A reliable phylogeny is crucial for understanding the evolution and radiation of animal taxa. Phylogenies based on morphological data may be misleading due to frequent convergent evolution of traits—a problem from which molecular phylogenies suffer less. This may be particularly relevant in oribatid mites, an ancient soil animal taxon with more than 11,000 species, where the classification of species into high-ranking taxa suc...

Lignocellulose is a major component of vascular plant biomass. Its decomposition is crucial for the terrestrial carbon cycle. Microorganisms are considered primary decomposers, but evidence increases that some invertebrates may also decompose lignocellulose. We investigated the taxonomic distribution and evolutionary origins of GH45 hydrolases, important enzymes for the decomposition of cellulose and hemicellulose, in a collec...

A variety of human activities have been identified as driving factors for the release and spread of invasive earthworm species in North America. Population genetic markers can help to identify locally relevant anthropogenic vectors and provide insights into the processes of population dispersal and establishment. We sampled the invasive European earthworm species Lumbricus terrestris at nine sites and several bait shops within...

Oribatid mites are tiny arthropods that are common in all soils of the world; however, they also occur in microhabitats above the soil such as lichens, mosses, on the bark of trees and in suspended soils. For understanding oribatid mite community structure, it is important to know whether they are dispersal limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of oribatid mite dispersal using Malaise traps to exclud...

Deforestation, plantation expansion and other human activities in tropical ecosystems are often associated with biological invasions. These processes have been studied for above-ground organisms, but associated changes below the ground have received little attention. We surveyed rainforest and plantation systems in Jambi province, Sumatra, Indonesia, to investigate effects of land-use change on the diversity and abundance of e...

Aim Lumbricid earthworms are invasive across northern North America, causing notable changes in forest ecosystems. During their range expansion, they encountered harsher climatic conditions compared to their native ranges in short time (~400 years). This study investigated if (a) dispersal barriers, (b) climatic selection or (c) anthropogenic activities, that is fishing bait disposal, structure the dispersal of free‐living ear...

Aim The factors determining spatial distributions and diversity of terrestrial invertebrates are typically investigated at small scales. Large‐scale studies are lacking for soil animals, which control microbial communities and represent one of the most diverse yet poorly known animal assemblages. Here, we analyzed a major group (Oribatida) to test whether belowground macroecological patterns can be predicted by climatic variab...