Distribution and Numbers of Pygmies in Central African Forests

Pygmy populations occupy a vast territory extending west-to-east along the central African belt from the Congo Basin to Lake Victoria. However, their numbers and actual distribution is not known precisely. Here, we undertake this task by using locational data and population sizes for an unprecedented number of known Pygmy camps and settlements (n = 654) in five of the nine countries where currently distributed. With these data we develop spatial distribution models based on the favourability function, which distinguish areas with favourable environmental conditions from those less suitable for Pygmy presence. Highly favourable areas were significantly explained by presence of tropical forests, and by lower human pressure variables. For documented Pygmy settlements, we use the relationship between observed population sizes and predicted favourability values to estimate the total Pygmy population throughout Central Africa. We estimate that around 920,000 Pygmies (over 60% in DRC) is possible within favourable forest areas in Central Africa. We argue that fragmentation of the existing Pygmy populations, alongside pressure from extractive industries and sometimes conflict with conservation areas, endanger their future. There is an urgent need to inform policies that can mitigate against future external threats to these indigenous peoples’ culture and lifestyles.     

Characterization of Brucella abortus S19 as a challenge strain for use in a mouse model of brucellosis

The objective of this project was to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether the Brucella abortus S19 vaccine infects and persists in mice and determine whether S19 can be used as a challenge strain for vaccine trial studies. Groups of BALB/c mice were inoculated (intraperitoneally, subcutaneously, intranasally) and euthanized to determine colonization titers in the spleens and lungs. This study showed that S19 does infect and persist in the tissues of mice for 8 weeks and demonstrates that S19 can be used, safely and economically under BSL2 containment, as the challenge strain for future trials to evaluate vaccine efficacy.     

Molecular data and ecological niche modelling reveal the evolutionary history of the common and Iberian moles (Talpidae) in Europe

According to mitochondrial data, the common mole, Talpa europaea, is paraphyletic. This could be explained by either an ancient introgression of mtDNA from the Iberian blind mole T. occidentalis to T. europaea, or the existence of a differentiated taxonomic entity in northern Spain that needs to be described. In this study, we combined mitochondrial (Cytb) and nuclear (HDAC2) data to investigate these two alternative hypotheses. Based on both mitochondrial and nuclear data and an extensive geographical sampling (399 sequenced individuals), we show that the populations of T. europaea from Spain and south‐western France (south of the Loire River) are phylogenetically closer to T. occidentalis than to T. europaea. The Spanish–French lineage has some morphological characters resembling more to T. occidentalis (e.g. eyes) and others resembling more to T. europaea (external measurements, mesostyle of the first upper molar). It also seems to have several distinctive dental characters, suggesting that it should be recognized as a new species. Within the three lineages, we found a marked phylogeographical pattern, with several allopatric or parapatric lineages, dating from the Pleistocene. Our genetic data combined with species distribution models support the presence of several putative glacial refugia during glacial maxima for each species.     

The Relationship between the Distribution of Common Carp and Their Environmental DNA in a Small Lake

Although environmental DNA (eDNA) has been used to infer the presence of rare aquatic species, many facets of this technique remain unresolved. In particular, the relationship between eDNA and fish distribution is not known. We examined the relationship between the distribution of fish and their eDNA (detection rate and concentration) in a lake. A quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay for a region within the cytochrome b gene of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio or ‘carp’), an ubiquitous invasive fish, was developed and used to measure eDNA in Lake Staring (MN, USA), in which both the density of carp and their distribution have been closely monitored for several years. Surface water, sub-surface water, and sediment were sampled from 22 locations in the lake, including areas frequently used by carp. In water, areas of high carp use had a higher rate of detection and concentration of eDNA, but there was no effect of fish use on sediment eDNA. The detection rate and concentration of eDNA in surface and sub-surface water were not significantly different (p≥0.5), indicating that eDNA did not accumulate in surface water. The detection rate followed the trend: high-use water > low-use water > sediment. The concentration of eDNA in sediment samples that were above the limit of detection were several orders of magnitude greater than water on a per mass basis, but a poor limit of detection led to low detection rates. The patchy distribution of eDNA in the water of our study lake suggests that the mechanisms that remove eDNA from the water column, such as decay and sedimentation, are rapid. Taken together, these results indicate that effective eDNA sampling methods should be informed by fish distribution, as eDNA concentration was shown to vary dramatically between samples taken less than 100 m apart.