{
  "id": 10711423,
  "title": "Precipitation seasonality and soil carbon shape Arcellinida diversity across Bulgaria's ecosystems",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/precipitation-seasonality-and-soil-carbon-shape-arcellinida-diversity",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-29T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.29.755277v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A comprehensive study has been conducted to examine the diversity and distribution of Arcellinida, a group of testate amoebae, across the diverse ecosystems of Bulgaria. With the discovery of an immense diversity of protists in various environments worldwide, researchers have been challenged to identify patterns that explain the distribution of this diversity. While some studies have focused on local parameters, only a few have tackled this question at regional scales.\n\nIn this investigation, researchers collected 75 samples from geographically evenly distributed locations throughout Bulgaria, representing the country's natural ecosystems. Metabarcoding techniques were employed to determine the diversity of Arcellinida in each sample. The composition of these communities varied significantly among different habitats, revealing distinct beta diversity patterns.\n\nThe study found that mesophilic environments, such as forests and ponds, exhibited the highest diversity of Arcellinida. In contrast, acidic and oligotrophic Sphagnum peatlands had the lowest diversity and hosted the highest proportion of unique taxa. To understand the factors influencing Arcellinida richness, the researchers applied a Random Forest approach to soil systems across all environments. This analysis revealed that stable humidity, indicated by low silt content and low precipitation seasonality, as well as intermediate soil carbon stocks, positively affected Arcellinida richness.\n\nThe study also highlights the potential risks posed by climate change to Arcellinida biodiversity in Bulgaria. The predicted increase in continentality in the coming decades raises concerns about possible declines in Arcellinida populations. Therefore, it is crucial to test climatic models to evaluate the potential impact on this diverse group of testate amoebae.",
  "summary": "Recent years have witnessed the discovery of an immense diversity of protists in almost all ecosystems on Earth. However, a major challenge consists in identifying diversity patterns and the drivers that explain the distribution of this diversity. While several works have focused on local parameters, only a few studies have addressed this question at regional scales. In this study, we…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}