Stefan F. Wirth

Please like my new #article about #lichens and their role as #monitorspecies for #climaticchanges and #airpollution on YouTube:

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxusBM8nwtY62q_IxYVx38J4qt44zdJPob?si=l402ltWU467vdr67

My article is presenting a short #macro series of the #lichen #Parmelia #sulcata, which I #photographed in the #urban #forest area #Jungfernheide in #Berlin in March 2026, close to a wetland area, the lake Flughafensee.
© #StefanFWirth, Berlin, May 2026

Please support my freelance science writing and photography
https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

Please also like my newest #YouTube #video, showing some #behaviors of the #beetle #Mimela #junii (#Scarabaeidae), which is a #neozoon in #CentralEurope and Germany. It originally is #native to the #Mediterranean region. My video shows #selfcleaning behavior, #locomotion, #flying ssprcts and response to threat (#thanatosis).
©#StefanFWirth 2026

I depend on your kind support for my work
https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/QPO5ftCGeOw?is=LFM-YitbLSwXsk5n

Photos
©S. F. Wirth, based on my video frames

Please also visit my #homepage https://biologe.wordpress.com/
It is, where I use to publish longer, more detailed, edited articles, usually #sciencecommunication, also occasionally short stories, rarer comments.
See for example my #article about the beak use of the #blackwoodpecker.
https://wp.me/p2l6XU-23q
Here I used AI assisted #illustrations to #visualize aspects, important for understanding my text narrative. In other articles, I present my own photography/videos
© #StefanFWirth
Pics
©S.F. Wirth

The #globalwarming effects are particularly impacting #largecities like #Berlin.Due to its many greenspaces,Berlin is at least a bit equipped to handle these effects. Nevertheless, #urbanplanning will be crucial for the #future. J.Friesen & H.Taubenböck (2025)use annual #temperatureprojections, #socioeconomic and #citymorphology data i.a.to predict future climatic threshold-exceedings.
©#StefanFWirth

Please support me: https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

Ref
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-19954-z

#Photos
©S.F.Wirth

Lichens indicate airquality and climateconditions. I found the #species below in #Jungfernheide #forest #Berlin. While #Parmelia #sulcata requires light, but is flexible, #Hypotrachyna #afrorevoluta needs warm, nitrogen-poor #environments and clean air. The latter is rareer in #Germany, but spreading eastward based on #globalwarming. D. Masson (2004) found it on #treetrunks and #branches.
©#StefanFWirth
Please support me
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Ref
https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/cryptogamie-mycologie2004v25f3a6.pdf

#Photos
©S.F.Wirth

#Balanomorpha is a clade of #barnacles of the higher taxon#Cirripedia.As adults these #crustaceans are #sessile with a calcareous #shell to fully retract, secreted by the pouch-like, modified carapax. M.Zhang et al. (2023) isolated the #mitochondrialgenome of the invasive species Megabalanus coccopoma,thus establishing it as a #scientificmodel.
©#StefanFWirth

Please support my science communication, scientific work, art: https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

Ref
https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010117

#Photos
©S.F.Wirth

The #mandrake #Mandragora #officinarum (#Solanaceae) is native to the #Mediterranean region,evtl. except for the Levant, where it might be M. #autumnalis. It prefers open and drier #habitats. Its #roots can vaguely resemble #humanfigures, which is why it had #spiritual significance in the Middle Ages. G. Benítez et al.(2023) studied its history as a #medicinalplant.
©#StefanFWirth

Please support me with a coffee:
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Ref
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2022.115874

#illustrations
©S.F.Wirth

M.M. Sandin et al. (preprint, 2025) "inferred a timeline of #eukaryoteevolution using molecular clock and birth-death diversification models". They used a "#dataset of 75,975 non-redundant...#taxonomicunits and 77 well-supported fossil calibrations" and reconstructed an #evolutionary #diversification of #eukaryote #crowngroup representatives in the Proterozoic (ca. 2.5 billion to 541 million y. ago).
StefanFWirth

Ref
https://doi.org/10.64898/2025.12.12.693929

Fig
M.M.Sandin et al.(2025), http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

The #slave #ant #Formica #fusca (#Formicinae) is seen here on common #tansy collecting #honeydew from and guarding the #aphid #Metopeurum #fuscoviride. The #workers of this ant #species, which builds #polygynous subterranean nests, are often exploited by other species for nest building. As C. Carere et al. (2018) found, there is a linear link between #individual and #collective #behavior.

©#StefanFWirth Berlin 2025

Ref
C. Carere et al. (2018)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2018.07.009

#Photos
©S F. Wirth 2025

RE: @plazi_species@mastodon.green

#Endemic #species are always interesting from different perspectives, e.g. from an #evolutionary and #ecological point of view. This also applies to #skinks of the genus
#Madascincus, being with several known species endemic to #Madagascar.
A. Miralles et al. (2026) described based on #multilocus #phylogenetics and #morphology two #newspecies:
M. #irery and M.
#minotaurus, with restricted distributions to limited areas of Madagascar only.
© this text #StefanFWirth

RE: @PLOSBiology@fediscience.org

Close #relationships, e.g. cryptic species complexes, can lead to species being almost indistinguishable from one another. However, close relationships can also lead to #distinct #differences, as K. Tomihara et al. (2026) investigated at the molecular genetic level in the sister species of #silkmoths #Bombyx #mori and #Bombyx #mandarina. According to their findings, a conserved #Wnt family #genecluster is of particular importance, being associated with #morphologicaldivergence.
© #StefanFWirth