Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2013 Annual Checklist

This release of the Catalogue of Life contains contributions from 132 databases with information on 1,352,112 species, 114,069 infraspecific taxa and also includes 928,147 synonyms and 408,689 common names covering the following groups: Viruses • Viruses and Subviral agents from ICTV_MSL UPDATED! Bacteria and Archaea from BIOS Chromista • Chromistan fungi from Species Fungorum Protozoa • Major groups from ITIS Regional, • Ciliates from CilCat, • Polycystines from WoRMS Polycystina UPDATED!, • Protozoan fungi from Species Fungorum and Trichomycetes database • Slime moulds from Nomen.eumycetozoa.com Fungi • Various taxa in whole or in part from CABI Bioservices databases (Species Fungorum, Phyllachorales, Rhytismatales, Saccharomycetes and Zygomycetes databases) and from three other databases covering Xylariaceae, Glomeromycota, Trichomycetes, Dothideomycetes • Lichens from LIAS UPDATED! Plantae (Plants) • Mosses from MOST • Liverworts and hornworts from ELPT • Conifers from Conifer Database • Cycads and 6 flowering plant families from IOPI-GPC, and 99 families from WCSP • Plus individual flowering plants families from AnnonBase, Brassicaceae, ChenoBase, Droseraceae Database, EbenaBase, GCC UPDATED!, ILDIS UPDATED!, LecyPages, LHD, MELnet UPDATED!, RJB Geranium, Solanaceae Source, Umbellifers. Animalia (Animals) • Marine groups from URMO, ITIS Global, Hexacorals, ETI WBD (Euphausiacea), WoRMS: WoRMS Asteroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Bochusacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachiopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachypoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Brachyura UPDATED!, WoRMS Bryozoa UPDATED!, WoRMS Cestoda NEW!, WoRMS Chaetognatha UPDATED!, WoRMS Cumacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Echinoidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Gastrotricha NEW!, WoRMS Gnathostomulida NEW!, WoRMS Holothuroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Hydrozoa UPDATED!, WoRMS Isopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Leptostraca UPDATED!, WoRMS Monogenea NEW!, WoRMS Mystacocarida UPDATED!, WoRMS Myxozoa NEW!, WoRMS Nemertea UPDATED!, WoRMS Oligochaeta UPDATED!, WoRMS Ophiuroidea UPDATED!, WoRMS Phoronida UPDATED!, WoRMS Placozoa NEW!, WoRMS Polychaeta UPDATED!, WoRMS Polycystina UPDATED!, WoRMS Porifera UPDATED!, WoRMS Priapulida NEW!, WoRMS Proseriata and Kalyptorhynchia UPDATED!, WoRMS Remipedia UPDATED!, WoRMS Scaphopoda UPDATED!, WoRMS Tanaidacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Tantulocarida UPDATED!, WoRMS Thermosbaenacea UPDATED!, WoRMS Trematoda NEW!, WoRMS Xenoturbellida UPDATED! • Rotifers, mayflies, freshwater hairworms, planarians from FADA databases: FADA Rotifera UPDATED!, FADA Ephemeroptera NEW!, FADA Nematomorpha NEW! & FADA Turbellaria NEW! • Entoprocts, water bears from ITIS Global • Spiders, scorpions, ticks & mites from SpidCat via ITIS UPDATED!, SalticidDB , ITIS Global, TicksBase, SpmWeb BdelloideaBase UPDATED! & Mites GSDs: OlogamasidBase, PhytoseiidBase, RhodacaridBase & TenuipalpidBase • Diplopods, centipedes, pauropods and symphylans from SysMyr UPDATED! & ChiloBase • Dragonflies and damselflies from Odonata database • Stoneflies from PlecopteraSF UPDATED! • Cockroaches from BlattodeaSF UPDATED! • Praying mantids from MantodeaSF UPDATED! • Stick and leaf insects from PhasmidaSF UPDATED! • Grasshoppers, locusts, katydids and crickets from OrthopteraSF UPDATED! • Webspinners from EmbiopteraSF UPDATED! • Bark & parasitic lices from PsocodeaSF NEW! • Some groups of true bugs from ScaleNet, FLOW, COOL, Psyllist, AphidSF UPDATED! , MBB, 3i Cicadellinae, 3i Typhlocybinae, MOWD & CoreoideaSF NEW!• Twisted-wing parasites from Strepsiptera Database UPDATED! • Lacewings, antlions, owlflies, fishflies, dobsonflies & snakeflies from LDL Neuropterida • Some beetle groups from the Scarabs UPDATED!, TITAN, WTaxa & ITIS Global • Fleas from Parhost • Flies, mosquitoes, bots, midges and gnats from Systema Dipterorum, CCW & CIPA • Butterflies and moths from LepIndex UPDATED!, GloBIS (GART) UPDATED!, Tineidae NHM, World Gracillariidae • Bees & wasps from ITIS Bees, Taxapad Ichneumonoidea, UCD, ZOBODAT Vespoidea & HymIS Rhopalosomatidae NEW!• Molluscs from WoRMS Mollusca NEW!, FADA Bivalvia NEW!, MolluscaFW NEW! & AFD (Pulmonata) • Fishes from FishBase UPDATED! • Reptiles from TIGR Reptiles • Amphibians, birds and mammals from ITIS Global PLUS additional species of many groups from ITIS Regional, NZIB and CoL China NEW!

Selective P4 activation by an organometallic nickel(I) radical: formation of a dinuclear nickel(II) tetraphosphide and related di- and trichalcogenides

The reaction of the 17e nickel(I) radical [CpNi(IDipp)] (1, IDipp = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene) with P4 results in a nickel tetraphosphide [{CpNi(IDipp)}2(μ-η1:η1-P4)] with a butterfly-P42− ligand; related chalcogenides [{CpNi(IDipp)}2(μ-E2)] (E = S, Se, Te) and [{CpNi(IDipp)}2(μ-E3)] (E = S, Se) are formed with S8, Se∞ and Te∞.

The plume also rises: trajectories of pheromone plumes issuing from point sources in an orchard canopy at night

The trajectories of pheromone plumes in canopied habitats, such as orchards, have been little studied. We documented the capture of male navel orangeworm moths, Amyelois transitella, in female-baited traps positioned at 5 levels, from ground level to the canopy top, at approximately 6 m above ground, in almond orchards. Males were captured in similar proportions at all levels, suggesting that they do not favor a particular height during ranging flight. A 3-D sonic anemometer was used to establish patterns of wind flow and temperature at 6 heights from 2.08 to 6.65 m in an almond orchard with a 5 m high canopy, every 3 h over 72 h. The horizontal velocity of wind flow was highest above the canopy, where its directionality also was the most consistent. During the time of A. transitella mating (0300–0600), there was a net vertical displacement upward. Vertical buoyancy combined with only minor reductions in the distance that plumes will travel in the lower compared to the upper canopy suggest that the optimal height for release of pheromone from high-release-rate sources, such as aerosol dispensers (“puffers”), that are deployed at low densities (e.g., 3 per ha.) would be at mid or low in the canopy, thereby facilitating dispersion of disruptant throughout the canopy. Optimal placement of aerosol dispensers will vary with the behavioral ecology of the target pest; however, our results suggest that current protocols, which generally propose dispenser placement in the upper third of the canopy, should be reevaluated.

Landscape connectivity: a key to effective habitat restoration in lowland agricultural landscapes

Landscape scale habitat restoration has the potential to reconnect habitats in fragmented landscapes. This study investigates landscape connectivity as a key to effective habitat restoration in lowland agricultural landscapes and applies these findings to transferable management recommendations. The study area is the Stonehenge World Heritage Site, UK, where landscape scale chalk grassland restoration has been implemented. Here, the ecological benefits of landscape restoration and the species, habitat and landscape characteristics that facilitate or impede the enhancement of biodiversity and landscape connectivity were investigated. Lepidoptera were used as indictors of restoration success and results showed restoration grasslands approaching the ecological conditions of the target chalk grassland habitat and increasing in biodiversity values within a decade. Restoration success is apparent for four species with a broad range of grass larval host plants (e.g. Melanargia galathea, Maniola jurtina) or with intermediate mobility (Polyommatus icarus). However, two species with specialist larval host plants and low mobility (Lysandra bellargus), are restricted to chalk grassland fragments. Studies of restoration grassland of different ages show that recent grassland restoration (1 or 2 years old) may reduce the functional isolation of chalk grassland fragments. A management experiment showed that mowing increases boundary following behaviour in two species of grassland Lepidoptera; Maniola jurtina and Zygaena filipendulae. Analysis of the landscape scale implications of the grassland restoration illustrates an increase in grassland habitat network size and in landscape connectivity, which is likely to benefit the majority of grassland associated Lepidoptera. Landscape and habitat variables can be managed to increase the success of restoration projects including the spatial targeting of receptor sites, vegetation structure and selection of seed source and management recommendations are provided that are transferrable to other species-rich grassland landscape scale restoration projects. Overall results show restoration success for some habitats and species within a decade. However, additional management is required to assist the re-colonisation of specialist species. Despite this, habitat restoration at the landscape scale can be an effective, long term approach to enhance butterfly biodiversity and landscape connectivity.

Social and ecological drivers of success in agri-environment schemes: the roles of farmers and environmental context

1. Agri-environment schemes remain a controversial approach to reversing biodiversity losses, partly because the drivers of variation in outcomes are poorly understood. In particular, there is a lack of studies that consider both social and ecological factors. 2. We analysed variation across 48 farms in the quality and biodiversity outcomes of agri-environmental habitats designed to provide pollen and nectar for bumblebees and butterflies or winter seed for birds. We used interviews and ecological surveys to gather data on farmer experience and understanding of agri-environment schemes, and local and landscape environmental factors. 3. Multimodel inference indicated social factors had a strong impact on outcomes and that farmer experiential learning was a key process. The quality of the created habitat was affected positively by the farmer’s previous experience in environmental management. The farmer’s confidence in their ability to carry out the required management was negatively related to the provision of floral resources. Farmers with more wildlife-friendly motivations tended to produce more floral resources, but fewer seed resources. 4. Bird, bumblebee and butterfly biodiversity responses were strongly affected by the quantity of seed or floral resources. Shelter enhanced biodiversity directly, increased floral resources and decreased seed yield. Seasonal weather patterns had large effects on both measures. Surprisingly, larger species pools and amounts of semi-natural habitat in the surrounding landscape had negative effects on biodiversity, which may indicate use by fauna of alternative foraging resources. 5. Synthesis and application. This is the first study to show a direct role of farmer social variables on the success of agri-environment schemes in supporting farmland biodiversity. It suggests that farmers are not simply implementing agri-environment options, but are learning and improving outcomes by doing so. Better engagement with farmers and working with farmers who have a history of environmental management may therefore enhance success. The importance of a number of environmental factors may explain why agri-environment outcomes are variable, and suggests some – such as the weather – cannot be controlled. Others, such as shelter, could be incorporated into agri-environment prescriptions. The role of landscape factors remains complex and currently eludes simple conclusions about large-scale targeting of schemes.

Interacting effects of climate change and habitat fragmentation on drought-sensitive butterflies

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of some climatic extremes. These may have drastic impacts on biodiversity, particularly if meteorological thresholds are crossed, leading to population collapses. Should this occur repeatedly, populations may be unable to recover, resulting in local extinctions. Comprehensive time series data on butterflies in Great Britain provide a rare opportunity to quantify population responses to both past severe drought and the interaction with habitat area and fragmentation. Here, we combine this knowledge with future projections from multiple climate models, for different Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), and for simultaneous modelled responses to different landscape characteristics. Under RCP8.5, which is associated with ‘business as usual’ emissions, widespread drought-sensitive butterfly population extinctions could occur as early as 2050. However, by managing landscapes and particularly reducing habitat fragmentation, the probability of persistence until mid-century improves from around zero to between 6 and 42% (95% confidence interval). Achieving persistence with a greater than 50% chance and right through to 2100 is possible only under both low climate change (RCP2.6) and semi-natural habitat restoration. Our data show that, for these drought-sensitive butterflies, persistence is achieved more effectively by restoring semi-natural landscapes to reduce fragmentation, rather than simply focusing on increasing habitat area, but this will only be successful in combination with substantial emission reductions.

Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination

Wild and managed bees are well documented as effective pollinators of global crops of economic importance. However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees have been little explored despite their potential to contribute to crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. Non-bee pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, among others. Here we focus on non-bee insects and synthesize 39 field studies from five continents that directly measured the crop pollination services provided by non-bees, honey bees, and other bees to compare the relative contributions of these taxa. Non-bees performed 25–50% of the total number of flower visits. Although non-bees were less effective pollinators than bees per flower visit, they made more visits; thus these two factors compensated for each other, resulting in pollination services rendered by non-bees that were similar to those provided by bees. In the subset of studies that measured fruit set, fruit set increased with non-bee insect visits independently of bee visitation rates, indicating that non-bee insects provide a unique benefit that is not provided by bees. We also show that non-bee insects are not as reliant as bees on the presence of remnant natural or seminatural habitat in the surrounding landscape. These results strongly suggest that non-bee insect pollinators play a significant role in global crop production and respond differently than bees to landscape structure, probably making their crop pollination services more robust to changes in land use. Non-bee insects provide a valuable service and provide potential insurance against bee population declines.

Supporting local diversity of habitats and species on farmland: a comparison of three wildlife-friendly schemes

Restoration and maintenance of habitat diversity have been suggested as conservation priorities in farmed landscapes, but how this should be achieved and at what scale are unclear. This study makes a novel comparison of the effectiveness of three wildlife-friendly farming schemes for supporting local habitat diversity and species richness on 12 farms in England. The schemes were: (i) Conservation Grade (Conservation Grade: a prescriptive, non-organic, biodiversity-focused scheme), (ii) organic agriculture and (iii) a baseline of Entry Level Stewardship (Entry Level Stewardship: a flexible widespread government scheme). Conservation Grade farms supported a quarter higher habitat diversity at the 100-m radius scale compared to Entry Level Stewardship farms. Conservation Grade and organic farms both supported a fifth higher habitat diversity at the 250-m radius scale compared to Entry Level Stewardship farms. Habitat diversity at the 100-m and 250-m scales significantly predicted species richness of butterflies and plants. Habitat diversity at the 100-m scale also significantly predicted species richness of birds in winter and solitary bees. There were no significant relationships between habitat diversity and species richness for bumblebees or birds in summer. Butterfly species richness was significantly higher on organic farms (50% higher) and marginally higher on Conservation Grade farms (20% higher), compared with farms in Entry Level Stewardship. Organic farms supported significantly more plant species than Entry Level Stewardship farms (70% higher) but Conservation Grade farms did not (10% higher). There were no significant differences between the three schemes for species richness of bumblebees, solitary bees or birds. Policy implications. The wildlife-friendly farming schemes which included compulsory changes in management, Conservation Grade and organic, were more effective at increasing local habitat diversity and species richness compared with the less prescriptive Entry Level Stewardship scheme. We recommend that wildlife-friendly farming schemes should aim to enhance and maintain high local habitat diversity, through mechanisms such as option packages, where farmers are required to deliver a combination of several habitats.

Assessing species’ habitat associations from occurrence records, standardised monitoring data and expert opinion: a test with British butterflies

Accurate knowledge of species’ habitat associations is important for conservation planning and policy. Assessing habitat associations is a vital precursor to selecting appropriate indicator species for prioritising sites for conservation or assessing trends in habitat quality. However, much existing knowledge is based on qualitative expert opinion or local scale studies, and may not remain accurate across different spatial scales or geographic locations. Data from biological recording schemes have the potential to provide objective measures of habitat association, with the ability to account for spatial variation. We used data on 50 British butterfly species as a test case to investigate the correspondence of data-derived measures of habitat association with expert opinion, from two different butterfly recording schemes. One scheme collected large quantities of occurrence data (c. 3 million records) and the other, lower quantities of standardised monitoring data (c. 1400 sites). We used general linear mixed effects models to derive scores of association with broad-leaf woodland for both datasets and compared them with scores canvassed from experts. Scores derived from occurrence and abundance data both showed strongly positive correlations with expert opinion. However, only for occurrence data did these fell within the range of correlations between experts. Data-derived scores showed regional spatial variation in the strength of butterfly associations with broad-leaf woodland, with a significant latitudinal trend in 26% of species. Sub-sampling of the data suggested a mean sample size of 5000 occurrence records per species to gain an accurate estimation of habitat association, although habitat specialists are likely to be readily detected using several hundred records. Occurrence data from recording schemes can thus provide easily obtained, objective, quantitative measures of habitat association.

The effectiveness of protected areas in the conservation of species with changing geographical ranges

A cornerstone of conservation is the designation and management of protected areas (PAs): locations often under conservation management containing species of conservation concern, where some development and other detrimental influences are prevented or mitigated. However, the value of PAs for conserving biodiversity in the long term has been questioned given that species are changing their distributions in response to climatic change. There is a concern that PAs may become climatically unsuitable for those species that they were designated to protect, and may not be located appropriately to receive newly-colonizing species for which the climate is improving. In the present study, we analyze fine-scale distribution data from detailed resurveys of seven butterfly and 11 bird species in Great Britain aiming to examine any effect of PA designation in preventing extinctions and promoting colonizations. We found a positive effect of PA designation on species' persistence at trailing-edge warm range margins, although with a decreased magnitude at higher latitudes and altitudes. In addition, colonizations by range expanding species were more likely to occur on PAs even after altitude and latitude were taken into account. PAs will therefore remain an important strategy for conservation. The potential for PA management to mitigate the effects of climatic change for retracting species deserves further investigation.

Are existing biodiversity conservation strategies appropriate in a changing climate?

Many countries have conservation plans for threatened species, but such plans have generally been developed without taking into account the potential impacts of climate change. Here, we apply a decision framework, specifically developed to identify and prioritise climate change adaptation actions and demonstrate its use for 30 species threatened in the UK. Our aim is to assess whether government conservation recommendations remain appropriate under a changing climate. The species, associated with three different habitats (lowland heath, broadleaved woodland and calcareous grassland), were selected from a range of taxonomic groups (primarily moths and vascular plants, but also including bees, bryophytes, carabid beetles and spiders). We compare the actions identified for these threatened species by the decision framework with those included in existing conservation plans, as developed by the UK Government's statutory adviser on nature conservation. We find that many existing conservation recommendations are also identified by the decision framework. However, there are large differences in the spatial prioritisation of actions when explicitly considering projected climate change impacts. This includes recommendations for actions to be carried out in areas where species do not currently occur, in order to allow them to track movement of suitable conditions for their survival. Uncertainties in climate change projections are not a reason to ignore them. Our results suggest that existing conservation plans, which do not take into account potential changes in suitable climatic conditions for species, may fail to maximise species persistence. Comparisons across species also suggest a more habitat-focused approach could be adopted to enable climate change adaptation for multiple species.

THE ROLE OF DIFFUSIVITY QUENCHING IN FLUX-TRANSPORT DYNAMO MODELS

In the nonlinear phase of a dynamo process, the back-reaction of the magnetic field upon the turbulent motion results in a decrease of the turbulence level and therefore in a suppression of both the magnetic field amplification (the alpha-quenching effect) and the turbulent magnetic diffusivity (the eta-quenching effect). While the former has been widely explored, the effects of eta-quenching in the magnetic field evolution have rarely been considered. In this work, we investigate the role of the suppression of diffusivity in a flux-transport solar dynamo model that also includes a nonlinear alpha-quenching term. Our results indicate that, although for alpha-quenching the dependence of the magnetic field amplification with the quenching factor is nearly linear, the magnetic field response to eta-quenching is nonlinear and spatially nonuniform. We have found that the magnetic field can be locally amplified in this case, forming long-lived structures whose maximum amplitude can be up to similar to 2.5 times larger at the tachocline and up to similar to 2 times larger at the center of the convection zone than in models without quenching. However, this amplification leads to unobservable effects and to a worse distribution of the magnetic field in the butterfly diagram. Since the dynamo cycle period increases when the efficiency of the quenching increases, we have also explored whether the eta-quenching can cause a diffusion-dominated model to drift into an advection-dominated regime. We have found that models undergoing a large suppression in eta produce a strong segregation of magnetic fields that may lead to unsteady dynamo-oscillations. On the other hand, an initially diffusion-dominated model undergoing a small suppression in eta remains in the diffusion-dominated regime.

Temporal Diversity Patterns and Phenology in Fruit-feeding Butterflies in the Atlantic Forest

The Atlantic Forest deserves special attention due to its high level of species endemism and degree of threat. As in other tropical biomes, there is little information about the ecology of the organisms that occur there. The objectives of this study were to verify how fruit-feeding butterflies are distributed through time, and the relation with meteorological conditions. Species richness and Shannon index were partitioned additively at the monthly level, and beta diversity, used as a hierarchical measure of temporal species turnover, was calculated among months, trimesters, and semesters. Circular analysis was used to verify how butterflies are distributed along seasons and its relation with meteorological conditions. We sampled 6488 individuals of 73 species. Temporal diversity of butterflies was more grouped than expected by chance among the months of each trimester. Circular analyses revealed that diversity is concentrated in hot months (September-March), with the subfamily Brassolinae strongly concentrated in February-March. Average temperature was correlated with total abundance of butterflies, abundance of Biblidinae, Brassolinae and Morphinae, and richness of Satyrinae. The present results show that 3mo of sampling between September and March is enough to produce a nonbiased sample of the local assemblage of butterflies, containing at least 70 percent of the richness and 25 percent of abundance. The influence of temperature on sampling is probably related to butterfly physiology. Moreover, temperature affects resource availability for larvae and adults, which is higher in hot months. The difference in seasonality patterns among subfamilies is probably a consequence of different evolutionary pressures through time.

Four novel mononuclear and polynuclear Cu(I) thiosaccharinates with triphenylphosphane and bis(diphenylposphino)methane. Synthesis and structural study of Cu(4)(tsac)(4)(PPh(3))(3), Cu(tsac)(PPh(3))(2), Cu(4)(tsac)(4)(dppm)(2), and Cu(2)(tsac)(2)(dppm)(2)

Four new ternary complexes of copper(I) with thiosaccharin and phosphanes were prepared. The reaction of [Cu(4)(tsac)(4)(CH(3)CN)(2)] (1) (tsac: thiosaccharinate anion) with PPh(3) in molar ratios Cu(I)/PPh(3) 1:075 and 1:2 gave the complexes [Cu(4)(tsac)(4)(PPh(3))(3)] center dot CH(3)CN (2) and Cu(tsac)(PPh(3))(2) (3), respectively. The reaction of 1 with Ph(2)PCH(2)PPh(2) (dppm) in molar ratios Cu(I)/dppm 2:1 and 1:1 gave the complexes [Cu(4) (tsac)(4)(dppm)(2)] center dot 2CH(2)Cl(2) (4) and [Cu(2)(tsac)(2)(dppm)(2)] center dot CH(2)Cl(2) (5), respectively. All the compounds have been characterized by spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic methods. Complex 2 presents a tetra-nuclear arrangement with three metal centers in distorted tetrahedral S(2)NP environments, the fourth one with the Cu(I) ion in a distorted trigonal S(2)N coordination sphere, and the tsac anions acting as six electron donor ligands in mu(3)-S(2)N coordination forms. Complex 3 shows mononuclear molecular units with copper(I) in a distorted trigonal planar coordination sphere, built with the exocyclic S atom of a mono-coordinated thiosaccharinate anion and two P-atoms of triphenylphosphane molecules. With dppm as secondary ligand the structures of the complexes depends strongly on the stoicheometry of the preparation reaction. Complex 4 has a centrosymmetric structure. Two triply bridged Cu(2)(tsac)(2)(dppm) units are joined together by the exocyclic S-atoms of two tsac anions acting effectively as bridging tridentate ligands. Complex 5 is conformed by asymmetric dinuclear moieties where the two dppm and one tsac ligands bridge two Cu(I) atoms and the second tsac anion binds one of the metal centers through its exocyclic S-atom. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Obfuscation and Strict Online Anonymity

I consider the case for genuinely anonymous web searching. Big data seems to have it in for privacy. The story is well known, particularly since the dawn of the web. Vastly more personal information, monumental and quotidian, is gathered than in the pre-digital days. Once gathered it can be aggregated and analyzed to produce rich portraits, which in turn permit unnerving prediction of our future behavior. The new information can then be shared widely, limiting prospects and threatening autonomy. How should we respond? Following Nissenbaum (2011) and Brunton and Nissenbaum (2011 and 2013), I will argue that the proposed solutions—consent, anonymity as conventionally practiced, corporate best practices, and law—fail to protect us against routine surveillance of our online behavior. Brunton and Nissenbaum rightly maintain that, given the power imbalance between data holders and data subjects, obfuscation of one’s online activities is justified. Obfuscation works by generating “misleading, false, or ambiguous data with the intention of confusing an adversary or simply adding to the time or cost of separating good data from bad,” thus decreasing the value of the data collected (Brunton and Nissenbaum, 2011). The phenomenon is as old as the hills. Natural selection evidently blundered upon the tactic long ago. Take a savory butterfly whose markings mimic those of a toxic cousin. From the point of view of a would-be predator the data conveyed by the pattern is ambiguous. Is the bug lunch or potential last meal? In the light of the steep costs of a mistake, the savvy predator goes hungry. Online obfuscation works similarly, attempting for instance to disguise the surfer’s identity (Tor) or the nature of her queries (Howe and Nissenbaum 2009). Yet online obfuscation comes with significant social costs. First, it implies free riding. If I’ve installed an effective obfuscating program, I’m enjoying the benefits of an apparently free internet without paying the costs of surveillance, which are shifted entirely onto non-obfuscators. Second, it permits sketchy actors, from child pornographers to fraudsters, to operate with near impunity. Third, online merchants could plausibly claim that, when we shop online, surveillance is the price we pay for convenience. If we don’t like it, we should take our business to the local brick-and-mortar and pay with cash. Brunton and Nissenbaum have not fully addressed the last two costs. Nevertheless, I think the strict defender of online anonymity can meet these objections. Regarding the third, the future doesn’t bode well for offline shopping. Consider music and books. Intrepid shoppers can still find most of what they want in a book or record store. Soon, though, this will probably not be the case. And then there are those who, for perfectly good reasons, are sensitive about doing some of their shopping in person, perhaps because of their weight or sexual tastes. I argue that consumers should not have to pay the price of surveillance every time they want to buy that catchy new hit, that New York Times bestseller, or a sex toy.