The various global refugee and migration events of the last few years underscore the need for advancing anticipatory strategies in migration policy. The struggle to manage large inflows (or outflows) highlights the demand for proactive measures based on a sense of the future. Anticipatory methods, ranging from predictive models to foresight techniques, emerge as valuable tools for policymakers. These methods, now bolstered by advancements in technology and leveraging nontraditional data sources, can offer a pathway to develop more precise, responsive, and forward-thinking policies.

This paper seeks to map out the rapidly evolving domain of anticipatory methods in the realm of migration policy, capturing the trend toward integrating quantitative and qualitative methodologies and harnessing novel tools and data. It introduces a new taxonomy designed to organize these methods into three core categories: Experience-based, Exploration-based, and Expertise-based. This classification aims to guide policymakers in selecting the most suitable methods for specific contexts or questions, thereby enhancing migration policies.

The parasites of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) are poorly documented in the United States despite the economic importance and global introduction of this African fish. Only one metazoan parasite (Gyrodactylus cichlidarum Paperna, 1968; Gyrodactylidae) reportedly infects Nile tilapia in the United States. Examining Nile tilapia from a flow-through aquaculture system hydrologically linked to Sougahatchee Creek (Tallapoosa River, Auburn, Alabama), we observed a gill infection by Cichlidogyrus sclerosus Paperna & Thurston, 1969 (Dactylogyridae). This monogenoid was originally described from the gill of Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852) from Lake Victoria, Uganda. Specimens of C. sclerosus were studied for morphology and phylogenetic analyses using the 28S and ITS1. We identified our specimens as C. sclerosus because they had the following combination of morphological features: marginal hooks shorter than dorsal anchor length; anchor roots reduced; dorsal anchor point bent; dorsal bar pyriform projections approximately half as long as dorsal bar width; penis short (<100 μm), not coiled, tubular, lacking swelling, having irregularly surfaced heel; and accessory piece straight and bifid. Our 28S and ITS1 phylogenies recovered our C. sclerosus sequences in a clade with conspecific sequences and showed no obvious biogeographic pattern. Cichlidogyrus sclerosus reportedly infects 21 fishes of 11 genera and 3 families from 36 countries in Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and Europe. The study of Nile tilapia parasites, especially those exhibiting direct life cycles and low host specificity, is important because they comprise potential invasive species.

In this study, morphological and molecular features were used to identify a new Steinernema sp. from Kerala, India. Morphological and molecular features provide evidence for placing the new species into the longicaudum clade. The new species is characterized by the following morphological features: infective juveniles with a body length of 1067 μm (914–1268 μm); a distance from the anterior end to excretory pore of 82 μm (73–92 μm); a distance from anterior end to nerve ring of 105 μm (91–118 μm). The distinguishing feature of the infective juveniles of S. keralense n. sp. is the presence of seven ridges in the mid-body region, while all other species classified within the logicaudum clade to date are characterized by eight ridges. The first-generation males are characterised by 25 genital papillae, very short spicules, with a length of 68 μm (60–72 μm), and the SW% ratio is 136 (114–169). The new species is further characterized by sequences of the internal transcribed spacer and partial 28S regions of the ribosomal DNA. Phylogenetic analyses show that S. keralense n. sp. is closely related to species within the longicaudum clade.

In the present study we update the distributional, bathymetric ranges and taxonomic characters of the carnivorous sponge Asbestopluma (Asbestopluma) magnifica Lopez, Bravo & Hajdu, 2011 providing new records for Argentinian jurisdictional waters in the SW Atlantic Ocean, including the Marine Protected Area Namuncurá/Burdwood Bank. The shallowest bathymetric range is now changed to the upper bathyal (289 m depth). We also amend the original description after re-examination of type materials, when markedly different micrometric values were observed for their subtylostyles and acanthotylostrongyles. We noticed a remarkable similarity between Asbestopluma (Asbestopluma) sarsensis Goodwin, Berman, Downey & Hendry, 2017 and A. (A.) magnifica and we suspect they may be synonymous, but we refrain from taking a formal decision pending revision of all materials reported for the younger taxon or a genetic analysis.

This study describes a new species of Pharyngodon Diesing, 1961 (Nematoda: Pharyngodonidae) in teiid lizards Ameivula ocellifera (Spix, 1895) (Squamata: Teiidae) from a Caatinga morphoclimatic domain in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Pharyngodon ameivulum n. sp., like 11 other species of the genus, features males without spicules, females with truncated eggs, and no tail spines. However, the new species is distinguished by a unique set of morphological characteristics, such as males possessing three pairs of caudal papillae, with the first pair precloacal, the second adcloacal, and the third postcloacal (arrangement 1:1:1), the second pair (adcloacal) of papillae having a bifurcated distal end, and females with lateral body alae. Molecular analysis of the 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, and 18S + 28S concatenated sequences genes reveals that P. ameivulum n. sp. clusters with representatives of Pharyngodonidae from the genera Skrjabinodon Inglis, 1968 and Spauligodon Skrjabin, Schikhobalova & Lagodovska, 1960, forming a basal clade to the clade composed of Spauligodon spp. and Skrjabinodon trimorphi Ainsworth, 1990. These are the first phylogenetic assays to include a species of Pharyngodon.

Identifying cryptic species and juveniles in the Ophiuroidea has always been a challenge. However, post-larval developmental studies have the potential to uncover the identity of these cryptic species and juveniles, as they offer valuable information that is not often found in adults. Although the importance of studying growth series is well-known in ophiuroids, it is difficult to obtain and identify the juvenile stages. For this reason, most studies are restricted to brooding species and information is lacking for many species, including those of the genus Ophiocoma. In this study, a growth series was developed to show the main differences during the development of two similar species of Ophiocoma: Ophiocoma echinata and Ophiocoma trindadensis. Using morphometry and scanning electron microscopy, we describe in detail the juveniles, intermediate stage, and adults of O. echinata and O. trindadensis. Differences in the shape of the ventral arm plate and dorsalmost arm spines, the number of tentacle scales, and the presence of granules ventrally were highlighted in the separation and identification of juveniles of both species.

The synonymies of the echinochasmid genera Mesorchis Dietz, 1909 and Monilifer Dietz, 1909 with Stephanoprora Odhner, 1902 remain contentious and unresolved with morphology. To explore the matter, we herein provide a supplemental description of the type species of Stephanoprora, Stephanoprora ornata Odhner, 1902, based on specimens we collected from the intestine of a Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti, 1768 (Crocodylia: Crocodylidae) captured in the Kavango River, Namibia. No nucleotide information was available previously for S. ornata. Morphology plus 28S and ITS2 phylogenetic analyses suggested Stephanoprora is a monotypic genus that can be differentiated from other genera by having 26 collar spines. Stephanoprora differs from Mesorchis by the number and distribution of collar spines (26 [2 dorsal spines, 12 lateral spines, 12 corner spines] vs. 22 [2 dorsal spines, 12 lateral spines, 8 corner spines] in Mesorchis), length of the pre-pharyngeal oesophagus, pharynx position posterior to collar (vs. pre-pharyngeal oesophagus short, pharynx anterior to or at level of corner spines), and testes shape (elongate-ovoid, irregular in outline vs. ovoid, atypically elongated). Our 28S and ITS2 phylogenies recovered the new sequence of S. ornata (having 26 collar spines) sister to all remaining echinochasmid sequences, representing species that have 20–24 collar spines. Echinochasmus Dietz, 1909 and Mesorchis were recovered as paraphyletic. We retain Monilifer as a junior subjective synonym of Echinochasmus based a suite of morphological features related to body shape and genitalia and because the designated type for Monilifer was reassigned to Echinochasmus. We accept 25 species of Mesorchis.

The diogenid hermit crab, Calcinus morgani Rahayu & Forest, 1999, is reported from the Andaman Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean. It was previously recorded as Calcinus gaimardii (H. Milne Edwards, 1848) from the Nicobar Islands, south of the Andaman Islands, in 1865 about 160 years ago, but there were no additional records of the species in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The diagnosis of C. morgani is provided on the basis of the present specimens for helping the identification. A key to species of the genus Calcinus known from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is also provided.

Copepods of the genus Pennella parasitize a wide range of marine animals, including cetaceans, teleosts, and cephalopods worldwide. Their taxonomy is unclear, as there is incongruence between morphological and genetic data and incomplete species coverage. This study provides new morphological and genetic (COI) data from 23 specimens of Pennella cf. filosa (syn. P. balaenoptera) from western Mediterranean whales and a swordfish. First, their position in the phylogeny of Pennella was assessed and species delimitation revisited using all available Pennella COI sequences (n = 189), obtained from Mediterranean and north Pacific specimens from 18 host species (including multiple cetaceans and teleosts). Second, it was investigated whether the geographic location, degree of host vagility, or host taxonomic identity help explain genetic differentiation. Five distinct haplotype groups with varying genetic divergence were distinguished. Although the presence of sibling species cannot be ruled out, species delimitation methods could not find interspecific genetic differences, leaving the taxonomy of the genus unresolved. The observed genetic differentiation could not be attributed to geography or host type. This suggests that members of the genus Pennella show low specificity for definitive hosts and interoceanic dispersal mediated by some vagile definitive hosts. The use of more genetic markers for addressing these questions in the future is encouraged.

The growth of knowledge and research practices in any discipline is characterised by a trade-off between depth and breadth: we can either invest efforts to learn a little about many things, or learn a lot about few things. In parasitology, breadth of knowledge corresponds to research on biodiversity and taxonomy: the discovery and description of an increasing number of new species. In contrast, depth of knowledge comes from focused research on a few model species, about which we accumulate much detailed information. Breadth and depth of knowledge are equally important for progress in parasitology. In this essay, focusing on trematodes, I demonstrate that current research is rapidly broadening our knowledge (high rate of new trematode species being discovered) but not deepening that knowledge at a comparable rate. The use of model species, with caveats, appears to offer a promising avenue for deeper knowledge. I present a case study illustrating how it is possible to develop new model trematode species at low cost to increase the depth of our understanding in areas including host-parasite ecological dynamics, co-evolution, and responses to environmental and climatic changes. The take-home message serves as a call to action to parasitologists, emphasising the need to focus as much effort on depth of knowledge as we currently invest in breadth of knowledge.

A species new to science, Micarea svetlanae, is described from the southern part of the Russian Far East based on morphological, chemical and molecular data. This species is closely related to M. isidioprasina, which also has the micareic acid, the granular-isidiate thallus with Sedifolia-grey pigment, and crystalline granules in the hymenium and thallus, but differs in the cushion-shaped thallus, the presence of Sedifolia-grey pigment in the hymenium, numerous crystalline granules in the hymenium and hypothecium and 0–2(3)-septate ascospores. The results of the phylogenetic reconstruction place M. svetlanae in the M. prasina group. Morphological features and data on ecology, distribution and secondary metabolites are presented in detail in the paper. This new lichen species is named in honour of the Russian lichenologist Dr Svetlana Tchabanenko, who devoted her life to the study of lichens of the Russian Far East.

A new Philippine foliicolous species, Porina dolichoepiphylla, was discovered from the central part of Mindanao Island, and is described and illustrated here. This new species is characterized by conspicuously longer ascospores, a feature shared only with P. virescens within the Porina epiphylla subgroup but can be distinguished from the latter by its hairless surface, as well as rough thalli with primordia of perithecia. Porina dolichoepiphylla sp. nov. is known only from the type locality on Mt Kitanglad, growing along the frond of Asplenium vittaeforme in a shady lower montane forest. An updated checklist of Porina species in the Philippines with a taxonomic key to the foliicolous species of the Porina epiphylla subgroup is also provided. The discovery of the new lichen species highlights the importance of continued exploration and documentation efforts within the Philippine archipelago.

Leprocaulon inexpectatum is described here as a new lichen species and the fourth member of the genus known from Europe. It is characterized by the crustose-granulose, blue-grey to bluish green thallus composed of ±discrete, soredia-like granules c. 45–70 μm in diameter, and the production of usnic acid and zeorin. Based on ITS rDNA, the lichen is closely related to the saxicolous American species L. beechingii. The new species is reported here from numerous localities in north-western Italy. It occurs on the bark of oaks, chestnut, and black locust in open deciduous forests, often in floodplain ecosystems. Our investigation of its photobiont identity using ITS, 18S and rbcL demonstrated that its symbiotic partner represents an undescribed species within the genus Symbiochloris (Trebouxiophyceae). We provide an identification key to sterile crustose sorediate lichens containing usnic acid and zeorin found in Europe.

Meteterakis striatura Oshmarin & Demshin, 1972 is redescribed from the posterior intestine of tropical tortoise Geoemyda spengleri (Gmelin, 1789) (Testudines: Geoemydidae) from China. Some characteristic features of the male reproductive system not reported previously are now reported for the present species. These include the presence of two blind diverticula near the mid-region of the seminal vesicle and a small cuticular structure near the opening of the cloaca – which we propose to name the ‘scutum.’ The morphological function and diagnostic value of these characters as well as presence of gubernaculum or ‘gubernacular mass’ in examined representatives of the genus, including paratype specimens of M. amamiensis Hasegawa, 1990 and M. ishikawanae Hasegawa, 1987 is discussed. Illustrative material is supplemented with scanning electron microscope and light microscope images of adult males and females. The molecular characterization of the species is inferred from 18S and 28S rDNA. The taxonomic composition of the genus Meteterakis is discussed and the full list of species with taxonomic remarks is updated.

A new diosaccin species, Paramphiascella aestuarii n. sp., was found in sediment samples from a shallow estuary in north-western Mexico. The morphological distinction between the new species and its congeners is discussed. The new species is morphologically close to P. calcarifer (Sewell, 1940) from the Maldivian Archipelago. However, P. calcarifer differs from the new species in the proximal and subdistal outer spiniform processes on the female second antennulary segment. Bayesian inference based upon molecular characterization (nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA and the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I genes) places the new species within a large group of Diosaccinae Sars G.O., 1906, for which molecular sequences are available, composed of Typhlamphiascus typhlops (Sars G.O., 1906), Rhyncholagena cuspis Yeom and Lee, 2023, Robertgurneya jejuensis Yeom and Lee, 2022, and Amphiascoides Nicholls, 1941. The close relationship with Amphiascoides as its sister genus, only morphologically distinct in the structure of the second endopodal segment of the male second swimming leg, is also confirmed.

A new Iranian population of Lindseyus costatus is characterized, including morphometrics, microphotographs, and molecular (18S, 28S rDNA) studies. It is compared with previously known populations. The results derived from molecular analyses failed to find close evolutionary relationships with other traditional genera of Belondiridae and Swangeriinae, adding more uncertainties about the internal phylogeny of the family. The taxonomy of Lindseyus is revised, with a new diagnosis, list of species, key to their identification, and a compilation of their main morphometrics.

Ticks and tick-borne diseases affect humans, livestock, and wildlife in most regions of the globe. Although there are over 900 tick species globally, only approximately 10% of species are second to mosquitoes as major vectors of human and veterinary diseases. The 17 articles of this themed Special Issue highlight the current research trends associated with newly discovered tick species, concepts of tick evolution, new vaccinology approaches, factors affecting disease transmission, and factors affecting tick ecology and tick-borne disease epidemiology. Table 1 summarizes the articles in this Special Issue in alphabetical author order and Fig. 1 is a word cloud generated from the article titles. Of the 17 articles in this Special Issue, two are review articles (vaccinology) while the remaining 15 are original research articles. The topics range from tick control, to epidemiology, ecology, tick-borne disease control, tick-borne disease transmission, vaccine approaches, and the description of novel extant and extinct tick species. Fig. 2 is graphical representation of the articles within this Special Issue including tick hosts and the most representative tick species studied. The articles also include authors from most continents globally with first author contributions from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USA and Zambia. This issue is thus truly diverse which reflects the diversity of ticks, tick-borne diseases and they hosts they infest globally.