The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/our-work/biodiversity/predicts.html)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Mythimna separata (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was determined to be 15,329 bp, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and an A+T-rich region. The AT skew of this mitogenome was slightly negative and the nucleotide composition was also biased toward A+T nucleotides (81.00%). All PCGs were initiated by ATN codons, except for cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene, which was initiated by CGA. Five of the 13 PCGs have the incomplete termination codon, T or TA. All the tRNA genes displayed a typical clover-leaf structure of mitochondrial tRNA. The A+T-rich region of the mitogenome was 372 bp in length and consisted of several features common to the Noctuidae. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the placement of M. separata within the Noctuidae.