Molecular detection and characterization of human enteroviruses in Korean surface water

In this study, the genetic epidemiology of enteroviruses (EVs) in Korean surface water was evaluated by conducting phylogenetic analyses of the nucleotide sequences of the 5' non-coding region (5' NCR), which was determined by RT-PCR analysis of total culturable virus assay-positive samples. The results showed that the nucleotide sequences of the EVs could be classified into 4 genetic clusters, and that the predominant presence of Korea EVs were very similar to echoviruses type 30. Interestingly, two nucleotide sequences were very similar to those of coxsackievirus type B1 isolated from aseptic meningitis patients in Seoul, Korea, implying the possibility of a common source for the viruses circulated in water systems and humans. In addition, 3 nucleotide sequences clustered strongly with the nucleotide sequences from China or Japan, and one fell into the same cluster as echovirus type 11 from Taiwan, which suggests that EVs in Asia may have evolved in a region-specific manner. Taken together, the results of this study revealed that EVs from Korea surface waters could be genetically classified as coxsackieviruses or echoviruses, and that they evolved in Asia in a region-specific manner.     

Prevalence of Salmonella serotypes in environmental waters and their relationships with indicator organisms

The incidence of serotypes of Salmonella in three types of environmental water (sea, river and fresh reservoirs) from north-east Spain was investigated. The study was performed at specific sampling locations during the summer for a period of five years (1992–1996). A total of 823 strains were isolated and 55 different serotypes were identified, 42 were recovered from sea water, 32 from river water and 12 from freshwater reservoirs. The most frequently isolated serotypes coincided with those involved in clinical cases in the area studied. Salmonella enteritidis was the most common (111 isolates), it was found in all types of water, although most predominantly in sea water (16.1% of the isolates). This serotype, together with S. hadar, significantly increased in frequency during the five year study period. The most frequent serotypes in river water and freshwater reservoirs were S. virchow (9.5%) and S. mikawasima (23.8%) respectively. Significant differences were assessed in the indicator organism densities between the samples with serotypes of clinical significance (S. enteritidis, S. infantis, S. typhimurium, S. virchow and S. paratyphi B) and those without clinical significance. Therefore their presence in all environmental waters may be of epidemiological significance.     

转Bt基因抗虫棉叶面可培养微生物多样性的变化

在大田栽培条件下,以转Bt基因抗虫棉GK-12和常规棉泗棉3号为材料,在棉花的苗期、现蕾期、花铃期和吐絮期分别测定棉花叶面细菌、真菌和放线菌的数量变化,并在花铃期和吐絮期对叶面细菌生理群的数量和多样性进行分析.结果表明：棉花叶面可培养微生物数量与其生长发育呈正相关,叶面可培养微生物的数量一般由苗期开始增多,到花铃期达最高峰,吐絮期明显减少;花铃期转Bt基因抗虫棉叶面细菌生理群Simpson指数、Shannon-Wiener指数和均匀度比常规棉升高,吐絮期比常规棉下降.     

Anthropogenic and climatic impacts on surface pollen assemblages along a precipitation gradient in north‐eastern China

Aim To understand the scenarios of ‘anthropogenic biomes’ that integrate human and ecological systems, we need to explore the impacts of climate and human disturbance on vegetation in the past and present. Interactions among surface pollen, modern vegetation and human activities along climate and land‐use gradients are tested to evaluate the natural and anthropogenic forces shaping the modern vegetation, and hence to aid the reconstruction of vegetation and climate in the past. This in turn will help with future predictions. Location The North‐east China Transect (NECT) in north‐eastern China. Methods We analysed 33 surface pollen samples and 213 quadrats across four vegetation zones along the moisture/land‐use gradients of the NECT. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) of 52 pollen taxa and three environmental variables were used to distinguish anthropogenic and climatic factors that affect surface pollen assemblages along the NECT. Results The 33 surface samples are divided into four pollen zones (forest, meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe) corresponding to major vegetation types in the NECT. Variations in pollen ratios of fern/herb (F/H), Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) and arboreal pollen/non‐arboreal pollen (AP/NAP) represent the vegetation and precipitation gradient along the NECT. DCA and RDA analyses suggest that surface pollen assemblages are significantly influenced by the precipitation gradient. Changes in the abundance of Chenopodiaceae pollen are related to both human activities and precipitation. Main conclusions Surface pollen assemblages, fossil pollen records, archaeological evidence and historical documents in northern China show that a large increase of Chenopodiaceae pollen indicates human‐caused vegetation degradation in sandy habitats. The A/C ratio is a good indicator of climatic aridity, but should be used in conjunction with multiple proxies of human activities and climate change in the pollen‐based reconstruction of anthropogenic biomes.     

Occurrence of Salmonella spp in estuarine and coastal waters of Portugal

The presence of Salmonella and its relationship with indicator organisms of fecal pollution, such as total coliforms, fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci, was studied at two marine zones in Portugal. Seventeen different Salmonella serotypes were isolated and identified, S. virchow was the most frequently isolated (21.6%). In addition, a high percentage (35.1%) was recorded for some Salmonella serotypes of clinical significance, namely S. enteritidis, S. infantis, S. typhimurium and S. virchow. In any of the samples from the two zones Salmonella was not detected in the absence of any of the indicator organisms. However, the incidence of Salmonella as a function of indicator concentration intervals established by the EEC standards was 0, 10 and 19.3% at guide values of total coliforms, fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci, respectively in the Faro samples (south of Portugal). In contrast, Salmonella incidence rates of 37.5, 36.4 and 33.3% were recorded at the corresponding guide values the Caminha samples (north of Portugal). No significant correlations (p>0.005) were obtained between Salmonella and the indicators at the sampling stations; however, total coliforms and fecal streptococci were the indicators most closely related to Salmonella in Caminha and Faro samples, respectively. Survival experiments in Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis and S. typhimurium, using diffusion chambers, were performed to verify whether the lack of correlation between indicators and Salmonella was due to different inactivation rates in seawater. The results indicate that survival percentages of the three microorganisms tested were similar after 48 h of exposure to seawater.     

北欧海海水可培养细菌多样性

【目的】为了解北欧海表层海水可培养细菌多样性与所在水文环境的关系。【方法】利用2216E、R2A和海水培养基对该海域暖流区、寒流区、海盆区及交汇区等多个区域不同站位的表层海水样品中的可培养细菌进行分离培养,通过16S r RNA基因测序对分离的菌株进行分类鉴定,并构建系统发育树进行系统发育分析。【结果】从北欧海表层海水中共分离到407株细菌,通过RFLP分析选取其中154株进行测序,结果表明此154株细菌分属于3个门,18个属,27个种。3个门包括变形菌门、厚壁菌门和放线菌门,优势属为假交替单胞菌属、嗜冷杆菌属等,优势种为食琼脂假交替单胞菌、海雪嗜冷杆菌等,并分离到闪烁交替单胞菌等多株嗜冷菌。比较不同区域的微生物多样性可以看出,γ-变形菌纲的细菌在各个区域均占较高比例。交汇区的细菌多样性最高,分离到了10个不同属的细菌,而海盆区细菌多样性最低,只分离到了4种。除了海盆区外,其他3个区域的样品中都分离到了特有的类群。【结论】从以上结果可以看出,北欧海域有较为丰富的微生物资源,且交汇区微生物多样性较其他区域高。     

Changes in fish assemblages in catchments in north‐eastern Spain: biodiversity,conservation status and introduced species

1. North‐eastern Spain is a hot spot for the introduction of alien fish species, and its native fish fauna is one of the most endangered worldwide. We used an extensive data set from 2002 to 2003 and historical information from the area to characterize fish diversity and establish conservation priorities in river catchments. 2. Diversity indices were used to characterize fish diversity at the basin scale. An index of conservation status was applied for each species, which considers the occurrence, abundance and endemicity of each taxon. We used indirect ordination methods to test the relationship among basin features and to identify those variables most correlated with each other. To identify physical, biotic and environmental characteristics that seem to make a basin particularly susceptible to invasion, we performed a step‐wise multiple regression to examine the relationship between the number of native, translocated and introduced fish species (including the original native species richness of each basin), and landscape variables. 3. Over a period of approximately 50 years, the mean range size of native fish species has decreased by 60%. The greatest decline occurred in Gasterosteus gymnurus, Anguilla anguilla and Salaria fluviatilis, for which species over 75% of the original distribution area has been lost. The species with the highest conservation index were Gasterosteus gymnurus and Salaria fluviatilis. 4. Basin area and the catchment type explained 70% of variation in native species richness, whereas the number of dams and basin area accounted for more than 80% of variation in the number of introduced species. 5. The original native species richness and the number of introduced species at basin scale were not related, and thus there was no evidence of “biotic resistance” to invasion. The restoration of natural hydrologic processes and the development of specific management tools to protect native species, such as the prioritization of areas for fish conservation and the eradication of local populations of exotic species, are required to restore native fish fauna in these catchments.     

Potential distribution patterns of scorpions in north‐eastern Brazil under scenarios of future climate change

Current predictions about the responses of species to climate change strongly rely on projecting altered environmental conditions on their distributions. In this study, we investigated the effects of future climate change scenarios on the potential distribution of 10 species of scorpions in north‐eastern Brazil in the context of their degree of specialisation to closed (Atlantic and Amazon Forests) and open (Caatinga and Cerrado) habitats. Scorpion species were classified as habitat specialists or generalists according to the IndVal index, and present and future species distribution models were prepared using minimum volume ellipsoids. According to IndVal, four species were classified as closed‐forest specialists (Ananteris mauryi, Tityus brazilae, Tityus pusillus and Tityus neglectus), four as open‐forest specialists (Jaguajir agamemnon, Jaguajir rochae, Physoctonus debilis and Bothriurus rochai), and two as generalists (Tityus stigmurus and Bothriurus asper). All species presented a drastic reduction in potential distribution, ranging from 44% to 72%, when compared with their current distribution. In addition, we found a reduction in scorpion species richness under future climate change scenarios. This finding has implications for scorpion conservation. Further, the results show that climate change may impact the composition of scorpion assemblages in north‐eastern Brazil, revealing important implications for human–scorpion interactions.     

Neoselachians (Chondrichthyes,Elasmobranchii) from the Lower and lower Upper Cretaceous of north‐eastern Spain

Extensive sampling of several Barremian and Albian–Cenomanian levels across the Aguilón, Oliete and Aliaga subbasins of the Iberian Basin, north‐east Spain, yielded abundant material of new or so far poorly known neoselachians. The faunas consist of 16 different species, five of which represent new species and two new genera: Cantioscyllium brachyplicatum sp. nov. , Platypterix venustulus gen. et sp. nov. , Ptychotrygon pustulata sp. nov. , Ptychotrygon striata sp. nov. and Iberotrygon plagiolophus gen. et sp. nov. In addition, teeth of Heterodontus cf. H. carerens, Lamniformes indet., Pteroscyllium sp., Scyliorhinidae indet., Rhinobatos sp., Spathobatis sp., Belemnobatis sp., Ptychotrygon geyeri, Ptychotrygon sp. and Celtipristis herreroi are described. The new family Ptychotrygonidae is defined. The localities comprise palaeoenvironments ranging from lacustrine and shallow lake to open marine settings. Neoselachians are almost completely absent from continental settings in the Barremian, as a result of prevailing freshwater conditions, but became more abundant in marine strata. The Albian–Cenomanian selachian assemblage is the most profuse and diverse of the three assemblages studied. It is dominated by small, benthic and near‐coastal taxa, for instance Cantioscyllium and Ptychotrygon, and contains several new species, including an endemic batoid, Iberotrygon plagiolophus gen. et sp. nov. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 155 , 316–347.     

Biometric relationships between body and otolith measurements in nine demersal fishes from north‐eastern Tasmanian waters,Australia

Relationships between fish and otolith measurements were analyzed in nine demersal fishes from the north‐eastern Tasmanian waters: Foetorepus calauropomus, Trachurus declivis, Parequula melbournensis, Neosebastes scorpaenoides, Platycephalus aurimaculatus, Platycephalus bassensis, Platycephalus conatus, Lepidotrigla mulhalli and Lepidotrigla vanessa. The values of exponent b from the relationships between fish weight and fish total length, total length and otolith length, total length and otolith width, and fish weight and otolith length were estimated. All above relationships were statistically significant. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the effect of the categorical factor of species in the fish length and otolith length relationship. Significant differences in fish length and otolith length relationship between species were highlighted in both gurnards and flatheads. Results from this study will provide novel information on quantitative biometric relationships between body and otolith measurements of fish species in Australian waters.     

Prevalence of potentially pathogenic culturable bacteria on eggshells and in cloacae of female Pied Flycatchers in a temperate habitat in central Spain

ABSTRACT Bacteria grow on avian eggshells and thus can potentially cause diseases in developing embryos. Little is known about culturable bacteria colonizing avian eggshells in free‐living birds, with most studies restricted to poultry. Our objective was to examine the culturable bacterial array growing on eggshells during incubation that could negatively affect hatching success of Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) in a temperate montane habitat in central Spain. Cloacal culturable bacteria of females were also analyzed because bacteria can be vertically transmitted from females to eggs. We used fecal samples as surrogates of cloacal samples due to the small size of sampled birds. We found that eggshells and female cloacae of Pied Flycatchers harbored 24 and 40 bacterial families and species, respectively, but only a few in each clutch and each cloaca. Rod‐shaped gram‐negative bacteria and bacteria in the family Pseudomonadaceae were the most common bacteria on eggshells during early and late incubation and in female cloacae. Although based on small sample sizes, we found that females with rod‐shaped gram‐negative bacteria in their cloacae laid eggs that also had these bacteria, providing possible evidence for vertical transmission. We found no evidence for vertical transmission of Pseudomonadaceae, suggesting a possible environmental source for these bacteria. The prevalence of bacterial morphological types and major taxonomical categories on eggshells did not vary from early to late stages of incubation, providing support for the hypothesis that incubation may have bacteriostatic effects on bacterial proliferation on eggshells. Despite being primary egg invaders in poultry, we detected no effects of culturable Pseudomonadaceae or Pseudomonas luteola on hatching success. Our study represents the first to examine the culturable bacteria growing on the eggshells of a wild bird in a temperate habitat and additional studies based on culture‐independent techniques are required to confirm our results.     

Modelling the distribution of stygobionts in the Jura Mountains (eastern France). Implications for the protection of ground waters

Ground waters have exceptional conservation value due to the high endemism of their biota, the high occurrence of species relicts and because they are the second most important reservoir of freshwater after the glaciers. We used habitat-based models to predict the distribution of obligate groundwater species (stygobionts) in the Jura Mountains, eastern France. Current and historical environmental variables were selected to predict the occurrence of 19 stygobionts collected in different groundwater habitats. Species occurrence was weakly correlated with most of the physico-chemical variables and better correlated to habitat type, elevation gradient, hydraulic conductivity and the distance of the last glacial event. We identified two main groups of species, those whose distributions correlated with the last glacial event and those that did not. Our findings suggested that abilities for migrate and opportunities for dispersal using connections among habitats may explain part of these distributions and that specific spatial components should be incorporated in future modelling. We propose the identification of rich-species areas and protection of the complete spectrum of GW habitats as pertinent measures to achieve the stygobitoic persistence.     

Survival of the African white‐backed vulture Gyps africanus in north‐eastern South Africa

Old World vultures are in decline across their entire range. Although critical for the formulation of effective conservation measures, neither survival nor movement patterns of African vultures are adequately known. This paper presents survival and movement data on the African white‐backed vultures (Gyps africanus) from South Africa. Survival estimates were modelled on resightings of tagged vultures. Birds were captured en masse and resighted between November 2005 and December 2010. A total of 93 adult and subadult birds were fitted with uniquely numbered patagial tags, which were resighted 3707 times(mean of 39.8 resightings per bird). The programme MARK was used to estimate survival. The best model was one where survival and recaptures varied only with time (e.g. year). However, owing to the fading (illegibility) of tags in later years, the relationship with time is probably spurious. The second best model was one where survival and recaptures varied with age and time. Annual survival estimates increased from 85.2% in second‐year birds to 99.9% in adults. This corresponds well with the survival of two other Gyps vultures that have been studied to date and underscores the point that additional mortality of adults in these long‐lived species will result in rapid population declines.     

A large pholidosaurid in the Phu Kradung Formation of north‐eastern Thailand

In the early 1980s, the remains of a large crocodilian, consisting of a nearly complete lower jaw, were referred to a distinct species of Sunosuchus, S. thailandicus. The specimen was recovered from a road‐cut near Nong Bua Lamphu, north‐eastern Thailand, in the upper part of the continental Phu Kradung Formation, and then considered Early to Middle Jurassic in age. Since then, this age has been revised and most of the formation is now considered Early Cretaceous, although a Late Jurassic age is possible for its lowermost part. Here, we report for the first time cranial elements associated with mandibular remains assignable to ‘S’. thailandicus. An attribution to Pholidosauridae is proposed on the basis of premaxillary morphology, and the original referral of this taxon to the goniopholidid Sunosuchus is discarded. A new genus name Chalawan now designates the originally described material of S. thailandicus. Nevertheless, the newly described specimen shares a characteristic with both ‘traditional’ Goniopholididae and Pholidosauridae: the presence of a depression located on the lateral wall of the maxilla and jugal. A phylogenetic analysis confirms the inclusion of both Goniopholididae and Pholidosauridae into a common clade, Coelognathosuchia tax. nov. Although the new Thai skull is much fragmented, its original shape is reconstructed and is compared with other pholidosaurid genera, namely Elosuchus, Meridiosaurus, Oceanosuchus, Pholidosaurus, Sarcosuchus and Terminonaris. The presence of the genus Sunosuchus being highly questionable in Thailand, it cannot be used as evidence to link the Chinese and Indochinese blocks. Instead, the recognition of a freshwater pholidosaurid in a continental formation of the Indochinese block suggests that early in their evolutionary history, these crocodilians, already known from Europe, Africa and South America, were more widely distributed along the northern margin of the Tethys than previously recognized.     

Depth and temporal distribution of vagile fauna associated with Posidonia oceanica meadows in Cap Zebib,north‐eastern Tunisian coastline

A study on plant features and motile fauna was carried out within a Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile bed in Cap Zebib (north‐eastern Tunisian coastline). Fauna was sampled in two stations located at 3 and 12 m depth. A total of 154 species represented by 5592 individuals were collected. Taxa with the highest number of species included Crustacea (22), Mollusca (47) and Polychaeta (46). Among Crustacea, Leptocheirus pilosus, Elasmopus rapax and Lysianassa longicornis were recorded for the first time in Tunisian P. oceanica meadows. The species richness was found to be generally higher at the shallow station. Multivariate analyses showed a pronounced temporal variation in collected populations’ structure. Moreover, the distribution of some groups, in particular molluscs and crustaceans, appeared to be mainly influenced by ‘depth’ factor showing a clear zonation pattern for some species. It was also showed with Spearman test that the faunal features of the two latter taxa (molluscs and crustaceans) are related with the shoot density and Leaf Area Index. However, no correlation was found between the plant parameters and polychaetes community characteristics. In addition, environmental factors, i.e. temperature and dissolved oxygen were found to be correlated with species richness and Shannon–Wiener diversity for each zoological group.     

Fine‐scale distribution modeling of avian malaria vectors in north‐central Kansas

Infectious diseases increasingly play a role in the decline of wildlife populations. Vector‐borne diseases, in particular, have been implicated in mass mortality events and localized population declines are threatening some species with extinction. Transmission patterns for vector‐borne diseases are influenced by the spatial distribution of vectors and are therefore not uniform across the landscape. Avian malaria is a globally distributed vector‐borne disease that has been shown to affect endemic bird populations of North America. We evaluated shared habitat use between avian malaria vectors, mosquitoes in the genus Culex and a native grassland bird, the Greater Prairie‐Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), by (1) modeling the distribution of Culex spp. occurrence across the Smoky Hills of north‐central Kansas using detection data and habitat variables, (2) assessing the occurrence of these vectors at nests of female Greater Prairie‐Chickens, and (3) evaluating if shared habitat use between vectors and hosts is correlated with malarial infection status of the Greater Prairie‐Chicken. Our results indicate that Culex occurrence increased at nest locations compared to other available but unoccupied grassland habitats; however the shared habitat use between vectors and hosts did not result in an increased prevalence of malarial parasites in Greater Prairie‐Chickens that occupied habitats with high vector occurrence. We developed a predictive map to illustrate the associations between Culex occurrence and infection status with malarial parasites in an obligate grassland bird that may be used to guide management decisions to limit the spread of vector‐borne diseases.     

Composition and structure of reef fish communities in Paraíba State,north‐eastern Brazil

The composition and trophic structure of reef fish communities in two natural and two artificial reefs along the coast of Paraíba State in north‐eastern Brazil were investigated. A total of 114 species of fish belonging to 47 families were recorded during 120 stationary visual surveys, slightly less than half (46·55%) of which were recorded at all four surveyed localities. Most species are widely distributed on the western Atlantic coast, but several are endemic to Brazil. The greatest diversity and equitability indexes were recorded at the reefs of Sapatas and Cabeço dos Cangulos, whereas the greatest richness and abundance were found at the Queimado shipwreck. The Alvarenga shipwreck reef had the least richness, diversity and equitability. The four localities studied had very similar ichthyofaunas, especially in relation to species composition. The reefs along the Paraíba coast are considered priority conservation areas by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, and the information generated by this study will be useful for comparison with other reefs in the region and can be directly applied to programmes seeking to protect and manage these environments.