Suvdtsetseg Chuluunbat

DNA barcoding was intended as a means to provide species-level identifications through associating DNA sequences from unknown specimens to those from curated reference specimens. Although barcodes were not designed for phylogenetics, they can be beneficial to the completion of the Tree of Life. The barcode database for Trichoptera is relatively comprehensive, with data from every family, approximately two-thirds of the genera, and one-third of the described species. Most Trichoptera, as with most of life's species, have never been subjected to any formal phylogenetic analysis. Here, we present a phylogeny with over 16 000 unique haplotypes as a working hypothesis that can be updated as our estimates improve. We suggest a strategy of implementing constrained tree searches, which allow larger datasets to dictate the backbone phylogeny, while the barcode data fill out the tips of the tree. We also discuss how this phylogeny could be used to focus taxonomic attention on ambiguous species boundaries and hidden biodiversity. We suggest that systematists continue to differentiate between 'Barcode Index Numbers' (BINs) and 'species' that have been formally described. Each has utility, but they are not synonyms. We highlight examples of integrative taxonomy, using both barcodes and morphology for species description.This article is part of the themed issue 'From DNA barcodes to biomes'.

In Mongolia, there are 198 caddisfly species belonging to 69 genera in 16 families. An updated species list also indicates the species that have been DNA barcoded. The distributions of species in the Mongolian aimags (provinces) are presented. Most species records are results from the Mongolian Aquatic Insect Survey (2002–2011, northcentral and western Mongolia) and Hovsgol_GEF projects (2002–2006, Lake Hovsgol and vicinity), and personal collections; other records are from the literature. The Mongolian caddisfly fauna is characteristic of central Asia and includes only 1 endemic species. Over half of the known Mongolian species occur in Hovsgol Aimag.

We studied the ectoparasitics of breeding Lesser Kestrels (Falco naumanni) in Mongolia. We captured 20 adult, one fledgling, and 11 nestling Lesser Kestrels and examined them for ectoparasites in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, a semi-desert region of Mongolia. We examined 11 nestlings multiple times throughout the nestling period to count carnid flies (Carnus hemapterus). All nestlings age 1–4 d old were infested (mean of 6.0 flies per nestling). Older nestlings had fewer carnid flies over the course of the nesting season. We also collected 120 louse flies (Ornithophila gestroi) from 20 adults and one fledgling, an infestation rate of 85.7%. The mean number of louse flies per host was 6.3 (range = 1–19) per infested bird. These represent the first Mongolian records of O. gestroi and C. hemapterus from adult and nestling Lesser Kestrels. These two fly species have been previously recorded from several diverse avian species in many regions of Eurasia and North America. The paucity of investigations of raptor ectoparasites in Mongolia suggests that this is an important area for future research and that additional reports of other ectoparasites are likely to be forthcoming.

To establish the biogeographic affinities of the caddisfly fauna of Mongolia, published records and results of our faunistic studies were analyzed. This study captured more than 47,000 adults collected from 386 locations beside lakes, ponds, streams/rivers, and springs in ten sub-basins of Mongolia using Malaise traps, aerial sweeping, and ultraviolet lights. In total, 201 species have been recorded, and approximately 269 species may occur in Mongolia according to our estimation. In a comparison of species richness for the family level, the Limnephilidae and Leptoceridae were the richest in species. The families Brachycentridae, Glossosomatidae, and Psychomyiidae had low species richness, but they included the most dominant species in terms of abundance and/or the percentage of occurrence in the samples from multiple sub-basins. Comparing the sub-basins, the Selenge had the highest Shannon diversity (H' = 3.3) and the Gobi sub-basin had the lowest (H' = 1.5). According to the Jaccard index of similarity, caddisfly species assemblages of Mongolia's ten sub-basins were divided into two main groups: One group includes the Selenge, Shishkhed, Bulgan, Tes, and Depression of Great Lakes sub-basins; the other group includes the Kherlen, Onon, Khalkh Gol, Valley of Lakes, and Gobi sub-basins. The majority of Mongolian species were composed of East Palearctic taxa, with a small percentage of West Palearctic and Nearctic representatives and an even smaller percentage from the Oriental region, suggesting that the Mongolian Gobi Desert is, and has been, a significant barrier to the distribution of caddisfly species between China and Mongolia.

Overgrazing is one of the major land-use impacts in Mongolia leading to habitat degradation and subsequent impairment of biological diversity. This study examined macroinvertebrate diversity among sites with different grazing intensities in Hövsgöl, Mongolia, to test whether the taxonomic and functional structure of the macroinvertebrate community differs among streams with different grazing intensity. The 14 551 total identified specimens comprised 78 genera in 27 macroinvertebrate families from the 6 study streams. Exponential Shannon index and weighted functional diversity were significantly higher in low grazing sites than in moderate and high grazing sites; no significant difference was found between moderate to high grazing intensity. Macroinvertebrate community composition was not significantly different between low and moderate or low and high grazing intensity sites. SIMPER analysis revealed the taxon with the highest contribution to dissimilarity among the levels of grazing. Thirteen trait categories from 8 traits differed significantly between sites with varying grazing pressure. The community-weighted means for 4 of these traits were filtered by high grazing intensity: dissemination, resistant form, current velocity, and saprobity. Although the other 4 traits differed significantly, they did not respond directly to grazing intensity. Further knowledge of traits, especially regarding physiological capabilities, is needed to better understand macroinvertebrate/environment relationships, but overall, these findings suggest that macroinvertebrate diversity components were affected by grazing.