Broad-Scale Climatic Gradients Drive Multiple Facets of Scorpion Beta Diversity in Northeastern Brazil

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  Broad-Scale Climatic Gradients Drive Multiple Facets of Scorpion Beta Diversity in Northeastern Brazil ABSTRACT Aim Beta diversity analyses clarify mechanisms structuring ecological communities, but their multidimensional facets remain poorly explored in arthropods. Here, we quantified taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional beta diversity in scorpions, partitioned these facets into species replacement and richness differences, and evaluated the relative importance of spatial structure and environmental conditions in driving community assembly. Location Northeastern Brazil, South America. Taxon Scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Methods Taxonomic beta diversity was estimated using species presence across 70 sites in northeastern Brazil. Phylogenetic turnover was calculated from a multi-locus molecular tree, and functional beta diversity was derived from morphometric and ecological traits. All beta diversity facets were decomposed into replacement and richness-difference component...

Aversive conditioning and memory in the harvester Mischonyx squalidus (Arachnida: Opiliones)

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Aversive conditioning and memory in the harvester Mischonyx squalidus (Arachnida: Opiliones)

Abstract

Aversive conditioning is a form of associative learning. Here, we investigated learning and memory capacity of the harvester Mischonyx squalidus (Roewer, 1913), to examine the formation of short (STM) and long-term memories (LTM). First, we trained harvesters to associate an aversive stimulus (shock) with a neutral stimulus (tea odor). Each subject went through three consecutive trials, in which pairings between the stimuli lasted for 3s, with intervals of 1 (STM) and 30 (LTM) min. Subsequently, to test memory, we introduced the subjects in a choice arena where they could choose between staying in either of two areas: impregnated with tea chemicals or blank. We did this immediately after the conditioning phase or 24h after it. Both protocols were successful for STM within the same-day test, but not for LTM on the following day. In summary, we provide a new method to train aversive conditioning in harvesters and evidence for short-term memory.

Guilherme Ferreira Pagoti, Marina Costa Rodrigues, Gabriel Pimenta Murayama, Rodrigo Hirata Willemart "Aversive conditioning and memory in the harvester Mischonyx squalidus (Arachnida: Opiliones)," The Journal of Arachnology, 53(1), 26-29, (20 June 2025)