Arthur Francis Sands

• Ph.D. (Dr. rer. nat.)
• Research Fellow at National University of Singapore

HyalommaKoch, 1844 are ixodid ticks that infest mammals, birds and reptiles, to which 27 recognized species occur across the Afrotropical, Palearctic and Oriental regions. Despite their medical and veterinary importance, the evolutionary history of the group is enigmatic. To investigate various taxonomic hypotheses based on morphology, and also som...

The Caspian Sea has been a highly dynamic environment throughout the Quaternary and witnessed major oscillations in lake level, which were associated with changes in salinity and habitat availability. Such environmental pressures are considered to drive strong phylogeographic structures in species by forcing populations into suitable refugia. Howev...

Aim Elevated biodiversity is the result of the cradle, museum or sink functions. The contributions of these three functions to species accumulation and their changes through time remain unknown for glacial refugia. Additionally, our understanding of the role these functions played during pre‐glacial periods is limited. We test for changes in contri...

Accurate identification of evolutionarily significant units of rare and threatened organisms provides a foundation for effective management and conservation. Up to seven subspecies of the critically endangered Yellow‐crested Cockatoo ( Cacatua sulphurea ) have been described, four of which were commonly recognised pre‐2014. In the absence of genoty...

Many highly recognisable species lack genetic data important for conservation due to neglect over their hyperabundance. This likely applies to the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), one of the world’s most iconic parrots. The species is native to Australia, New Guinea and some surrounding Melanesian islands. Four subspecies are currently...

Mutation rate is a fundamental parameter in population genetics. Apart from being an important scaling parameter for demographic and phylogenetic inference, it allows one to understand at what rate new genetic diversity is generated and what the expected level of genetic diversity is in a population at equilibrium. However, except for well-establis...

Amphipods have diversified greatly in the Ponto-Caspian region. Although many of these species are prominent invaders their systematics remains unclear. Taking an integrative approach, we investigate the taxonomy of Trichogammarus trichiatus, a widespread invader in European inland waters. It was initially described from the northeastern Black Sea...

The African continent was subjected to periodic climatic shifts during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. These habitat changes greatly affected the evolutionary processes and tempo of diversification in numerous, widely distributed mammals. The Otomyini (Family Muridae) comprises three African rodent genera, Parotomys, Otomys and Myotomys, characterize...

Mutation rate is a fundamental parameter in population genetics. Apart from being an important scaling parameter for demographic and phylogenetic inference, it allows one to understand at what rate new genetic diversity is generated and what is the expected level of genetic diversity in a population at equilibrium. However, except for well-establis...

The Ponto-Caspian region is an endemicity hotspot that harbours several crustacean radiations, among which amphipods are the most diverse. These poorly known species are severely threatened in their native range, while at the same time they are invading European inland waters with significant ecological consequences. A proper taxonomic knowledge of...

To date, limited research has taken place on the evolutionary history of biodiversity in the high-altitude zones of southern Africa, particularly the Lesotho Highlands. The few studies that do exist point to similar high-altitude zones being either prolific museums (i.e., refugia and cradles) for cold-evolved species or sinks for temperate species...

The Ponto-Caspian region is an endemicity hotspot that harbors several crustacean radiations, among which amphipods are the most diverse. These poorly known species are severely threatened in their native range, while at the same time they are invading European inland waters with significant ecological consequences. A proper taxonomic knowledge of...

The unique aquatic Pontocaspian (PC) biota of the Black Sea Basin (BSB) is in decline. The lack of detailed knowledge on the status and trends of species, populations, and communities hampers a thorough risk assessment and precludes effective conservation. This paper reviews PC biodiversity trends in the BSB (Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, an...

Aim The unique aquatic Pontocaspian (PC) biota of the Black Sea Basin (BSB) is in decline. Lack of detailed knowledge on the status and trends of species, populations and communities hampers a thorough risk assessment and precludes effective conservation. This paper aims to review PC biodiversity trends using endemic molluscs as a model group. We a...

Background: The Lake Victoria basin is one of the most persistent hotspots of schistosomiasis in Africa, the intestinal form of the disease being studied more often than the urogenital form. Most schistosomiasis studies have been directed to Schistosoma mansoni and their corresponding intermediate snail hosts of the genus Biomphalaria, while negle...

Asia contains a high species diversity of the freshwater gastropod genus Theodoxus. Recent molecular and morphological reviews of this diversity have uncovered a number of yet undescribed species while suggesting the urgent revision of several others. Moreover, some of these studies have indicated a number of species previously not recorded for thi...

Defining and recording the loss of species diversity is a daunting task, especially if identities of species under threat are not fully resolved. An example is the Pontocaspian biota. The mostly endemic invertebrate faunas that evolved in the Black Sea – Caspian Sea – Aral Sea region and live under variable salinity conditions are undergoing strong...

Anatolia is noted for a high concentration of ancient lakes with elevated aquatic species diversity, yet little is known of how and when this diversity arose. Here, lakes and their drainages in Anatolia have been considered a major refugium for temperate aquatic taxa during the Quaternary glacial period. Aided by fluctuating Black Sea salinities du...

Aim It is predicted that the dispersal and gene flow of ectoparasites with wide host ranges are correlated with the vagilities of their most mobile hosts. To test this, the phylogeographical structure of a widespread generalist tick occurring on large ungulates was determined and compared with previously published host patterns. Location Africa....

In het kader van een EU project wordt aan de Justus Liebig Universiteit in Duitsland onderzoek gedaan naar de schrikbarende afname van biodiversiteit in de malacofauna van zeeën en meren in het gebied van Nederland tot aan Kazachstan. De onderzoekers vragen hulp van vrijwilligers om levende vertegenwoordigers van Ecrobia, Theodoxus en Viviparus te...

The phylogeographic patterns of small mammals in southern Africa are frequently disjunct. This pattern is predominately attributed to vicariant geographical barriers coupled to climate driven diversification. To gain further insights into this hypothesis, we embarked on a comparative mtDNA phylogeographic study of two common rodent species in south...