The introduction of non-native species has created significant global biodiversity challenges, both directly and indirectly, affecting native ecosystems and biodiversity. Since the 1930s, with a peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, human activities have facilitated the global spread of the North American pond slider (Trachemys scripta), which seems to be widespread in Germany, occupying numerous waterbodies. However, knowledge on other non-native chelonian species in Germany remains sparse. This study aims to assess the current diversity and distribution of non-native freshwater chelonians in Germany. Using a dataset of 1770 records of non-native terrapins in Germany, derived from the published sources and publicly available citizen-science data, we examine the distributions and their relationship to anthropogenic factors. Herein, we confirm the presence of 14 free-ranging non-native terrapin species in Germany, namely Chelydra serpentina, Chrysemys dorsalis, Chrysemys picta, Graptemys ouachitensis, Graptemys pseudogeographica, Mauremys leprosa, Mauremys reevesii, Mauremys sinensis, Pelodiscus sinensis, Pseudemys concinna, Pseudemys nelsoni, Pseudemys peninsularis, Sternotherus odoratus and Trachemys scripta and provide a comprehensive overview of their currently known distribution patterns. We also report occurrences of Emys orbicularis, which is native to Germany, but, with the exception of the Brandenburg populations, nearly all populations are allochthonous. Our study reveals that species diversity and abundance are highest in and in close proximity to urban areas, confirming a strong correlation between terrapin distribution and anthropogenic presence.

ABSTRACT Urbanisation is a major driver of global biodiversity change, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. To assess biodiversity change at the city scale, indicators are needed that can represent long‐term population trends from heterogeneous monitoring data. The Living Planet Index (LPI) addresses policy‐relevant questions such as “how much has biodiversity declined where?”, while the Diversity‐weighted LPI (DW‐LPI) can reduce bias caused by uneven taxonomic representation. Here, we evaluate the application of both indices for long‐term urban biodiversity assessment in Berlin, Germany. We analysed population trends of habitat‐shifting species in Berlin waterbodies, focusing on odonates (dragonflies, damselflies) and amphibians (frogs, toads, newts). These taxa depend on both aquatic and terrestrial habitats and are therefore sensitive to urban environmental change. We compiled data from 16 waterbodies representing different habitat types across the city, spanning 60 years for odonates and 40 years for amphibians. Both taxa showed significant long‐term declines, amounting to > 50% in odonates and 76% in amphibians. Amphibians declined more strongly, likely reflecting their lower mobility and higher sensitivity to habitat fragmentation and disrupted connectivity. The DW‐LPI showed smaller declines than the unweighted LPI, indicating that diversity‐weighting reduced the influence of uneven taxonomic representation. Our findings show that LPI and DW‐LPI approaches can be applied at the urban scale and provide useful indicators of population change. However, results must be interpreted cautiously when datasets have limited temporal continuity, spatial coverage or taxonomic balance. The observed declines likely represent conservative estimates and highlight the need for structured, continuous and standardised biodiversity monitoring in Berlin.

We describe four new cryptic Ptychadena species from rainforest habitats in the Guinean Forests of West Africa, a renowned biodiversity hotspot. The new taxa are diagnosed based on morphological and molecular data (the mitochondrial markers 12S and 16S, and the nuclear gene RAG1), including museomic data from the types of the morphologically most similar taxon, P. aequiplicata, which was believed to range from West Africa into western Central Africa. The four new species form a clade that is sister to a clade of Ptychadena species from East, West and Central Africa that contains the type specimens of P. aequiplicata. We consequently restrict the distribution of P. aequiplicata to records from western Central Africa. The similar morphology and colour pattern of P. aequiplicata and the four new species are most likely a convergent adaptation to their habitat, leaf litter of rainforests. All four new species depend on primary forests and seem to tolerate little to no forest alteration. This habitat preference and very small 'Areas of Occupancy' qualify all four new species as Endangered, according to IUCN Red List criteria. The new West African Ptychadena species comprise two clades with two species each, both including an eastern and a western species that may differ in their preference of different forest environments. The four new species thus seem to be a very promising model system to investigate the forest history of West Africa. At least in parts, they have a reproductive strategy adapted to unpredictable rainfall and high air humidity, which is distinctly different from the rest of the genus. The new species confirm the assumption that West Africa is home to a unique amphibian fauna that is markedly distinct from the rest of the continent.

Ecuador's coastal region has an exceptional freshwater biodiversity. Despite its biological richness, the region's aquatic ecosystems face significant threats due to deforestation, pollution, unsustainable fishing and climate change. Ichthyological research becomes essential to understand current species diversity and to develop effective conservation strategies. Located within this region is the Canand & eacute; reserve, created to protect one of the last remnants of threatened tropical forests. This study aims to provide a first overview of the ichthyological fauna of the reserve and to highlight the interconnection between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Two water bodies were sampled and 14 fish species from 11 different families were identified. During an initial sampling in 2023, 12 species were found, and two more were added in subsequent expeditions. Although all species encountered are classified as 'Least Concern' by the IUCN, one characin, Pseudochalceus bohlkei, is nationally 'Endangered'. The ichthyological community of the reserve includes species that also feed on terrestrial resources like amphibians. At the same time, fish serve as prey for other terrestrial animals, suggesting a complex dynamic between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in the reserve. It highlights the importance of further research on the connectivity of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in the neotropics.

Background:Volunteers and citizen science initiatives play a crucial role for the documentation of species occurrences and distributions. When quality-checked and openly available, such data can provide information for biodiversity research and nature conservation. While some large international platforms reach a high number of opportunistic users around the world, there are also many smaller and regional citizen science initiatives, which often collaborate very closely with local authorities, conservation organisations and local experts and volunteers. Despite their high quality, data from such regional initiatives are often missing from global open data platforms, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). New information:Here, we present a quality-checked citizen science dataset published on GBIF with more than 1 million georeferenced species records with a geographic focus on the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) and Berlin. The dataset originates from the collaborative observation platform ArtenFinder, which is run by the two federal states. While each state branch administers its own web platform, they share a common database. Users can upload, edit, manage and share their observations of animals, plants and fungi. Experts validate the species records, based on photographs and other media as well as on plausibility, which allows the data to be used by state authorities and for conservation management and research purposes. The data mobilisation and publication were enabled by the German National Research Data Infrastructure for Biodiversity (NFDI4Biodiversity) and the dataset is now also available through the Living Atlas of Nature Germany platform, a GBIF hosted portal.

We report three recent observations of striped individuals of the grass snake (Natrix natrix) from Berlin, Germany. Such animals have been described from the region earlier, although this color morph is typical for south-eastern European populations. All three observations were made in anthropogenic habitats, which have been highly frequented by visitors for decades. Based on our anecdotal findings and recent publications on the morpho-geography of the species, we hypothesize that introduced individuals might play a more significant role in the polymorphism of grass snakes than previously thought. Finally, we overview all published observations of striped grass snakes in Central Europe and discuss the implications of potentially introduced non-native genotypes.

We report on three clutches with 13, 28 and 33 eggs, respectively, obtained from three Pristimantis rosadoi couples, caught in the wet Ecuadorian Choco region. Embryos developed from two clutches and are illustrated herein. One clutch matured and 25 froglets hatched simultaneously after 21 days. The hatching of froglets, with different amounts of yolk remaining, indicates that this was a response to perceived predation risk and thus indicates plasticity in hatching time. We also observed a distinct change from rough to smooth dorsal skin in two of the three females, after disengaging from amplexus. Our observations on reproduction and morphological change are compared to data known from other species of this genus.

The distribution of the White-Lipped Frog Amnirana albolabris was long assumed to extend from eastern-central to western African rainforests. However, recent molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that this taxon likely represents several undescribed species. Because the name-bearing types were collected in Gabon, the distantly related West African populations clearly represent an undescribed species that partly occurs in sympatry with Amnirana fonensis. Based on an integrative taxonomic approach, including molecular, morphological, and acoustic data, we describe the 'albolabris' populations from the Upper Guinean Forest Zone as a new species, and redescribe the morphologically similar A. fonensis on the bases of a larger series of genotyped individuals, including the first known females. We also provide new biological information for A. fonensis, including their advertisement call, habitat, and reproductive data. The new species is sister to A. fonensis and the two species differ by 5.8% in the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Morphologically, males of the new species are smaller and have relatively smaller humeral glands. Females of the new species seem to have shorter legs than A. fonensis. In comparison to A. fonensis, the advertisement call of the new species has a higher dominant frequency and more pronounced frequency modulation. The two species differ in their distribution and habitat preferences, as revealed by environmental niche modelling. Whereas the new species is restricted to the Upper Guinean forests and thus is a true lowland-rainforest inhabitant, A. fonensis lives predominantly in Guinean montane forests in the forest-savanna mosaic zone.

Urbanization leads to drastic modifications of the terrestrial and aquatic environment. However, urban ponds may provide valuable habitats for different taxa, including aquatic insects and amphibians. We aim to understand how a set of biotic and abiotic factors influence aquatic insect diversity in 18 urban ponds in the German metropolis Berlin, one of the greenest whilst most densely populated European cities. Greenspace is important for the terrestrial stages of some aquatic insects and amphibians, providing crucial resources. Thus, greenspace was assumed to have positive effects on aquatic insect diversity, whereas built-up area was assumed to affect diversity negatively. Because some aquatic insects prey on tadpoles, their abundance and diversity were assumed to depend on tadpole abundance, which in turn, depends on other food (i.e., phytoplankton) availability in ponds. We visited the ponds twice a year, in spring and summer, and collected data on aquatic insects that are known to prey on tadpoles, tadpole abundance, phytoplankton biomass, the presence or absence of large insect predators, as well as physical–chemical parameters. We assumed higher total aquatic insect abundance, genera richness, alpha-diversity, and evenness, as well as abundance and genera richness of different aquatic insect taxonomic groups to be associated with high tadpole abundance in ponds surrounded by high amount of greenspace and low levels of built-up area. Accordingly, we expected aquatic insects to be modulated by phytoplankton biomass, the presence of newts and fish, and to be affected by ponds’ abiotic conditions. Our results showed that biological interactions and abiotic water conditions override urban effects in ponds’ terrestrial surroundings on aquatic insect diversity levels, whereas aquatic insects’ taxonomic groups responded differently on different land-use types around ponds. We explain our findings due to different dependences and demands towards terrestrial and/or aquatic habitats by different taxonomic groups of aquatic insects, and differences in their colonization behavior.

Herein, we describe the tadpoles of six Astylosternus species, A. fallax, A. cf. fallax, A. laurenti, A. montanus, A. perreti, A. ranoides, and Scotobleps gabonicus, and redescribe the tadpoles of A. batesi, A. diadematus, A. laticephalus, A. occidentalis, A. rheophilus, and Nyctibates corrugatus. All Astylosternus tadpoles are adapted to torrent currents and share a long, oval body, slightly flattened in lateral view, with very long muscular tails with narrow fins. The jaws are massive, serrated, and often show a tooth-like medial projection (fang) in the upper jaw. Body proportions of Astylosternus tadpoles are extremely similar. The best characters to distinguish species might be life coloration and potentially the shape of labial papillae. The tadpole of Scotobleps gabonicus is similar to Astylosternus and differs only slightly by a narrower body with a shorter and rounder head. The upper jaw of Scotobleps carries two or three lateral fangs instead of one medial one. The tadpole of Nyctibates corrugatus is easily distinguishable from the other two genera on the basis of their very long, eel-shaped body and tail and the bluish-black color.