February 06, 2023

Update: online-iNaturalist-Vortrag: 28. Februar 2023

Hallo an alle, die diesen Beitrag lesen!

Ich kündige hiermit ganz selbstbewusst einen (weiteren) Vortrag an, von dem ich hoffe, dass er sowohl für Neulinge als auch für erfahrene User, für fleißige IDer wie auch gelegentliche Beobachter, für Lehrende wie auch für 'passive Nutzer' interessant wird.
Mal sehen ob es gelingt...


Zum Ablauf:

-- Achtung: falls sich irgendwas am Ablauf oder der Zugangslink ändern sollte, wird es in diesem Post bekanntgegeben. Also ggf. nochmal kurz vorher hier reinschauen! --

Vor Ort: Hörsaal Fakultätszentrum für Biodiversität, Rennweg 14, EG

Über diesen Link können ihr direkt dem Zoom-Meeting beitreten

https://univienna.zoom.us/j/67487477071?pwd=NGhya3lJM21KNWpvS2ZiNG5zZHErZz09

Ihr könnt auch über den Zoom-Client mit folgenden Daten teilnehmen:

Meeting-ID: 674 8747 7071
Kenncode: 767336



Q&As:
Falls mein Monolog nicht ausufert und die gesamte geplante Vortragszeit in Anspruch nehmen wird, möchte ich euch anschließend auch die Möglichkeit geben, Fragen zur Plattform zu stellen. Ich versuche sie dann zu beantworten.

Der Vortrag wird nicht aufgezeichnet, aber ich werde hier in diesem Journal-Beitrag die Inhalte im Anschluss an die Präsentation zur besseren Nachvollziehbarkeit reinstellen.
(Nicht) beantwortete Fragen könnte ich dann ebenfalls hier posten

Die absoluten Grundlagen der Plattform ("wie erstelle ich eine Beobachtung" etc.) werde ich nicht besprechen und werde auch nicht auf die Handy-App für Android/iOS eingehen - dafür bräuchte es eine eigene Veranstaltung und es gibt dafür bereits recht viel Material z.B. auf YouTube.

Hier aber schonmal ein paar hilfreiche Links:
https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/help
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-to-use-inaturalists-search-urls-wiki-part-1-of-2/63
https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/karoopixie/21170-adding-photos-to-journal-and-news-posts
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/why-is-this-observation-casual-needs-id-research-grade-official-topic/13186

Für Lehrende:
iNaturalist im Unterricht

Für Bestimmer:
iNat für IDer - eine Anleitung

Ihr könnt gerne weitere Leute einladen teilzunehmen, auch und besonders solche, die (noch) keine iNat-Benutzer sind.

Freue mich auf eure Teilnahme!

Posted on February 06, 2023 10:04 AM by carnifex carnifex | 82 comments | Leave a comment

March 22, 2022

Stammtisch in Wien - Treffen in ze real leif?

Liebe iNaturalisten aus Wien und Umgebung!

Manche von euch kenne ich persönlich, den größten Teil aber bisher nur virtuell - wenngleich ich mit einigen schon durchaus ein paar Jahre über diese Plattform kommuniziere.

Schon seit Längerem hatte ich vor, ein Treffen oder auch einen Stammtisch zu organisieren - einfach weil ich es schön fände, sich auch mal 'in echt' kennenzulernen und auszutauschen. Zu diesem Zweck habe ich nun ein eigenes Projekt erstellt.

Es ist der Versuch, eine Gruppe in iNaturalist zu erstellen, die dem gegenseitigen Austausch dient - wofür Projekte in der Form eigentlich nicht vorgesehen sind. Die Projektfunktion wird also ein wenig zweckentfremdet, nicht die Beobachtungen stehen im Vordergrund, sondern die Journalbeiträge und Kommentare.

So ein Projekt hat den Vorteil, dass jede(r) selber entscheiden kann, ob er/sie dem Projekt beitreten möchte, sodass nicht, wie jetzt hier in meinem persönlichen Journal, alle Benutzer per '@' benachrichtigt werden müssen, zumal der eine oder die andere solche Mitteilungen gar nicht bekommen möchte.
Im Projekt sollte dann jedes Mitglied über neue Journalbeiträge benachrichtigt werden, und kann sich über die Kommentarfunktion selber einbringen. Es sollen auch gerne weitere Leute in das Projekt eingeladen werden, weil ich sicher manche vergessen habe.

Der Plan ist, dann grundsätzlich allen Mitgliedern im Projekt erweiterte Rechte zu geben, um selber Beiträge schreiben zu können. Das können dann auch

  • Ankündigungen von (naturbezogenen) Veranstaltungen sein,
  • Hinweise auf Projekte,
  • besondere Funde,
  • Aufrufe zum Beobachten
    etc.

So, wer bis hierhin durchgehalten hat, den möchte ich nicht mehr lange hinhalten - nur noch kurz:
In ein Projekt gehören natürlich auch Beobachtungen. Deshalb soll jedes Mitglied nach dem Beitritt eine eigene Lieblings-Beobachtung aus Wien (falls vorhanden) ins Projekt hinzufügen - die bietet sich dann direkt als Smalltalk-Thema für's erste Treffen an 😏

Hier gehts lang: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/virtuelles-wiener-beisl-zum-favoriten

Posted on March 22, 2022 11:34 PM by carnifex carnifex | 9 comments | Leave a comment

December 22, 2020

Identifications of hedgehogs (Erinaceus) in Europe

Introduction


Three species of Erinaceus occur in Europe: E. europaeus, E. roumanicus & E. concolor

The distinction of these three species is difficult and mostly not possible on photos, but in most cases, a species ID is possible based on their range.

Geographic Distribution

While the populations of E. europaeus ('western hedgehog') and E. roumanicus ('eastern hedgehog') are largely separated, there exists a contact zone in form of an area stretching from West-Poland through Czechia/West-Slovakia, Austria and along the Italian/Slovenian border towards the Istrian peninsula (Croatia). A second, large sympatric range is present in the Baltic region, extending eastwards into the European part of Russia. The easternmost distribution of E. europaeus is not too well known and might go as far as the Ural mountains. Also, the range of the species might be undergoing continuous shifting, especially E. europaeus extending its range in north-eastern Europe (more on this below).

E. concolor is an asiatic species, the nearest occurrences are in (the Asian part of) Turkey and the Caucasus.

Here are distribution maps of the three species (source: Wikipedia):


Source: [6]; blue: E.e. red: E.r orange: wild hybrids (in GER and CZ)

In European Russia, there is a broad area of overlap of the two species (Source: I. Zagorodniuk [2005]):

Morphological Differences


The color of the fur on the underside is usually lighter in E. roumanicus, and there are some typical head patterns of fur color mentioned, but as far as I understand it, there is a large variability in these features and morphological measurements or genetic analyses are often required to confirm a species ID. The potential of hybridisations is discussed later.
On average, E. europaeus is heavier and longer, while E. roumanicus has a longer tail [8].
Skeleton morphometrics are a much better way to distinguish the species, which is however mainly possible on dead animals (roadkill). E. europaeus has a larger skull and distinct shapes of the cranium and mandibles. But even here it is getting complicated, as in sympatry, those two species become morphologically more similar to each other - presumably by convergent selection [6]. I am not aware if this phenomenon applies to the fur coloration as well.

Sympatry and Hybridization


There has been little gene flow between the two species [7] and only few instances of hybridization have been reported in the contact zone of Central Europe, with the highest number in the city of Berlin [6]. The area of sympatry has remained relatively stable over time. A different picture can be seen in eastern Europe, where the two species only started to meet in a relatively recent time: According to a recent study [1], the range of E. europaeus extends eastwards until the Ural mountains, and in eastern Europe (Baltic region, Moscow area) there is a considerable proportion of ongoing hybridization among the population.

Here is the situation in Austria (E. europaeus above):

Distribution maps for other countries would be highly appreciated.

Sources:
[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347131347_Genetic_diversity_and_structure_of_the_hedgehogs_Erinaceus_europaeus_and_Erinaceus_roumanicus_evidence_for_ongoing_hybridization_in_Eastern_Europe (English)
[2] http://terioshkola.org.ua/library/zag/zag-2005-(geosibling).pdf (Russian)
[3] https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/WM_20_0011-0436.pdf (German)
[4] https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Gruene-Reihe-Lebensministerium_13_0001-0895.pdf (German)
[5] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296106521_Materials_for_a_theriofauna_of_north-eastern_Italy_Mammalia_Friuli-Venezia_Giulia (Italian)
[6] Bolfikova et al (2020): https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/10/1803
[7] Courto et al (2019): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.4960
[8] Hrabě et al (1975): Variation in Somatic Characters of Two Species of Erinaceus (Insectivora, Mammalia) in Relation to Individual Age. Zool. List. 1975, 24, 335–351.

Posted on December 22, 2020 08:08 AM by carnifex carnifex | 2 comments | Leave a comment

November 12, 2020

ID tips for common Drosophila species (not every Fruit Fly is Drosophila melanogaster...)


A word of caution in the beginning:

This guide is dealing with worldwide distributed species associated with humans.
Please be aware that in your specific area additional species might be found in urban locations as well.
Also, this guide does not cover the quite distinct fruit fly genera Scaptomyza and Zaprionus, both of which can also be commonly found near human settlements.


Fruit flies are attracted by fermenting organic matter (fruits, mushrooms, wine, beer etc.).

Here is a composition of 7 different species caught in a vinegar trap during one day in a storage room in a European city:

However, the different species have their own preferences, so not all food sources are visited by all species in the same numbers.

Also, some species show seasonal occurrence peaks, while others are regular visitors throughout the year.

Peculiarly, some species are more readily entering closed buildings (e.g. D. melanogaster, D. repleta and D. immigrans are commonly found indoors), while other, although closely related to D. melanogaster (D. simulans, D. suzukii) might actually be more common in total numbers but are more reluctant to fly through an open window. This of course does not take into account that fruits containing eggs or larvae are taken indoors where these respective species then develop and hatch.


Some general advice when photographing fruit flies:


At least a side view and a view from top should be provided.
Patterns of abdomen and wings should be visible.


The SOPHOPHORA group:
3 common species: the 'superhero of genetic labs', D. melanogaster, its close (and often overlooked) relative D. simulans plus the well-known pest species D. suzukii ('SWD': Spotted-wing Drosophila).
In addition, there are several other, more or less completely dark species (the obscura-subgroup) in most parts of the world, which can be quite common, but none of these species has a global distribution.
Females are often difficult or even impossible to ID.

Common feature in males of this group: The presence of SEX COMBS on the fore legs (tarsi). If you find a Drosophila with sex combs, it belongs into the subgenus Sophophora.
The size of the sex combs can vary considerably among different species and can serve as an ID feature.
Here are two examples (left: D. suzukii; right: D. subobscura)

A further common feature of this group is that the dark bands on the abdomen are not interrupted in the middle, but this character is not unique to this subgenus.

D. melanogaster
Males: wings without marks, no visible abdominal appendage (epandrium)


D. simulans
Less often indoors than its sister species.
Females almost identical to D. melanogaster, eyes slightly larger in both sexes
Males with large epandrium


D. suzukii
Males with wing spots (not extending to the tip). Careful: there are several fly species from different families which also have wing spots).

Can tolerate freezing temperatures, and winter flies might be coloured darker (the one in the middle in the example below)

Females are special amongst Drosophila species, as they lay eggs in fresh (not rotting) fruit and thus pose a threat to cultivated berries and wineyards. They need to have a much stronger ovipositor ('chainsaw'-like) to cut open the skin of the fruit. Because of the larger sized ovipositor, the abdominal end is less rounded and more angled than in other species. The general posture is somewhat 'hunchbacked', which is apparent already in the field with some experience

=========================================================================

REPLETA-group
Two common species, a third one (D. mercatorum) also widespread (esp. in warmer areas), but I have never found it or seen reports of it.
[2023 UPDATE: in fact, I confirmed my first D. mercatorum and it seems to be not that rare, but might often be confused with D. repleta].

A common trait of this group is the spotted thorax. The abdominal stripes are interrupted in the middle. Generally larger than the Common Fruit Fly, males and females very much alike.

D. repleta
Lateral dark areas of the abdomen contain light spots.
Important feature is at the wing border: there is a dark spot at the costal break (but beware of *D. mercatorum, see below)


D. mercatorum
Very similar to D. repleta but generally paler, with the dark tergite bands narrower. However, can also have a dark costal spot, so that is no exclusion criterion.


D. hydei
Usually darker than D. repleta, without the dark spots at the costal break and the light spots on the lateral abdomen

Here is a side-by-side comparison:

=========================================================================

OTHER SPECIES

D. immigrans
Very common. Apperent even with the naked eye is its large size (often double the size of the Common Fruit Fly) and long wings. Wing pattern very typical with the two cross veins and three vein tips darkened. Sexes alike, abdominal pattern interrupted in the middle.


D. buskii
Pattern unmistakable ('trident' on the thorax). A small, elegant and slender species


D. funebris
The type species of the genus Drosophila, received its name in 1787. Some variability in color, but the complete abdomen is dark (not just the tip as in the Common Fruit Fly). Males can be identified by the strong setae (bristles) at the terminalia. Females might be confused with other darker species.

(the fly in the middle together with D. hydei, D. immigrans and probably D. melanogaster)


@carnifex

Posted on November 12, 2020 11:33 PM by carnifex carnifex | 9 comments | Leave a comment

July 09, 2020

hilfreiche Websites zur Bestimmung // helpful websites for IDs (Europe only)

Deutsch/English

Pflanzen:
http://www.blumeninschwaben.de/
https://flora.nhm-wien.ac.at/ (Österreich)
http://botanische-spaziergaenge.at/ (Österreich)

Link-Sammlung Insect keys (UK only)
https://sites.google.com/view/mikes-insect-keys?pli=1

generell Wirbellose:
https://insektenfotos.de/forum/index.php
http://naturspaziergang.de/Insekten-Artenportraits.htm
https://www.galerie-insecte.org/galerie/fichier.php (French)
https://www.jungledragon.com/user/3043/pudding4brains.html (diverse helpful stuff)

diverse Bodentiere
https://bodentierhochvier.de/

Regenwürmer / Lumbricidae
https://hypersoil.uni-muenster.de/1/02/07.htm
https://bjc792.wixsite.com/earthworm-images (UK)
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/research-centres-and-groups/opal/SOIL-4pp-chart.pdf (UK)

Springschwänze/ Collembola:
http://www.janvanduinen.nl/sleutel/key.php

Staubläuse/ Psocodea:
https://www.brc.ac.uk/schemes/barkfly/key/A.htm

Asseln und Myriapoden
https://www.bmig.org.uk/page/introducing-taxa only UK species

Schmetterlinge/Lepidoptera:
http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl

Käfer/ Coleoptera:
http://www.kerbtier.de
http://www.koleopterologie.de/gallery/index.html
http://coleonet.de/coleo/index.htm

Wanzen/Heteroptera:
www.koleopterologie.de/heteroptera/index.html
https://www.wanzen-im-ruhrgebiet.de/
https://www.britishbugs.org.uk/ only UK species

Heuschrecken/ Orthoptera:
https://www.orthoptera.ch/arten/

Fliegen/Diptera:
https://diptera.info/photogallery.php
http://www.natur-in-nrw.com/HTML/Artenuebersichten/schwebfliegen-uebersicht.html (nur Schwebfliegen)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/63075200@N07/collections/72157629586945825/ (only some families, and UK specific)

Wildbienen:
http://www.wildbienen.de/

Libellen/Odonata:
www.libellenwissen.de/

Blattläuse/ Aphids
https://influentialpoints.com/Gallery/Aphid_genera.htm

Gallen und Minierer / Galls and Miners
www.pflanzengallen.de/
https://bladmineerders.nl/
http://www.ukflymines.co.uk/index.php
http://www.leafmines.co.uk/index.htm

Phytoparasitische Kleinpilze (Rostpilze, Mehltau etc.)
http://jule.pflanzenbestimmung.de/

Flechten/ Lichens
https://italic.units.it/ (Italian lichens)

Posted on July 09, 2020 09:37 PM by carnifex carnifex | 13 comments | Leave a comment

Xanthogramma species in Europe

While X. citrofasciatum, X. laetum and X. marginale are relatively easy to ID, the following species-complex (formerly regarded as a single species) is harder to approach:

X. pedissequum, dives and stackelbergi are very similar looking species and often (especially in males) not safely to ID. Fotos from different angles (dorsal, lateral, ventral [abdomen!] and in females also a frontal view) can be very helpful for the ID process.
The distinction between males and females is quite easy: In ♀♀ the eyes are clearly separate, whereas in ♂♂ the eyes touch in the middle.

This is a map view of the three species, including those at genus level. (Updated: 20AUG21)

To see an up-to-date distribution map in the Compare tool, click here, and here for the taxa map

  • X. stackelbergi clearly is the rarest reported species of those three on iNaturalist, but can probably be found across the continent.
  • X. pedissequum has a more northerly distribution, but with a broad range of overlap with X. dives. (I never managed to find X. p. so far).
  • X. dives seem to extends its range further north, but so far has not been reported from UK

Features to look for:

X. dives:
In females, the wing tips are darkened, which is sometimes also visible (to a lesser degree) in males.

FEMALE:

MALE (slight infuscation visible):

There are cases, however, where even in ♀♀ there is no darkened wing tip visible, either due to light situation, background noise behind the wing or because of individual variation:

Here, a combination of characters and shooting from different angles becomes important:
The yellow pleuron (red circle) in front of the (also yellow) haltere is a good hint, but is sometimes (rarely) also present in X. pedissequum. A view of the latereal underside is very helpful: the border of the sternite is yellow, where in X. pedissequum that area between the dashed green lines would be dark.
So, X. pedissequum is ruled out - but this does not yet exclude X. stackelbergi. That species has lighter brown hindlegs (in X. dives they are partially blackish, see blue arrows) and the black line at the frons would be thinner as well (purple arrow), not reaching the antennal bases (this feature works in females only).


X. pedissequum:

Here is a dorsal photo from a female (kindly provided by Paul Cook). Although an additional photo of the underside would be desirable, enough details are visible:

The additional yellow pleuron near the haltere is missing (see if you can spot that feature in the above dorsal shot of a X. dives-female), which readily allows a species ID. Additionally, the wing spot extends beyond vein r2+3, the frontal black stripe is thick and reaches the antennal bases (cf. X. stackelbergi), the wing tips are not darkened and the distal part of the hind femora are brownish, not as black as in X. dives.


X. stackelbergi:
In males, the yellow spot on tergite 2 is not triangular, but more 'dragged' in direction of the rear end, resulting in a rounder and skewed shape.
But CAREFUL: These marks are variable within these species and can only give a hint but don't allow an ID on its own!
In both sexes, the dark wing spot does not extend beyond vein r2+3 (purple line). Compare wing of X. pedissequum above, where the dark area crosses the vein. There is usually a brown leg ring visible on the hind femur, contrasting to the bordering blackish color, but I am unsure whether this is a good feature and might be variable within the different species.


Additional ID features provide the yellow/black borders of the sternites, but for this to photograph it would be almost always necessary to catch the specimen.

References:
van Steenis et al (2014): Twee nieuwe citroenzweefvliegen voor nederland: Xanthogramma dives en X. stackelbergi (Diptera: Syrphidae)
Nedeljkovic et al. (2018): The genus Xanthogramma Schiner, 18612 (Diptera: Syrphidae) in southeastern Europe, with descriptions of two new species

Posted on July 09, 2020 04:28 PM by carnifex carnifex | 5 comments | Leave a comment

January 12, 2020

City Nature Challenge Wien

@waldgeist @kmlkml @kienberg @cathyp @pastabaum @lrasran @merl @lena_f @mgreilhuber @gurucumi @alexcm @kumpelblase @philpav @essmeister @irmi @rombrand @erwin_pteridophilos @jacek8 @lozifer @dellfalconer @mondseeirrsee @t0ntie

Liebe Leute!
Eines der größten Citizen-Science Projekte der Welt zur Erfassung der Biodiversität steht bevor!
Die City Nature Challenge startet weltweit am 24. April und Österreich ist endlich mit dabei: In Wien, Graz und der Wachau gilt es, in vier Tagen mit so vielen Arten, so vielen Beobachtungen und so vielen Teilnehmern wie möglich an der Challenge teilzunehmen.

Ich schreibe euch, weil es großartig wäre wenn ihr mithelfen könntet, dieses Event zu einem großen Erfolg werden zu lassen. Wie?

  • am Wichtigsten: Als Teilnehmer in einer der Regionen
  • als Botschafter (erzählt so vielen Leuten wie möglich davon, macht Aushänge an Unis und anderen Einrichtungen, nutzt Email-Verteiler, ....)
  • als Bestimmer der Beobachtungen (bis zum 3. Mai soll alles, so gut es geht, identifiziert worden sein)
  • als Unterstützer:
    Es gibt im Vorhinein einige Veranstaltungen, um auf die Challenge aufmerksam zu machen, den Gebrauch von iNaturalist zu erklären, Infomaterial zu erhalten, Exkursionen durchzuführen, etc. Momentan bin ich da für Wien der alleinige Organisator, und es wäre grandios, wenn ich ein paar helfende Hände bekommen könnte.

Wie, das kann ich dann gerne bei Interesse genauer erklären. Aber werdet gerne auch selber aktiv, vielleicht habt ihr noch tolle Ideen?
Es gibt schon einen vorläufigen "Tournee-Ablauf" hier: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uzdu3kbwzq0lkod/veranstaltungen%20zur%20cnc.docx?dl=0
Infomaterialien, die gerne versendet oder gedruckt werden dürfen/sollen, hier:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x2vq65h7ad5hmm1/iNaturalist%20App%20Anleitung%20Version%202.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/znx3yjt714j8pe1/CNCAnleitungWien.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/z43vrbw6hibm3p0/cnc%20wien%20poster2.pdf?dl=0

Wäre toll, falls ihr Vorschläge und Anmerkungen habt, sie mir hier als Kommentar oder per Message zukommen lasst.
Und damit ich weiß, wer alles die Nachricht hier bekommen hat, am besten ebenfalls eine Persönliche Message zu schreiben, da ich nicht weiß, ob alle die Benachrichtigungen in iNaturalist auch sehen.

Hier gibts Links zur weiteren Info und zu den Projekten:
http://citynaturechallenge.org/
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2020-wien
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2020-graz
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2020-krems-wachau
https://www.biodiversityaustria.at/service/cnc2020/

Und ich darf noch auf eine Veranstaltung hinweisen:
Am Montag, 13. Jänner eine Posiumsdiskussion im Großen Festsaal der Uni Wien - als Abschluss der Semesterfrage 'Wie schützen wir die Artenvielfalt':
https://medienportal.univie.ac.at/uniview/semesterfrage/artenvielfalt/

Freu mich auf euer Engagement! Let's rock this!
Lorin (Carnifex)

Posted on January 12, 2020 03:16 PM by carnifex carnifex | 82 comments | Leave a comment

April 06, 2019

April 01, 2019

Lichens on iNat

enter all unknown Lichens as 'Lecanoromycetes' and hope the experts will find it that way

Posted on April 01, 2019 12:30 PM by carnifex carnifex | 0 comments | Leave a comment

September 03, 2017

About the field "Holding bin (true bugs)"

The 'holding bin' concept is a way to narrow down the identification of an observation, if it can not be determined on species level but more specific than a 'formal taxon' would allow.
E.g. sister species would otherwise only be determined on genus level.

Use the observation field Holding bin (true bugs) when you want to specify a complex of multiple taxa.

Examples of use for this observation field:
Carpocoris purpureipennis/pudicus
Lygaeus equestris/simulans

See also the concept here: Holding bin (spider) (with a more comprehensive explanation)
and here: Holding bin (plants)

Posted on September 03, 2017 05:55 PM by carnifex carnifex | 0 comments | Leave a comment

Gracias al apoyo de:

¿Quiere apoyarnos? Pregúntenos cómo escribiendo a snib.guatemala@gmail.com