Ilari Eerikki Sääksjärvi

University of Turku | UTU · Biodiversity Unit

The megadiverse parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) is classically considered an exception to the extensively studied latitudinal diversity gradient: the majority of ichneumonid species are described from temperate regions. The gradient has been hypothesized to be dependent on the biology of the wasps, but recently questions of sampl...

Clistopyga caramba sp. nov. Castillo & Sääksjärvi, collected from the tropical Andean-Amazonian interface in Peru, is described and illustrated. The new species is characterized by highly modified posterior metasomal tergites and a rare colour pattern of the metasoma. Two possible explanations for the bizarre metasomal morphology and colouration ar...

Apical serrations of the hymenopteran ovipositor have been widely postulated to originally constitute adaptations for cutting through hard substrates. Simplifica- tions of the ovipositor tip have occurred in several ichneumonid wasp genera associated with spiders. Despite such reduction in Clistopyga (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), the ovipositor sti...

Dolichomitus Smith, 1877 is a genus of Darwin wasps characterised by their large bodies and long ovipositors, that includes more than 75 species worldwide, 20 of which occur in the Neotropical Region. Due to recent efforts, the number of species of this genus continues to increase in South America. A new iridescent species of Pimplinae, Dolichomitu...

In the face of the continuing global biodiversity loss, it is important not only to assess the need for conservation, through e.g. gap analyses, but also to seek practical solutions for protecting biodiversity. Environmentally and socially sustainable tourism can be one such solution. We present a method to spatially link data on conservation needs...

A new monotypic genus of ichneumonine parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae) is described from Peru; Capitojoppa gen. nov. is described to accommodate Capitojoppa amazonica sp. nov. The new genus is morphologically very distinctive and can be easily separated from all known ichneumonine genera. By describing Capitojoppa from t...

A bstract The global distribution of parasitoid wasp species richness is poorly known. Past attempts to compare data from different sites have been hampered by small sample sizes and lack of standardisation. During the past decades, we have carried out long-term Malaise trapping using a standardised approach in the tropical forests of Peru (western...

Although spiders constitute a highly diversified group of animals, the knowledge regarding their geographic distribution (i.e., the so-called Wallacean shortfall) and diversity patterns is incipient on a global scale; while attempts to explore such patterns have been made for the highly diversified Neotropical fauna, several Old World regions are h...

Figure S1. Raw count numbers of records of plants and animals, all animals, arthropods and spiders, and spider species richness in Iran. Figure S2. Density of records of spiders and roads in Iran.

We describe three new species of the previously monotypic genus Creagrura Townes from Central and South America: C. alejandromasisi sp. n. and C. rogerblancoi sp. n. from Costa Rica and C. allpahuaya sp. n. from Peru, all of which emphasise the unknown parasitoid insect diversity yet to be revealed in the tropics. Host relationships of the two Cost...

LUONTOPANEELIN KESKEISET HUOMIOT JA SUOSITUKSET • Jatkuvapeitteisen metsänkäsittelyn osuutta kannattaa merkittävästi kasvattaa taloudellisista syistä. Valtaosa suomalaisista ja pohjoismaisista jatkuvapeitteistä ja jaksollista metsänkäsittelyä vertailevista tutkimuksista koskee puuntuotantomäärää metsänkäsittelyn taloudellisen tuloksen sijaan. Mahdo...

One mechanism for morphologically similar and sympatric species to avoid competition and facilitate coexistence is to feed on different prey items within different microhabitats. In the current study, we investigated and compared the diet of the two most common and similar-sized bat species in Japan—Murina ussuriensis (Ognev, 1913) and Myotis ikonn...

Helsingin Sanomat 13.12.2021 Saaristot ovat aina kiehtoneet tutkijoita, ja niiden ominaisuudet ovat mahdollistaneet tieteellisiin läpimurtoihin johtaneita tutkimuksia. Saaristotutkimusten ansiosta ymmärrämme hyvin esimerkiksi luonnon monimuotoisuuden syntymekanismeja. Samanaikaisesti ne ovat opettaneet tutkijoita myös sukupuutoista ja luontokadon...

Tässä mietinnössä Luontopaneeli keskittyy Suomen pinta-alaltaan suurimman ja siten lajien kannalta merkityksellisimmän elinympäristön eli boreaalisten metsien suojelun kohdentamiseen. EU:n BD-strategiassa mainitut käsitteet vanha metsä ja luonnontilainen metsä eivät ole yksiselitteisiä, ja niiden määritelmiin voidaan perustellusti esittää erilaisia...

The biology of many Darwin wasp (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) species is poorly known. Existing museum specimens can potentially be used to get information on e.g. how species live, what they eat, and what their life cycle is. One example of this is a 1991 study by Eggleton in which he measured some rhyssine (Ichneumonidae: Rhyssinae) species, and u...

Nature-based tourism has been widely addressed, yet research on nature-based science tourism, founded on science, scientific knowledge, and/or engagement in scientific research, is still scarce. Drawing on tourist motivation, nature-based tourism, special interest tourism, and science tourism, a novel theoretical conceptualization of nature-based s...

Suomen alkuperäisestä 10,4 miljoonan hehtaarin suoalasta yli puolet on ojitettu metsä- ja maatalouden sekä turvetuotannon tarpeisiin. Etelä-Suomessa ojitus on ollut voimakkainta: keskimäärin noin 75 prosenttia ja monin paikoin vielä suurempi osa soista on ojitettu. Suot ovat Euroopan luontotyypeistä kaikkein uhanalaisin luontotyyppiryhmä ja Suomell...

The Neotropical Polysphincta dizardi species-group is revised. We describe seven new species from South America: P. bonita sp. nov., P. cosnipata sp. nov., P. inca sp. nov., P. macroepomia sp. nov., P. organensis sp. nov., P. pichincha sp. nov., and P. teresa sp. nov. In addition, we provide a diagnosis and an identification key to all species of t...

The pharmacological utility of various biochemical compounds in scorpion venom offers promise in several research fields but its potential economic value has placed pressure on scorpion populations already threatened by habitat destruction and over harvesting for the international trade in exotic pets. Since at least 2016, several countries in Afri...

Sanna Marinin hallitus on sitoutunut luonnon monimuotoisuuden tilan parantamiseen ja luontokadon pysäyttämiseen. Lupaus on äärimmäisen tärkeä. Luonnon ekosysteemien heikennys uhkaa elintärkeiden eko-systeemipalveluiden tuotantoa sekä ihmisten terveyttä, hyvinvointia ja turvallisuutta. Maailman talousfoorumi on nostanut luontokadon viiden vakavimman...

Suomi on toistaiseksi selvinnyt koronaviruksen (COVID-19) aiheuttamasta kriisistä taloudellisesti verrokkimaita paremmin, mutta työllisyystilanne on silti heikentynyt ympäri maata ja talouden ennustetaan supistuvan noin 4,7 prosenttia vuonna 20201. Negatiivisten talousvaikutusten minimoimiseksi hallitus on suuntaamassa EU:n elpymisvälineestä varoja...

Recently, Meierotto et al. (2019) proposed a ‘revolutionary’ protocol for the description of understudied hyperdiverse taxa. The premise of their study was to champion exclusively DNA-barcode-based species descriptions (=diagnoses), which would dramatically increase the rate of description and provide a ‘human-readable record in the literature’ (un...

We report new faunistic records of Pimpla Fabricius, 1804 from Uruguay. The following species are reported from the country for the first time: P. albomarginata Cameron, 1846, P. caerulea Brullé, 1846, P. perssoni Gauld, 1991, and P. semirufa Brullé, 1846. In addition, we propose a replacement name for Pimpla rufipes Brullé, 1846 and provide diagno...

Taxon sampling is a central aspect of phylogenetic study design, but it has received limited attention in the context of total-evidence dating, a widely used dating approach that directly integrates molecular and morphological information from extant and fossil taxa. We here assess the impact of commonly employed outgroup sampling schemes and missi...

Seven new species of Hymenoepimecis Viereck are described from Peruvian Andes and Amazonia, French Guiana and Ecuador: H. andina Pádua & Sääksjärvi, sp. nov., H. castilloi Pádua & Sääksjärvi, sp. nov., H. dolichocarinata Pádua & Sääksjärvi, sp. nov., H. ecuatoriana Pádua & Sääksjärvi, sp. nov., H. longilobus Pádua & Sääksjärvi, sp. nov., H. pucallp...

To understand the diversity and strength of predation in natural communities, researchers must quantify the total amount of prey species in the diet of predators. Metabarcoding approaches have allowed widespread characterization of predator diets with high taxonomic resolution. To determine the wider impacts of predators, researchers should combine...

Acrotaphus Townes, 1960 is a moderately large New World genus of spider attacking parasitoid wasps. Previously, it comprised 11 species. The present study aims to review the genus, and includes descriptions of 15 new species: A. amajari sp. n., A. amazonicus sp. n., A. bodoquenaensis sp. n., A. cuzconus sp. n., A. dolichopus sp. n., A. homeofrankli...

The parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae is arguably one of the groups for which current knowledge lags most strongly behind their enormous diversity. In a five-day meeting in Basel (Switzerland) in June 2019, 22 researchers from 14 countries met to discuss the most important issues in ichneumonid research, including increasing the speed of species...

Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a parasitoid wasp specialized in parasitizing the larvae and nymphs of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). As parasitized ticks die prior to reproduction, I. hookeri is seen as a prime biological control agent candidate. Despite this, little is known of their occurrence or ecology in northern Europe. The main a...

Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a parasitoid wasp specialized in parasitizing the larvae and nymphs of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). As parasitized ticks die prior to reproduction, I. hookeri is seen as a prime biological control agent candidate. Despite this, little is known of their occurrence or ecology in northern Europe. The main a...

Taxon sampling is a central aspect of phylogenetic study design, but it has received limited attention in the context of molecular dating and especially in the framework of total-evidence dating, a widely used dating approach that directly integrates molecular and morphological information from extant and fossil taxa. We here assess the impact of d...

Tropical forest invertebrates, such as the parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae, are poorly known. This work reports some of the first results of an extensive survey implemented in Kibale National Park, Uganda. A total of 456 individuals was caught of the subfamily Rhyssinae Morley, 1913, which in the Afrotropical region was previously known from o...

Globally, the acceptance and use of herbal and traditional medicine is on the rise. Africa, especially Ghana, has its populace resorting to African Traditional Herbal Medicine (ATHMed) for their healthcare needs due to its potency and accessibility. However, the practice involving its preparation and administration has come into question. Even more...

We report the genus Ticapimpla Gauld, 1991 from French Guiana and the species Ticapimpla amazonica Palacio et al., T. carinata Palacio et al., T. matamatae Palacio et al. and T. soinii Palacio et al. from Brazilian Amazonia. The new discoveries suggest that the genus is widely distributed in Amazonian lowland rain forests. In addition, we diagnose...

This review examines the potential of universities to advance environmental sustainability through nature-based science tourism, in which scientists are actively involved in co-creating nature-based tourism experiences. We first justify the review by presenting the current changes facing academia, namely the pressure to increase societal effectiven...

Tropical invertebrates, such as the ichneumonids of tropical forests, are poorly known. Here, we report the first results of extensive sampling at Kibale National Park, Uganda, by providing some of the first tropical ecological data for the ichneumonid subfamily Rhyssinae. We sampled ichneumonids with 34 Malaise traps for a year in 10 sites, in hab...

Massively parallel DNA sequencing opens up opportunities for bridging multiple temporal and spatial dimensions in biodiversity research, thanks to its efficiency to recover millions of nucleotide polymorphisms. Here, we identify the current status, discuss the main challenges, and look into future perspectives on biodiversity genomics focusing on i...

Raw data retrieved from our search in Web of Science. Our Literature Review was based on an unbiased search in Web of Science. More details can be found in the main text.

Input data for generating Figure 3. Data was retrieved from Web of Science. The analyses were performed only on Original research. Other type of articles retrieved by our search in Web of Science can be found in the raw data file in Supporting Material.

Massively parallel DNA sequencing opens up opportunities for bridging multiple temporal and spatial dimensions in biodiversity research, thanks to its efficiency to recover millions of nucleotide polymorphisms. Here we identify the current status, discuss the main challenges, and look into future perspectives on biodiversity genomics focusing on in...

Massively parallel DNA sequencing opens up opportunities for bridging multiple temporal and spatial dimensions in biodiversity research, thanks to its efficiency to recover millions of nucleotide polymorphisms. Here we identify the current status, discuss the main challenges, and look into future perspectives on biodiversity genomics focusing on in...

The Cimicidae is a family of blood‐dependent ectoparasites in which dispersion capacity is greatly associated with host movements. Bats are the ancestral and most prevalent hosts for cimicids. Cimicids have a worldwide distribution matching that of their hosts, but the global classification is incomplete, especially for species outside the most com...

The rapid loss of biodiversity, coupled with difficulties in species identification, call for innovative approaches to assess biodiversity. Insects make up a substantial proportion of extant diversity and play fundamental roles in any given ecosystem. To complement morphological species identification, new techniques such as metabarcoding make it p...

The phylogeny of the ichneumonid parasitoid wasp subfamily Ateleutinae is investigated based on molecular data from five genes. A total of 36 species are included in the ingroup. Maximum likelihood analyses recovered a strongly supported monophyletic clade circumscribing the subfamily Ateleutinae. Five main clades were recovered in the subfamily, b...

Ticks (Acari: Ixodoidea) are among the most common vectors of zoonotic pathogens worldwide. While research on tick-borne pathogens is abundant, few studies have thoroughly investigated small-scale spatial differences in their occurrence. Here, we used long-term cloth-dragging data of Ixodes ricinus and its associated, known and putative pathogens (...

Background Almost 3500 tick samples, originally collected via a nationwide citizen science campaign in 2015, were screened to reveal the prevalence and distribution of a wide spectrum of established and putative tick-borne pathogens vectored by Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus in Finland. The unique geographical distribution of these two tick spec...

The tropical ichneumonid wasps are poorly sampled, particularly in the Old World, despite their ecological importance and high species richness. Existing inventories also tend to have had a taxonomic focus, with trap placement reflecting the need for maximal sample size rather than rigorous ecological comparisons. Here, we report the results of an...

Nanium Townes, 1967 is a small New World parasitoid wasp genus in the subfamily Ctenopelmatinae Förster, 1869 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Previously, it comprised five species: one from North America and four from Costa Rica. The current study reviews the Neotropical species of the genus, and includes descriptions of two new species, N. medianum...

The New World Clistopyga isayae species group is revised. Seven species are described as new: C. crassicaudata sp. nov., C. isayae sp. nov., C. kalima sp. nov., C. nigriventris sp. nov., C. panchei sp. nov., C. splendida sp. nov. and C. taironae sp. nov. An illustrated identification key to all species of the group is provided. The Clistopyga isaya...

The Neotropical cryptine genus Lissaspis Townes is reviewed, comprising 26 species, of which, 17 are described as new, more than doubling the known species: L. aurea sp. n. from Peru, L. brevis sp. n. from Costa Rica and Ecuador, L. brunnea sp. n. from Costa Rica, L. erwini sp. n. from Ecuador, L. excavata sp. n. and L. longigena sp. n. from Venezu...

The study of biodiversity within the spatiotemporal continuum of evolution, e.g., studying local communities, population dynamics, or phylogenetic diversity, has been important to properly identify and describe the current biodiversity crisis. However, it has become clear that a multi-scale approach – from the leaves of phylogenetic trees to its de...

The study of biodiversity within the spatiotemporal continuum of evolution, e.g., studying local communities, population dynamics, or phylogenetic diversity, has been important to properly identify and describe the current biodiversity crisis. However, it has become clear that a multi-scale approach-from the leaves of phylogenetic trees to its deep...