Data Quality Concepts and Techniques Applied to Taxonomic Databases by Eduardo Couto Dalcin The thesis investigates the application of concepts and techniques of data quality in taxonomic databases to enhance the quality of information services and systems in taxonomy. Taxonomic data are arranged and introduced in Taxonomic Data Domains in order to establish a standard and a working framework t...

In the past decade, Houston, Texas has been virtually overrun by an unidentified ant species, the sudden appearance and enormous population sizes and densities of which have received national media attention. The Rasberry Crazy Ant, as it has become known due to its uncertain species status, has since spread to neighboring states and is still a major concern to pest control officials. Previous ...

Although environmental filtering has been observed to influence the biodiversity patterns of marine bacterial communities, it was restricted to the regional scale and to the species level, leaving the main drivers unknown at large biogeographic scales and higher taxonomic levels. Bacterial communities with different species compositions may nevertheless share phylogenetic lineages, and phylogen...

the genus astragalus l. (fabaceae) is reviewed from both phyloenetic and taxonomic points of view. as the largest genus of flowering plants it has attracted many researchers, but much work remains to be done. a short taxonomic history with special focus on infrageneric classification of the genus, a list of phylogenetic studies including the applied markers and sampling strategies as well a...

The Iberá Marshlands RAMSAR reserve, in the northeast of Argentina, is one of the largest and most important wetlands of America. In this study we assess orb-weaving spider (Araneae: Orbiculariae) diversity in this reserve, analyzing different facets of local diversity (species richness, diversity, evenness and taxonomic distinctness), and the contribution of species differentiation (beta diver...

Background. Eucryptodiran turtles from the Late Jurassic (mainly Kimmeridgian) deposits of the Jura Mountains (Switzerland and France) are among the earliest named species traditionally referred to the Plesiochelyidae, Thalassemydidae, and Eurysternidae. As such, they are a reference for the study of Late Jurassic eucryptodires at the European scale. Fifteen species and four genera have been ty...

Methane is formed by methanogenic archaea in the rumen as one of the end products of feed fermentation in the ruminant digestive tract. To develop strategies to mitigate anthropogenic methane emissions due to ruminant farming, and to understand rumen microbial differences in animal feed conversion efficiency, it is essential that methanogens can be identified and taxonomically classified with h...

The invasion of exotic earthworms into northern temperate and boreal forests previously devoid of earthworms is an important driver of ecosystem change. Earthworm invasion can cause significant changes in soil structure and communities, nutrient cycles, and the diversity and abundance of herbaceous plants. However, the regional extent and patterns of this invasion are poorly known. We conducted...