can help to conserve the star tortoise and other reptiles. Find out more here: t1p.de/r2psp
One more finding about spiders from #LIBresearch
Spiders defy the “bigger brain” rule: sociality leaves total size unchanged, but boosts certain regions – mushroom bodies in huntsman, visual neuropils in crab spiders. Ecology matters as much as social life.
🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Spiders defy the “bigger brain” rule: sociality leaves total size unchanged, but boosts certain regions – mushroom bodies in huntsman, visual neuropils in crab spiders. Ecology matters as much as social life.
🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
September 12, 2025 at 7:38 AM
One more finding about spiders from #LIBresearch
Spiders defy the “bigger brain” rule: sociality leaves total size unchanged, but boosts certain regions – mushroom bodies in huntsman, visual neuropils in crab spiders. Ecology matters as much as social life.
🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Spiders defy the “bigger brain” rule: sociality leaves total size unchanged, but boosts certain regions – mushroom bodies in huntsman, visual neuropils in crab spiders. Ecology matters as much as social life.
🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#LIBresearch with @mstange.bsky.social, @gymnotus.bsky.social et al. lays foundation for studies on ecology & conservation of tropical aquatic biodiversity: 42 ecological traits for over 6,300 species of Neotropical freshwater fishes in one matrix!
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s415... #Biodiversity
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s415... #Biodiversity
An ecological trait matrix of Neotropical freshwater fishes - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - An ecological trait matrix of Neotropical freshwater fishes
doi.org
July 30, 2025 at 9:05 AM
#LIBresearch with @mstange.bsky.social, @gymnotus.bsky.social et al. lays foundation for studies on ecology & conservation of tropical aquatic biodiversity: 42 ecological traits for over 6,300 species of Neotropical freshwater fishes in one matrix!
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s415... #Biodiversity
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s415... #Biodiversity
#LIBresearch: Nature’s underwater architects - amazing #caddisflies and multiple origin of portable case making 👉 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
#1KITE #insects #evolution #phylogenomics #Biodiversity
#1KITE #insects #evolution #phylogenomics #Biodiversity
Phylogenomics recovers multiple origins of portable case making in caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera), nature’s underwater architects | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Caddisflies (Trichoptera) are among the most diverse groups of freshwater animals
with more than 16 000 described species. They play a fundamental role in freshwater
ecology and environmental engineer...
doi.org
July 14, 2024 at 10:57 AM
#LIBresearch: Nature’s underwater architects - amazing #caddisflies and multiple origin of portable case making 👉 doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
#1KITE #insects #evolution #phylogenomics #Biodiversity
#1KITE #insects #evolution #phylogenomics #Biodiversity
#LIBresearch: Study by @mherberstein.bsky.social & colleagues shows damselflies with gut protists survive higher temps, revealing hidden partnerships that boost resilience in a warming world.
→ doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251061
Toby Hudson (CC BY-SA 3.0)
#Biodiversity #ClimateChange #Symbiosis
→ doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251061
Toby Hudson (CC BY-SA 3.0)
#Biodiversity #ClimateChange #Symbiosis
File:Sydney dragonfly Victoria Park pond 29.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
commons.wikimedia.org
September 18, 2025 at 10:41 AM
#LIBresearch: Study by @mherberstein.bsky.social & colleagues shows damselflies with gut protists survive higher temps, revealing hidden partnerships that boost resilience in a warming world.
→ doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251061
Toby Hudson (CC BY-SA 3.0)
#Biodiversity #ClimateChange #Symbiosis
→ doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251061
Toby Hudson (CC BY-SA 3.0)
#Biodiversity #ClimateChange #Symbiosis
#libresearch Scientists focussed on trophic change and community decline in acrobat ants after rainforest conversion to cash crops 🐜
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
Trophic Change and Community Decline in Acrobat Ants After Rainforest Conversion to Cash Crops
Acrobat Ants (Crematogaster spp.) are numerically and ecologically dominant ants in tropical canopies. Rainforest transformation to rubber and monoculture plantations affects their trophic ecology, w...
dx.doi.org
December 31, 2024 at 2:55 PM
#libresearch Scientists focussed on trophic change and community decline in acrobat ants after rainforest conversion to cash crops 🐜
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
#LIBresearch What if you could be a really good flyer just because you have a balanced meal every evening? That’s exactly the case with bumblebees! 🐝 You can find out how their diet is connected to their flying ability here: doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
You are what you eat – The influence of polyphagic and monophagic diet on the flight performance of bees
This study investigates the impact of nutritional conditions on the movement performance of bumblebees. Monophagously fed bees exhibited reduced flight performance compared to polyphagously fed bees,...
doi.org
September 12, 2024 at 3:06 PM
#LIBresearch What if you could be a really good flyer just because you have a balanced meal every evening? That’s exactly the case with bumblebees! 🐝 You can find out how their diet is connected to their flying ability here: doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
#LIBresearch: Great to see this study revealing extreme female philopatry and deep cryptic diversity in Pachypus beetles — a fascinating case of ancient speciation! 🪲
Proud to see LIB researchers leading this work.
Proud to see LIB researchers leading this work.
Extreme female philopatry in Pachypus beetles reveals 14 cryptic species!
🧬 Our study shows ancient speciation (5.3mya) despite limited dispersal, linked to the Messinian salinity crisis. Integrative taxonomy uncovers hidden diversity. #Taxonomy #Genetics url: academic.oup.com/sysbio/artic...
🧬 Our study shows ancient speciation (5.3mya) despite limited dispersal, linked to the Messinian salinity crisis. Integrative taxonomy uncovers hidden diversity. #Taxonomy #Genetics url: academic.oup.com/sysbio/artic...
Cryptic species can be phylogenetically old despite strong sex-biased dispersal
Abstract. The impact of strongly differentiated populations on species delimitation due to limited or sex-biased dispersal remains challenging and under-ex
academic.oup.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:59 AM
#LIBresearch: Great to see this study revealing extreme female philopatry and deep cryptic diversity in Pachypus beetles — a fascinating case of ancient speciation! 🪲
Proud to see LIB researchers leading this work.
Proud to see LIB researchers leading this work.
@leibnizlib.bsky.social #LIBresearch: Protecting Vietnam’s Birds! New study assesses the threat status and implementation of #IUCN ´s One Plan Approach #conservation. Read the open-access full text here: doi.org/10.3897/natu...
October 30, 2025 at 5:46 PM
@leibnizlib.bsky.social #LIBresearch: Protecting Vietnam’s Birds! New study assesses the threat status and implementation of #IUCN ´s One Plan Approach #conservation. Read the open-access full text here: doi.org/10.3897/natu...
Great to see this important Science study on the genomic evolution of Anopheles funestus 🦟 – with @mariloumercedes.bsky.social, now at LIB, as first author.
A milestone in understanding malaria vectors and their rapid adaptation.
#LIBresearch #malaria
A milestone in understanding malaria vectors and their rapid adaptation.
#LIBresearch #malaria
One of the most dangerous malaria-carrying mosquitoes is rapidly evolving in response to control efforts, genetics has revealed.
Findings could inform smarter tools to monitor for and fight malaria. 🦟
Read more here ⤵️
http://bit.ly/4pwQKDv
Findings could inform smarter tools to monitor for and fight malaria. 🦟
Read more here ⤵️
http://bit.ly/4pwQKDv
Genomic evolution of major malaria-transmitting mosquito species uncovered
Sequencing hundreds of Anopheles funestus mosquitoes provides new insights into the evolutionary patterns of this important human malaria-transmitting species.
bit.ly
September 24, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Great to see this important Science study on the genomic evolution of Anopheles funestus 🦟 – with @mariloumercedes.bsky.social, now at LIB, as first author.
A milestone in understanding malaria vectors and their rapid adaptation.
#LIBresearch #malaria
A milestone in understanding malaria vectors and their rapid adaptation.
#LIBresearch #malaria
#LIBresearch: A new study introduces the Global Repository of Insect Traits (GRIT) — a worldwide initiative integrating insect trait data to make insects more understandable and comparable across ecosystems. → doi.org/10.1111/icad.70035
@cscherber.bsky.social
@cscherber.bsky.social
Toward a global repository of insect traits (GRIT)
Biodiversity loss is accelerating, yet insect conservation is hindered by the absence of a centralised, comprehensive trait database. We propose the GRIT, a FAIR, open-access platform uniting datase...
doi.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:49 PM
#LIBresearch: A new study introduces the Global Repository of Insect Traits (GRIT) — a worldwide initiative integrating insect trait data to make insects more understandable and comparable across ecosystems. → doi.org/10.1111/icad.70035
@cscherber.bsky.social
@cscherber.bsky.social
#LIBresearch Check out this new paper on the #CNS in Ant-Mimicking Spiders 🕷️with @leibnizlib.bsky.social senior author #MarieHerberstein
👉 doi.org/10.1002/cne....
#selection #tradeoff #mimicry #neurology
👉 doi.org/10.1002/cne....
#selection #tradeoff #mimicry #neurology
Small Brains: Body Shape Constrains Tissue Allocation to the Central Nervous System in Ant‐Mimicking Spiders
Imperfect mimicry may be due to trade-offs between accuracy and vital biological function. Using microCT to compare the CNS of ant-mimicking jumping spiders (A), with a non-mimic (B), we found that m...
doi.org
November 27, 2024 at 5:46 PM
#LIBresearch Check out this new paper on the #CNS in Ant-Mimicking Spiders 🕷️with @leibnizlib.bsky.social senior author #MarieHerberstein
👉 doi.org/10.1002/cne....
#selection #tradeoff #mimicry #neurology
👉 doi.org/10.1002/cne....
#selection #tradeoff #mimicry #neurology
#LIBresearch analysed top behavioural & ecology studies (1981–2020) to see how trait-based approaches capture intra- & interspecific variation 🌍🦉📊. The authors demand: Broader comparative studies needed!
👉 doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araf073
#BehaviouralEcology #EcoResearch #TraitBased #Biodiversity
👉 doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araf073
#BehaviouralEcology #EcoResearch #TraitBased #Biodiversity
August 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
#LIBresearch analysed top behavioural & ecology studies (1981–2020) to see how trait-based approaches capture intra- & interspecific variation 🌍🦉📊. The authors demand: Broader comparative studies needed!
👉 doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araf073
#BehaviouralEcology #EcoResearch #TraitBased #Biodiversity
👉 doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araf073
#BehaviouralEcology #EcoResearch #TraitBased #Biodiversity
#LIBresearch: Great to see this call to rethink the value of short-read sequencing for biodiversity research — still so much potential to explore!
Proud to see LIB researchers among the co-authors. 🌿🧬
@lpodsiadlowski.bsky.social
Proud to see LIB researchers among the co-authors. 🌿🧬
@lpodsiadlowski.bsky.social
"The untapped potential of short-read sequencing in biodiversity research"
by Christoph Bleidorn (@cblei.bsky.social) et al
"Genomic resources have the potential to transform our understanding of the vast, still largely unknown diversity of species..."
More at:
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
by Christoph Bleidorn (@cblei.bsky.social) et al
"Genomic resources have the potential to transform our understanding of the vast, still largely unknown diversity of species..."
More at:
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
October 13, 2025 at 2:54 PM
#LIBresearch: Great to see this call to rethink the value of short-read sequencing for biodiversity research — still so much potential to explore!
Proud to see LIB researchers among the co-authors. 🌿🧬
@lpodsiadlowski.bsky.social
Proud to see LIB researchers among the co-authors. 🌿🧬
@lpodsiadlowski.bsky.social
#LIBresearch finds African cichlids often lack fixed sex chromosomes—many use homomorphic, sometimes polygenic systems. Linkage group 3 (LG3), a chromosome, often carries sex-linked genes, but new sex-linked regions also arise across lineages.
👉 doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
#evolution #genetics
👉 doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
#evolution #genetics
August 11, 2025 at 1:36 PM
#LIBresearch finds African cichlids often lack fixed sex chromosomes—many use homomorphic, sometimes polygenic systems. Linkage group 3 (LG3), a chromosome, often carries sex-linked genes, but new sex-linked regions also arise across lineages.
👉 doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
#evolution #genetics
👉 doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
#evolution #genetics
#LIBresearch Historical DNA extracted from the skins of an endemic #finch species from #Afghanistan! This allowed the reconstruction of the phylogeny of the genus Pyrgilauda and shows the high relevance of Museum collections. Read more➡️ doi.org/10.1016/j.ym...
#museomics #birds
#museomics #birds
Redirecting
doi.org
August 23, 2024 at 6:29 AM
#LIBresearch Historical DNA extracted from the skins of an endemic #finch species from #Afghanistan! This allowed the reconstruction of the phylogeny of the genus Pyrgilauda and shows the high relevance of Museum collections. Read more➡️ doi.org/10.1016/j.ym...
#museomics #birds
#museomics #birds