Papers by José D. Gilgado
Revue suisse de Zoologie
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
In the past, the freshwater snail Theodoxus fluviatilis was abundant in the river Rhine, but was ... more In the past, the freshwater snail Theodoxus fluviatilis was abundant in the river Rhine, but was considered to be extinct in the Upper and HighRhine in 2004. We found individuals of T. fluviatilis for the first time at sites in the southern part of the Upper Rhine and High Rhine in 2020,where this species went extinct 16 years ago. There are several distinct haplotypes of this species; some of them occurring in geographicallyseparated regions of Europe. We used mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI) to trace the origin of the newly arrivedT. fluviatilis. We examined 269 individuals collected at 29 sites and compared their sequence data with known haplotypes of T. fluviatilisand other species of Theodoxus deposited in GenBank. We also analysed a historical sample from 1995 (collected before the species wentextinct), which revealed that the haplotype of the native T. fluviatilis in the High Rhine at that time was F28. In the recent samples, however,we found T. fluviat...
Schweizerische Entomologische Gesellschaft, 2020
Diversity, 2021
Urban gardens are important for human well-being, biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Bio... more Urban gardens are important for human well-being, biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Biodiversity-promoting initiatives would benefit from their owners being aware of the state of biodiversity in their gardens. We examined whether garden owners’ perceptions match actual biodiversity in their gardens and whether perceptions are influenced by the owners’ ecological knowledge. We used a structured interview to assess the motivations and biodiversity knowledge of owners of 33 domestic gardens in the city of Basel (Switzerland) and related them to a survey of native plants and several groups of ground-dwelling invertebrates in their gardens. Owners showed different priorities, with promotion of habitat for biodiversity, receiving, on average, higher scores than cultivation, recreation and garden designing. Owners prioritizing biodiversity promotion had gardens with high habitat richness. The garden owners’ perceptions of both native plant and overall invertebrate diversity were ...
Ecology and Evolution, 2021
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, wh... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Arachnologische Mitteilungen: Arachnology Letters, 2021
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
Check List, 2021
The pseudoscorpion Lamprochernes savignyi (Simon, 1881) is reported in Central Europe for the fir... more The pseudoscorpion Lamprochernes savignyi (Simon, 1881) is reported in Central Europe for the first time. The new record from Switzerland is based on a single female specimen found in a compost heap in the Conservatory and Botanical Garden in Geneva. Until now, the species is distributed mainly in Africa, Americas, and Asia, less in Australia and Oceania, Europe, and the Arabian Peninsula. The new record fills in the gap in species distribution between Northern Europe and the Anatolian Peninsula. A description of the collected female is provided.
PLOS ONE, 2020
Urbanisation is increasing worldwide and is regarded a major driver of environmental change alter... more Urbanisation is increasing worldwide and is regarded a major driver of environmental change altering local species assemblages. Private domestic gardens contribute a significant share of total green area in cities, but their biodiversity has received relatively little attention. Previous studies mainly considered plants, flying invertebrates such as bees and butterflies, and birds. By using a multi-taxa approach focused on less mobile, ground-dwelling invertebrates, we examined the influence of local garden characteristics and landscape characteristics on species richness and abundance of gastropods, spiders, millipedes, woodlice, ants, ground beetles and rove beetles. We assume that most of the species of these groups are able to complete their entire life cycle within a single garden. We conducted field surveys in thirty-five domestic gardens along a rural-urban gradient in Basel, Switzerland. Considered together, the gardens examined harboured an impressive species richness, with a mean share of species of the corresponding groups known for Switzerland of 13.9%, ranging from 4.7% in ground beetles to 23.3% in woodlice. The overall high biodiversity is a result of complementary contributions of gardens harbouring distinct species assemblages. Indeed, at the garden level, species richness of different taxonomical groups were typically not inter-correlated. The exception was ant species richness, which was correlated with those of gastropods and spiders. Generalised linear models revealed that distance to the city centre is an important driver of species richness, abundance and composition of several groups, resulting in an altered species composition in gardens in the centre of the city. Local garden characteristics were important drivers of gastropod and ant species richness, and the abundance of spiders, millipedes and rove beetles. Our study shows that domestic gardens make a valuable contribution to regional biodiversity. Thus, domestic urban gardens constitute an important part of green infrastructure, which should be considered by urban planners.
Revue suisse de Zoologie, 2020
BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.
European Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2022
In the past, the freshwater snail Theodoxus fluviatilis was abundant in the river Rhine, but was ... more In the past, the freshwater snail Theodoxus fluviatilis was abundant in the river Rhine, but was considered to be extinct in the Upper and High Rhine in 2004. We found individuals of T. fluviatilis for the first time at sites in the southern part of the Upper Rhine and High Rhine in 2020, where this species went extinct 16 years ago. There are several distinct haplotypes of this species; some of them occurring in geographically separated regions of Europe. We used mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI) to trace the origin of the newly arrived T. fluviatilis. We examined 269 individuals collected at 29 sites and compared their sequence data with known haplotypes of T. fluviatilis and other species of Theodoxus deposited in GenBank. We also analysed a historical sample from 1995 (collected before the species went extinct), which revealed that the haplotype of the native T. fluviatilis in the High Rhine at that time was F28. In the recent samples, however, we found T. fluviatilis with the haplotypes F31 and "euxinus", which are reported in the Ponto-Caspian region. Both haplotypes are cryptic invaders, colonizing the Rhine via the Rhine-Main-Danube canal and adversely affecting the remaining native populations of T. fluviatilis in Western Europe. Our findings are important for this species management by nature conservation authorities: lineages of endangered species should be preserved and supported, while the spreading of invasive, non-native lineages (or species) should be prevented.
La fauna de las cavernas graníticas está poco estudiada, en buena parte porque las cavidades suel... more La fauna de las cavernas graníticas está poco estudiada, en buena parte porque las cavidades suelen ser de pequeño tamaño y por lo tanto poco atractivas para la bioespeleología. Una excepción es el conjunto de cavidades de O Folón, en Coruxo (Vigo, Pontevedra), que cuenta con más de 900 m de galerías y alcanza una cota de-34 m. En este artículo se presentan los resultados de 18 muestreos realizados entre 2016 y 2020, principalmente con búsqueda manual. Se han recogido 171 especímenes, de los cuales se han identificado hasta género 141, y hasta especie 115. Entre los grupos mejor representados se encuentran los Chilopoda y Diplopoda, destacando el platidésmido Dolistenus iberoalbus Mauriès, 2015, abundante en varios de los muestreos y sólo conocido por la serie tipo. Se cita por primera vez Lithobius validus Meinert, 1872 de Pontevedra y Lithobius schubarti Demange, 1959 de Galicia. Entre la fauna de arácnidos, se cita Meta menardi (Latreille, 1804) por primera vez para Galicia. En relación a los Opiliones, se ha encontrado Nemastomella dentipatellae Dresco, 1967, nunca antes citado en la provincia de Pontevedra. La clase mejor representada es la de los insectos, con 78 ejemplares pertenecientes a 7 órdenes. Las cinco especies de Staphylinidae halladas en las cavernas representan primeras citas para la provincia de Pontevedra. Este singular sistema subterráneo no goza de ninguna protección, por lo que esta primera lista de su fauna, puede servir para resaltar la importancia de preservar dicho hábitat, que muestra varios impactos de origen antrópico.
Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 2022
The international plant trade provides opportunities for the introduction of exotic species into ... more The international plant trade provides opportunities for the introduction of exotic species into tropical greenhouses around the world. The millipede and centipede fauna of greenhouses is barely known in Switzerland. We conducted a survey in greenhouses of nine botanical gardens and other institutions across Switzerland. We captured and identifi ed 1390 individuals belonging to 14 millipede species and 43 individuals belonging to 9 centipede species. Most millipede individuals recorded (80.3%) were non-native as were the species (8/14). Most centipede individuals (55.3%) were non-native, but not the majority of the species (4/10). The species composition varied strongly among greenhouses with species originating from different parts of the world. Seven species already known from greenhouses in other European countries are reported for the fi rst time in Switzerland. These are the millipedes Cylindrodesmus hirsutus Pocock, 1889, Poratia obliterata (Kraus, 1960), Paraspirobolus lucifugus (Gervais, 1836) and the centipedes Mecistocephalus guildingii Newport, 1843, Tygarrup javanicus Attems, 1929, Lamyctes (Lamyctes) coeculus (Brölemann,1889b), and Cryptops (Cryptops) doriae Pocock, 1891. The relevance of these fi ndings is discussed
Ecology and Evolution, 2021
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, wh... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Diversity, 2021
Urban gardens are important for human well-being, biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Bio... more Urban gardens are important for human well-being, biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Biodiversity-promoting initiatives would benefit from their owners being aware of the state of biodiversity in their gardens. We examined whether garden owners’ perceptions match actual biodiversity in their gardens and whether perceptions are influenced by the owners’ ecological knowledge. We used a structured interview to assess the motivations and biodiversity knowledge of owners of 33 domestic gardens in the city of Basel (Switzerland) and related them to a survey of native plants and several groups of ground-dwelling invertebrates in their gardens. Owners showed different priorities, with promotion of habitat for biodiversity, receiving, on average, higher scores than cultivation, recreation and garden designing. Owners prioritizing biodiversity promotion had gardens with high habitat richness. The garden owners’ perceptions of both native plant and overall invertebrate diversity were not correlated with actual diversity data for native plants and ground-dwelling invertebrates. The perceptions of the abundance of invertebrate groups by garden owners with good biodiversity knowledge were not more accurate than those from owners with less knowledge. Despite their willingness, many owners do not know all the opportunities to promote biodiversity. Initiatives to further biodiversity-friendly gardening should thus transfer knowledge
Arachnologische Mitteilungen / Arachnology Letters, 2021
Investigations of invertebrates in nine hothouses (tropical gardens) in Switzerland provided some... more Investigations of invertebrates in nine hothouses (tropical gardens) in Switzerland provided some spiders as by-catch. In total, we collected 136 spiders, of which 65 specimens represent 14 species from six families (the rest of the collection consisted of unidentifiable juveniles). Nine species are alien for Europe, one originates from the Mediterranean and four species are native to Central Europe. Four species represent first records for the Swiss fauna: Nesticidae: Nesticella mogera (Yaginuma, 1972), Oonopidae: Diblemma donisthorpei O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1909, Ischnothyreus peltifer (Simon, 1892) and Prida sechellensis (Benoit, 1979). These four species are discussed briefly and documented with photos.
Insect Conservation and Diversity, 2022
1. Climate warming is predicted to result in changes to phenology, behaviour and abundance as wel... more 1. Climate warming is predicted to result in changes to phenology, behaviour and abundance as well as poleward shifts or upslope displacements of the distribution of species. However, climate-warming induced changes in distribution patterns have rarely been studied in ground-dwelling arthropods. 2. We investigated changes in the upper elevational limit and relative abundance of 11 millipede species by repeating historical surveys from 1917 to 1919 in five valleys in the Swiss National Park (Eastern Alps) in 2018-2019. 3. We found that the upper elevational limit for 10 out of 11 millipede species has risen, on average, by 161 m in 100 years, accompanying a 1.5 C rise in mean annual temperature in the investigation area. The 10 millipede species differed in upslope expansion of their distribution with the shift ranging from 50 m to 363 m. 4. The relative abundances of species (percentage of individuals sampled for each of the 11 millipede species) were very similar in 1917-1919 and 2018-2019. Only three species showed a change in frequency >6% over 100 years: two species had reduced abundances by 13.7% and 12.5% in the recent survey, while one species increased in abundance by 12.2%. 5. We provide evidence showing that soil-dwelling millipede species with low dispersal ability have raised their upper distribution limit to higher elevation between the surveys done in 1917-1919 and 2018-2019. This upslope shift in distribution is most probably due to the significant increase in temperature recorded in the investigation area in past decades.
Entomo Helvetica, 2021
Confirmation of the presence of Amara brunnea (Gyllenhal, 1810) in Switzerland (Coleoptera, Carab... more Confirmation of the presence of Amara brunnea (Gyllenhal, 1810) in Switzerland (Coleoptera, Carabidae).-One specimen of Amara brunnea was captured in Val Zeznina in the canton of Grisons in 2019. This new observation confirms the presence of this rare species in Switzerland. Résumé: Un spécimen d'Amara brunnea a été capturé en 2019 dans le Val Zeznina dans le canton des Grisons. Cette nouvelle observation permet d'attester enfin de manière certaine l'existence de cette espèce très rare en Suisse. Zusammenfassung: Bestätigung des Vorkommens von Amara brunnea Gyllenhal, 1810 in der Schweiz (Coleoptera, Carabidae). − Ein Exemplar von Amara brunnea konnte 2019 im Val Zeznina (GR) gefunden werden. Dieser Wiederfund bestätigt das Vorkommen dieser seltenen Art in der Schweiz.
Entomo Helvetica, 2021
First record of Nicoletia phytophila Gervais, 1844 (Zygentoma, Nicoletiidae) in greenhouses of Sw... more First record of Nicoletia phytophila Gervais, 1844 (Zygentoma, Nicoletiidae) in greenhouses of Switzerland. − Females and juveniles of the silverfish Nicoletia phytophila were captured in the tropical greenhouses of the botanical gardens in Basel and Zürich. The species was not found in any of seven other tropical greenhouses in Switzerland. Zusammenfassung: Weibchen und Jungtiere des Silberfischchens Nicoletia phytophila wurden in zwei tropischen Gewächshäusern von botanischen Gärten in Basel und Zürich gefangen. Diese Fänge stellen den Erstnachweis dieser Art für Schweizer Gewächshäuser dar. In sieben weiteren tropischen Gewächshäusern in der Schweiz wurde die Art nicht gefunden. Résumé: Première mention de Nicoletia phytophila Gervais, 1844 (Zygentoma, Nicoletiidae) dans des serres en Suisse. − Des femelles et des juvéniles du poisson d'argent Nicoletia phytophila ont été capturés dans deux serres tropicales des jardins botaniques de Bâle et de Zurich. L'espèce n'a pas été trouvée dans sept autres serres tropicales de Suisse.
Biharean Biologist, 2021
A schizomid, Stenochrus portoricensis Chamberlin, 1922 (Hubardiidae) was collected in tropical gr... more A schizomid, Stenochrus portoricensis Chamberlin, 1922 (Hubardiidae) was collected in tropical greenhouses in Botanical Gardens in Geneva, Zurich, and the Papiliorama in Kerzers, Fribourg. The findings represent the first discovery of schizomids in Switzerland, Europe.
Check List, 2021
The pseudoscorpion Lamprochernes savignyi (Simon, 1881) is reported in Central Europe for the fir... more The pseudoscorpion Lamprochernes savignyi (Simon, 1881) is reported in Central Europe for the first time. The new record from Switzerland is based on a single female specimen found in a compost heap in the Conservatory and Botanical Garden in Geneva. Until now, the species is distributed mainly in Africa, Americas, and Asia, less in Australia and Oceania, Europe, and the Arabian Peninsula. The new record fills in the gap in species distribution between Northern Europe and the Anatolian Peninsula. A description of the collected female is provided.
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Papers by José D. Gilgado