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Comparative analysis of earthworm’s distributions and adaptation to changing environmental factors in the Western Mediterranean (WORMADAPT)
Funded by the Spanish Government (PID2021-122243NB-I00) PI: Marta Novo
 

Earthworms are the great forgotten ones of conservation programs. ‘Great’, because they actually play a crucial role in the functioning of the soil, which is the element that ultimately maintains ecosystems. ’Forgotten’, because despite their ecosystem relevance, they are scientifically-neglected creatures, little showy and less charismatic. Biodiversity is being impacted by anthropogenic climate change. Soils will be particularly affected by this phenomenon and animal communities will be challenged. Some organisms will be less impacted than others, presenting adaptations to these anticipated changes. Species can respond by shifting their range, or by persisting in their local habitats. If they persist, they may deal with the changes through phenotypic plasticity or through genetic adaptation depending on their genetic variability and demographic conditions. Some species may be ‘winners’ when compared to other species that may not tolerate the alterations, suffering demographic collapses and becoming extinct. Determining the ecological preferences and physiological and molecular changes after environmental variations derived from the climate change in animals, especially in ecologically relevant invertebrates delivering ecosystem services, should be a matter of the highest priority. In this context, the aim of this project is to evaluate the diversity of earthworm fauna in Western Mediterranean populations, in order to understand which environmental factors influence (and will determine) their diversity and distributions at local and regional scales, their genetic status of conservation, and the molecular mechanisms that may allow the survival and adaptation of earthworms under the changing environmental conditions derived from climate change (primarily heat and hydric stress) in the short term (acclimation: physiological response and gene expression) and the long term (adaptive response: positive selection). We will provide an integrative overview with no precedent of the earthworm biodiversity in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands, combining ecological with genetic and genomic data. The results will provide an important framework for understanding earthworm conservation needs and adaptation capacity in the context of climate change that may be used for future management, will provide fundamental information on evolutionary biology of terrestrial annelids and could also be extrapolated to other soil organisms. We will be able to propose vulnerable species to be protected and particularly interesting areas for earthworm fauna. This will be crucial for policy decisions, and will also stimulate public engagement in the impact of climate change on soil.

 

 

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Future challenges in soil ecosystems: molecular approach to the study of adaptation of earthworms to Climate Change (CLIMAWORM)
Funded by the Spanish Government (PGC2018-094112-A-I00) PI: Marta Novo

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Biodiversity is being impacted by Anthropogenic Climate Change. Temperature and precipitation fluctuations could disrupt the suitability of certain habitats and in some cases, surpass the physiological limits of organisms. Their capacity of adaptation to these rapidly changing environments will be determined by different factors that mitigate the negative effects. Those include: the ability of organisms to change geographic distribution; their capacity to locally acclimate through physiological processes (eg. aestivation); biochemical adaptations (through specific molecules); or evolutionary responses (through genomic variation). Earthworms generally have a limited dispersion capacity which would limit a successful change of distribution range and thus, they are ideal candidates for the study of physiological, biochemical and evolutionary adaptation mechanisms to the new environments. The aim of
this project is to understand the molecular mechanisms that may allow the survival and adaptation of earthworms under the changing environmental conditions derived from Climate Change (primarily heat and hydric stress) in the short term (acclimation: physiological response and gene expression) and the long-term (adaptive response: positive selection and molecules evolution) and to identify potential molecular biomarkers for future assessment of other populations/species of earthworms or different invertebrates.

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Through the Path of the Giant: the role of tortoise corridors for earthworm invasion in Galapagos and other factors 

Funded by National Geographic Society (NGS-62087R-19)

PI: Marta Novo, co-PI: Jaime Ortiz

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Invasive species are a global threat to native fauna and flora, and their effects are exacerbated in islands’ ecosystems. The Galapagos archipelago has been the focus of evolutionary biology since Darwin‘s observations on finches, seminal for developing his theory of natural selection. Galapagos’ unique biodiversity is threatened by species introduced for agricultural, livestock and ornamental purposes. Exotic earthworms are known to favor the establishment of invasive plants, which in turn displace endemic vegetation. Giant tortoises wander large distances every year, creating corridors that maintain connectivity between the highlands and lowlands, and are known to disperse seeds from invasive plants. These open areas may be mediating earthworms’ spread and affecting ecological integrity. We aim to understand exotic earthworm colonization routes and patterns and the role of environmental factors, with a focus on the migratory corridors of tortoises, but also considering human disturbance. Results will help identify habitat preferences of exotic earthworms, their relationship with other species and potential for invasion meltdown. Then, it will be possible to propose measures for invasion management as well as strategies to prevent further spread. 

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An integrative approach to species delineation of endemic Mediterranean earthworms

Funded by Linnean Society of London and the Systematics Association (Systematics Research Fund) PI: Marta Novo

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The increasing use of molecular markers for the study of animal diversity has provoked a cryptic species (or lineages) discovery boom, particularly intense within soil fauna. In the case of earthworms, taxonomy has been limited by their morphological and anatomical simplicity, influenced by adaptive convergence to a very homogeneous habitat. The earthworm Carpetania elisae is endemic to the central Iberian Peninsula and of primary importance for the Mediterranean ecosystems of that area. In the last years, deeply divergent genetic lineages within C. elisae have been found but species delimitation methods based on a handful of sequences greatly overestimated the number of species within that complex, indicating one species per sampling point, which could be related to their low vagility. However, no morphological distinction has been detected among the different lineages.  The intention of our study is to generate further novel molecular and morphological data that will help resolve whether detected lineages of C. elisae are really different species. Firstly, we will analyse genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms through GBS (Genotyping by Sequencing). Through the mapping of these data on the available transcriptome this will also help discovering new markers potentially involved in reproductive isolation. Secondly, we will generate geometric morphometric data of the sexual chaetae of the lineages through SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) images. This novel morphometric analysis has been shown to be very useful in complementing traditional earthworm taxonomy and discriminate taxa. Our research will conclude whether lineages within C. elisae can be diagnosed as true different species or not. The answer to this question is critical for the conservation management strategies of the populations of these endemic earthworms in order to warrant the important ecosystem services they provide in a warming western Mediterranean area. It will also allow a more accurate taxonomic description that will aid future earthworm taxonomy studies.

Fauna Ibérica XII. Lumbricidae, Hormogastridae (Oligochaeta, Lumbricoidea)

Funded by the Spanish Government (PGC2018-095851-B-C66) PI: Dolores Trigo

To understand the role of earthworm communities in each soil it is paramount to know the species present on it, inferring from this data their ecological category and role in the trophic chain and functioning of soil. Unfortunately the taxonomic impediment in this group is great: there is a shortage of specialists in earthworm systematics trained in the current trends of integrative systematics, mastering classic (morphology, dissection) and advanced (SEM, micro CT) morphological techniques plus molecular techniques (barcoding, sequence-based phylogenies or phylogenomics). The UCM Soil Zoology group has been working on earthworms for more than 40 years, with over 125 publications about systematics, alpha-taxonomy, biogeography, phylogeography and phylogeny. Now it is time to address a monography about this group within the Fauna Project, to arrange and share publicly our work. The project will focus on two families representing more than 95% of the species Iberian-balearic, Lumbricidae and Hormogastridae. The hypothesis of departure is that the origin and diversification of Lumbricids and Hormogastrids took place in the NE peninsular, France SE and nearby islands, and that to understand their evolution an integrated study is essential. The last checklist Díaz Cosín et al 1992 included around one hundred species, but several dozen have been published since then (mainly by Qiu y Bouché (1998) and our group), reaching 160-170. The degree of endemism is high (60 to 70), and several species have been recorded from a single locality and their presence is questionable. Descriptions will be revised, and we will try to get material from collections or sampling type localities in order to study all the iberian-balearic species with morphological (classical techniques and when necessary advanced), and molecular techniques (markers COI, 16s and 28S).This study will allow to establish a phylogenetic hypothesis in which to base the systematics to use.

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Some past projects

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Iberian Fauna XII. Earthworms. Funded by UCM-Santander (PR75/18-21580). PI: Dolores Trigo

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Ecotoxicology and climate change: standardization of toxicogenomic bioassays in invertebrates (ECOTOXCLINV). Funded by the Spanish Government (CTM2015-64913-R). PI: José Luis Martínez Guitarte.

 

Phylogeography and cryptic speciation in two groups of invertebrates of reduced vagility: Oligochaeta and Kinorhyncha. Funded by the Spanish Government (CGL2013-42908-P). PI: Darío J. Díaz Cosín.

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Microsatellite marker development for an invasive earthworm species adapted to volcanic soils. Funded by Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP). PI: Marta Novo.

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EpiWorm— Finding the Ghost in the Genome: Assessing the contribution of epigenetics to environmental plasticity in the soil sentinel Lumbricus rubellus. Funded by European Union, Marie Curie Actions— Intra-European Fellowships (IEF). FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF (FP7-IEF-GA-2012-329690). PIs: Marta Novo & Peter Kille.

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Nanoparticle Fate Assessment and Toxicity in the Environment (NanoFATE). Funded by European Union (FP7-NMP-ENV-2009; CP-FP-247739). PI: Claus Svendsen. 

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Stress in a hot place: Ecogenomics and phylogeography in a pantropical sentinel inhabiting multi-stressor volcanic soils.

Funded by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), UK (NE/I026375/1). PI: Peter Kille.

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Cryptic species in earthworms endemic to central Spain. Funded by BSCH-UCM (GR35/10). PI: Darío J. Díaz Cosín.

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Biodiversity in earthworms: genetic variability, phylogeography and phylogeny of A. trapezoides and hormogastrids. Comparative study of spermathecae. Funded by the Spanish Government (CGL2010-16032/BOS). PI: Darío J. Díaz Cosín.

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Some aspects of the earthworm biology: Reproductive Biology of Hormogaster elisae and Allolobophora caliginosa trapezoides and biological cycle of A. c. trapezoides. Phylogeny of the Hormogastridae. Funded by the Spanish Government (CGL2007-60715/BOS). PI: Darío J. Díaz Cosín.

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Biology of three earthworm species: Hormogaster elisaeAllolobophora rosea and A. caliginosa. Funded by the Spanish Government (CGL2004-00943 BOS). PI: Darío J. Díaz Cosín.

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