Ellinor Michel

Natural History Museum, London · Department of Life Sciences

Natural history collections (NHCs) are an important source of the long-term data needed to understand how biota respond to ongoing anthropogenic climate change. These include taxon occurrence data for ecological modeling, as well as information that can be used to reconstruct mechanisms through which biota respond to changing climates. The full pot...

1. Ecologists continue to debate whether the assembly of communities of species is more strongly influenced by dispersal limitations or niche-based factors. Analytical approaches that account for both mechanisms can help to resolve controls of community assembly. 2. We compared littoral snail assemblages in Lake Tanganyika at three different spatia...

Human impacts on aquatic biodiversity are often measured at the assemblage or community level, although it has been suggested that individual-level measures are more sensitive. We evaluated the effects of anthropogenic sedimentation on endemic snails in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa, by comparing assemblage-level (i.e., species richness, evenness, a...

The lake bottom along structural platforms in Lake Tanganyika, Africa, is carpeted with numerous large shell beds, known to be of late Holocene age, but of uncertain assemblage process. The shell beds may be the result of sedimentological (physical) assembly processes, or biological processes, or both. Previous work focused on the distribution of s...

The Neogene and Quaternary are characterized by enormous changes in global climate and environments, including global cooling and the establishment of northern high-latitude glaciers. These changes reshaped global ecosystems, including the emergence of tropical dry forests and savannahs that are found in Africa today, which in turn may have influen...

Invertebrates are exceptionally diverse, but declining because of anthropogenic changes to their habitat, as exemplified by freshwater bivalves in Europe and North America. Much less information is available for African freshwater bivalves, especially for Unionidae, which comprise 9 genera and ~40 nominal species, many of which are endemic to Afric...

Taxonomy is a scientific discipline that has provided the universal naming and classification system of biodiversity for centuries and continues effectively to accommodate new knowledge. A recent publication by Garnett and Christidis [1] expressed concerns regarding the difficulty that taxonomic changes represent for conservation efforts and propos...

Pteropods are a widespread group of holoplanktonic gastropod molluscs and are uniquely suitable for study of long-term evolutionary processes in the open ocean because they are the only living metazoan plankton with a good fossil record. Pteropods have been proposed as bioindicators to monitor the impacts of ocean acidification and in consequence h...

Pteropods are a widespread group of holoplanktonic gastropod molluscs and are uniquely suitable for study of long-term evolutionary processes in the open ocean because they are the only living metazoan plankton with a good fossil record. Pteropods have been proposed as bioindicators to monitor the impacts of ocean acidification and in consequence h...

Maximum Likelihood phylogeny of pteropods based on 18S sequences (N = 52 sequences of 1683 basepairs). Black squares represent a bootstrap support of ≥80%, with small, medium and large black squares representing support within genera, of genera, and above genus level, respectively. Abbreviations ATL, PAC, and IND denote Atlantic, Pacific, and India...

Maximum Likelihood phylogeny of pteropods based on Cytochrome Oxidase I sequences (N = 117 sequences of 656 basepairs). Black squares represent a bootstrap support of ≥80%, with small, medium and large black squares representing support within genera, of genera, and above genus level, respectively. Abbreviations ATL, PAC, and IND denote Atlantic, P...

Combined Maximum Likelihood phylogeny using the same dataset as for the molecular clock analyses (46 sequences, max. one sequence per taxon per ocean). Black squares represent bootstrap support ≥80%, with small, medium and large black squares representing support within genera, of genera, and above genus level, respectively. Abbreviations ATL, PAC,...

Pteropod phylogeny based on a fossil-calibrated molecular clock approach (46 sequences, max. one sequence per taxon per ocean) following Method 2 with stem calibrations based on the oldest known fossils of Hyalocylis, Diacria, Cavolinia, Cuvierinia, Creseis, and euthecosomes (see Table 1). Calibrations are indicated with stars. Error bars (95%) are...

Overview of sequences used in combined and/or as single-gene phylogenetic analyses based on Cytochrome Oxidase I, 28S rRNA, and 18S rRNA. Numbers in the 9th column indicate their use in (1) single-gene Maximum Likelihood (ML), combined ML and combined Bayesian phylogenies, (2) single-gene ML and combined ML phylogenies, or (3) single-gene ML phylog...

Maximum Likelihood phylogeny of pteropods based on 28S sequences (N = 87 sequences of 941 basepairs). Black squares represent a bootstrap support of ≥80%, with small, medium and large black squares representing support within genera, of genera, and above genus level, respectively. Abbreviations ATL, PAC, and IND denote Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian...

Combined Maximum Likelihood tree based on Cytochrome Oxidase I protein sequences and 28S and 18S DNA sequences including long-branch taxa (78 sequences, max. two sequences per taxon per ocean). Black squares represent bootstrap support ≥80%, with small, medium and large black squares representing support within genera, of genera, and above genus le...

Maximum Likelihood phylogeny of pteropods based on Cytochrome Oxidase I protein sequences (N = 117 sequences of 218 amino acids). Black squares represent a bootstrap support of ≥80%, with small, medium and large black squares representing support within genera, of genera, and above genus level, respectively. Abbreviations ATL, PAC, and IND denote A...

Time-calibrated molecular phylogeny of pteropods (46 sequences, max. one sequence per taxon per ocean) following Method 3 with crown calibrations of Clio pyramidata, Hyalocylis striata, and Cliopsis krohni based on the formation of the Isthmus of Panama (IOP) and the oldest known euthecosome fossil (see Table 1). Calibrations are indicated with sta...

Animals are heterotrophic by definition, but species from many taxonomic groups are hosts to epibiota that may alter their net metabolism. We tested the degree to which snail-shell epibiota can generate net ecosystem productivity for snails and their epibiota (snail-epibiota ecosystems; SEEs) after accounting for snail respiration. We focused on 3...

The List of Available Names in Zoology (LAN) is an inventory of names with specific scope in time and content, presented and approved in parts, and constituted as a cumulative index of names available for use in zoological nomenclature. It was defined in Article 79 in the fourth edition of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The LAN...

Charles Davies Sherborn provided the bibliographic foundation for current zoological nomenclature with his magnum opus Index Animalium. In the 43 years he spent working on this extraordinary resource, he anchored our understanding of animal diversity through the published scientific record. No work has equaled it and it is still in current, and cri...

Background: Reliable taxonomy underpins communication in all of biology, not least nature conservation and sustainable use of ecosystem resources. The flexibility of taxonomic interpretations, however, presents a serious challenge for end-users of taxonomic concepts. Users need standardised and continuously harmonised taxonomic reference systems,...

A brief identification guide to Melanoides snail lineages ('species') of Lake Malawi and the surrounding region. (A field guide, 2008).

Lake Tanganyika, East Africa, is renowned for its high species diversity and numerous endemic radiations. One of these, a ‘superflock’ of benthic gastropods is the most diverse (>100 spp.) and disparate (18 genera) extant radiation of its kind[1]. Despite this it remains poorly systematised. One component, the iconic genus Paramelania, has been kno...

Aim Current estimates of species richness within rapidly evolving species flocks are often highly dependent on the species status of allopatric populations that differ in phenotypic traits. These traits may be unreliable indicators of biological species status and systematists may have inconsistently assigned species among lineages or locations on...

Nomenclature represents the backbone upon which virtually all biological information is organized. However, the practice of zoological nomenclature has changed relatively little since its start in 1758. As modern technology changes the paradigm under which modern scientists exchange information, there is increasing need to capitalize on these same...

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (the Code) is the internationally agreed set of rules for the scientific names of animals that ensures the stability and universality of zoological names. This chapter is a brief overview of selected topics of special relevance to editors, based on their mention in the Code or prevalence in enquirie...

The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, also known as the ‘ICZN’ and ‘the Commission’, supports editors of technical journals in applying best practice to zoological nomenclature. This paper brings together selected topics of relevance to editors based on mentions of editors in the Code and experience of recent enquiries received b...

A set of terms recommended for use in facilitating communication in biological nomenclature is presented as a table showing broadly equivalent terms used in the traditional Codes of nomenclature. These terms are intended to help those engaged in naming across organism groups, and are the result of the work of the International Committee on Bionomen...

We describe the first records of spirochetes in the gut of fourteen species of continental gastropods from a range of habitats and representing six families (Amnicolidae, Baicaliidae, Bithyniidae, Pyrgulidae, Lithoglyphidae and Benedictiidae). The bacteria were mainly found in the crystalline style sac, as has been reported in marine bivalves. The...

Actualistic studies of modern continental environments and the spatial and temporal distribution of terrestrial and aquatic organisms are summarized and synthesized to understand how to better interpret the significance of trace fossils to differentiate lacustrine from fluvial, eolian, and marine deposits in the geologic record. The purpose of this...

In the otherwise excellent special issueof Trends in Ecology and Evolution on long-term ecological research (TREE 25(10), 2010), none of the contributors mentioned the importance of natural history collections (NHCs) as sources of data that can strongly complement past and ongoing survey data.Whereas very few field surveys have operated for more th...

Notton, D.G., Michel, E., Dale-Skey, N., Nikolaeva, S. & Tracey, S. 2011. Best practice in the use of the scientific names of animals: Support for editors of technical journals. 68(4): 313-322.

The International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature has used the Scratchpads platform (currently being developed and maintained by ViBRANT) as the foundation for its redesigned website and as a platform for engaging with its users. The existing Scratchpad tools, with extensions to provide additional functions, have allowed for a major transform...

Natural history collections (NHCs) are an important source of the long-term data needed to understand how biota respond to ongoing anthropogenic climate change. These include taxon occurrence data for ecological modeling, as well as information that can be used to reconstruct mechanisms through which biota respond to changing climates. The full pot...

We used multiple analytical methods to demonstrate resource partitioning in five species of coexisting endemic gastropods in the family Baicaliidae and the genus Megalovalvata (Valvatidae) in rocky walls of the underwater canyons in Lake Baikal. We tested whether filter-feeding baicaliids and valvatids consume and assimilate different food using da...

Preamble 1. Biology requires a precise, coherent and simple system for the naming of organisms used internationally, dealing both with the nomenclatural terms and with the scientific names that are applied to the individual taxonomic groups of organisms ( taxa , singular taxon ).

Lake Tanganyika, the world’s largest tropical rift lake, is unique among its counterparts in East Africa for the remarkable diversity of mollusk-rich sediments in its littoral zone. Molluscan shell beds are, however, a common feature of ancient lacustrine rift deposits and thus a better understanding of their spatial and temporal development is imp...

We studied the effects of upwelling on nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics in the pelagic and littoral zones of Lake Tanganyika near Kigoma, Tanzania. During the dry season of 2004, a rise in the thermocline and sudden drop in surface water temperatures indicated a substantial upwelling event. Increases in concentrations of nitrate, soluble reactiv...

1. Among vertebrates, herbivores have longer digestive tracts than animals at higher trophic levels, a pattern thought to reflect a trade-off between digestive efficiency and tissue maintenance costs. However, phylogenetic influences on this pattern have rarely been considered. Taxa that have undergone diversification accompanied by dietary shifts...

Sedimentation resulting from riparian deforestation has a wide range of detrimental effects on aquatic biodiversity, but predicting the full consequences of such disturbances requires an understanding of the ecosystem’s key functional components. We investigated the ecology and response to sedimentation of the diverse, endemic freshwater crabs of L...

Quantitative measures of feeding, respiration, growth and reproduction were brought together to achieve an overview of differences in physiology between 2 sympatric species of Anisus (Gastropoda, Planorbidae) in subarctic Lake Krivoye, northwestern Russia. This is a resource-limited lake with a short summer growing season where one might expect int...

The endemic crabs of Lake Tanganyika include a phenotypically diverse clade that exhibits recent divergence and low phylogenetic species resolution. There are indications that ecological niche segregation has played a prominent role in the divergence of this clade. We used habitat surveys, gut content analyses and stable isotope analyses to test th...

The endemic crabs of Lake Tanganyika include a phenotypically diverse clade that exhibits recent divergence and low phylogenetic species resolution. There are indications that ecological niche segregation has played a prominent role in the divergence of this clade. We used habitat surveys, gut content analyses and stable isotope analyses to test th...

The endemic crabs of Lake Tanganyika include a phenotypically diverse clade that exhibits recent divergence and low phylogenetic species resolution. There are indications that ecological niche segregation has played a prominent role in the divergence of this clade. We used habitat surveys, gut content analyses and stable isotope analyses to test th...

Successful establishment and spread of biological invaders may be promoted by the absence of population-regulating enemies such as pathogens, parasites or predators. This may come about when introduced taxa are missing enemies from their native habitats, or through immunity to enemies within invaded habitats. Here we provide field evidence that tre...

Endemic Lavigeria gastropods are diverse and common in the benthos of Lake Tanganyika. We used in situ studies of marked individuals to quantify rates of daily movement by three species, and test the effects of size, sex, reproductive status and parasitism on movement. Average net travel distance was 50 cm day−1, which corresponds to about 20 times...

Exceptional ecological niche diversity, clear waters and unique divergent selection pressures have often been invoked to explain high morphological and genetic diversity of taxa within ancient lakes. However, it is possible that in some ancient lake taxa high diversity has arisen because these historically stable environments have allowed accumulat...