Expanding Soil Invertebrate Knowledge in Panama: The Genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> (Collembola, Entomobryidae) in the Parque Natural Metropolitano as a Study Case

Panama, located in the heart of the Mesoamerican hotspot, harbors an extraordinary species diversity across the Tree of Life. The Collembola species of the genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> play an important role in soil biological processes such as decomposition, being used to monitor soil heal...

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Main Authors: Alba Enguídanos García, Carles Galià-Camps, Claudia Massiel Pérez-González, Dionora Víquez, Eduardo Mateos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Insects
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/12/951
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author Alba Enguídanos García
Carles Galià-Camps
Claudia Massiel Pérez-González
Dionora Víquez
Eduardo Mateos
author_facet Alba Enguídanos García
Carles Galià-Camps
Claudia Massiel Pérez-González
Dionora Víquez
Eduardo Mateos
author_sort Alba Enguídanos García
collection DOAJ
description Panama, located in the heart of the Mesoamerican hotspot, harbors an extraordinary species diversity across the Tree of Life. The Collembola species of the genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> play an important role in soil biological processes such as decomposition, being used to monitor soil health and functional parameters. However, the limitation of morphological characters and molecular resources hampers the evaluation of local soil diversity. Here, using 30 <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> specimens collected in the Parque Natural Metropolitano (PNM), we unravel the diversity of this Panamanian protected area through molecular tools and new taxonomic traits. Our phylogenies, in combination with species delimitation analyses, indicate that the PNM harbors an extremely rich community of <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> species, two of them cited in Panama for the first time, and three of them potentially new to science. We highlight that the presence of the dental tubercle and pseudopores on the BP4 region are not monophyletic and, therefore, can be used as supplementary characters to morphologically resolve species complexes. Overall, this study sheds light on the <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> richness of the PNM, which acts as a shelter for Panamanian and the Mesoamerican hotspot species.
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spelling doaj-art-e9d379531d4f41f0b6196d26b8aff5942024-12-27T14:31:17ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502024-11-01151295110.3390/insects15120951Expanding Soil Invertebrate Knowledge in Panama: The Genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> (Collembola, Entomobryidae) in the Parque Natural Metropolitano as a Study CaseAlba Enguídanos García0Carles Galià-Camps1Claudia Massiel Pérez-González2Dionora Víquez3Eduardo Mateos4Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, SpainBiodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, SpainUniversidad de Panamá, Departamento de Genética y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales Exactas y Tecnología, Panama 0819-07289, PanamaMetropolitan Natural Park, XFP3+47H Juan Pablo II Avenue, Panama 0819-07289, PanamaDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, SpainPanama, located in the heart of the Mesoamerican hotspot, harbors an extraordinary species diversity across the Tree of Life. The Collembola species of the genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> play an important role in soil biological processes such as decomposition, being used to monitor soil health and functional parameters. However, the limitation of morphological characters and molecular resources hampers the evaluation of local soil diversity. Here, using 30 <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> specimens collected in the Parque Natural Metropolitano (PNM), we unravel the diversity of this Panamanian protected area through molecular tools and new taxonomic traits. Our phylogenies, in combination with species delimitation analyses, indicate that the PNM harbors an extremely rich community of <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> species, two of them cited in Panama for the first time, and three of them potentially new to science. We highlight that the presence of the dental tubercle and pseudopores on the BP4 region are not monophyletic and, therefore, can be used as supplementary characters to morphologically resolve species complexes. Overall, this study sheds light on the <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> richness of the PNM, which acts as a shelter for Panamanian and the Mesoamerican hotspot species.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/12/951species complexmolecular barcodingphylogeneticstaxonomypseudoporesdental tubercle
spellingShingle Alba Enguídanos García
Carles Galià-Camps
Claudia Massiel Pérez-González
Dionora Víquez
Eduardo Mateos
Expanding Soil Invertebrate Knowledge in Panama: The Genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> (Collembola, Entomobryidae) in the Parque Natural Metropolitano as a Study Case
Insects
species complex
molecular barcoding
phylogenetics
taxonomy
pseudopores
dental tubercle
title Expanding Soil Invertebrate Knowledge in Panama: The Genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> (Collembola, Entomobryidae) in the Parque Natural Metropolitano as a Study Case
title_full Expanding Soil Invertebrate Knowledge in Panama: The Genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> (Collembola, Entomobryidae) in the Parque Natural Metropolitano as a Study Case
title_fullStr Expanding Soil Invertebrate Knowledge in Panama: The Genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> (Collembola, Entomobryidae) in the Parque Natural Metropolitano as a Study Case
title_full_unstemmed Expanding Soil Invertebrate Knowledge in Panama: The Genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> (Collembola, Entomobryidae) in the Parque Natural Metropolitano as a Study Case
title_short Expanding Soil Invertebrate Knowledge in Panama: The Genus <i>Lepidocyrtus</i> (Collembola, Entomobryidae) in the Parque Natural Metropolitano as a Study Case
title_sort expanding soil invertebrate knowledge in panama the genus i lepidocyrtus i collembola entomobryidae in the parque natural metropolitano as a study case
topic species complex
molecular barcoding
phylogenetics
taxonomy
pseudopores
dental tubercle
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/12/951
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