Exploited for pets: the harvest and trade of amphibians and reptiles from Indonesian New Guinea

Over-exploitation of wildlife is a significant threat to global biodiversity, but addressing the sustainability of harvests can be difficult when trade is conducted illegally. The wildlife trade is driven chiefly by consumer demand, largely in developed nations (but increasingly in Asia), and more species are traded to meet international demand for pets than for any other purpose. We surveyed traders of amphibians and reptiles in the Indonesian provinces of Maluku, West Papua and Papua between September 2010 and April 2011. We recorded 5,370 individuals representing 52 species collected solely for the pet trade. At least 44?% were either fully protected or had not been allocated a harvest quota, making their harvest and trade illegal. Approximately half were listed within the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Trade operates via a complex chain, with hunters receiving little income compared to middlemen and exporters. Examination of Indonesian harvest quotas for amphibians and reptiles suggests limited knowledge of species distributions, with quotas often set for species in provinces where they do not occur. Illegal trade is due, partly, to an inadequate understanding of the species being traded and is facilitated by poor monitoring and enforcement at key trade hubs. As a first step to combatting illegal trade, and to better understand the effects of harvest on wild populations, we recommend the need for increased monitoring and enforcement, improving the knowledge base of species traded and educating consumers about the effects their demand for pets has on these species.     

Economic incentives for conservation: beekeeping and Saturniidae caterpillar utilization by rural communities

The economic viability of the wildlife based enterprises (bee-keeping and caterpillar utilization) in Malawi is discussed in relation to conventional agricultural enterprises (maize, beans and ground-nuts). A strong incentive emerges for rural people to adopt wildlife management as an adjunct to subsistence agriculture, and therefore, to promote conservation of natural ecosystems and wildlife habitats in the face of growing human population and demand for land. Dependence on agriculture has depleted the wildlife resource outside protected areas and has been less effective in improving the wealth and living standards of most rural people. This study illustrates that the Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife needs to introduce economic incentives that integrate biological conservation with economic development for the rural people. The management programme involves the adoption of a rotation burning policy that promotes vegetation coppicing, eases harvesting and promotes high caterpillar yields.     

A proposed neural pathway for vocalization in South African clawed frogs,Xenopus laevis

Vocalizations of South African clawed frogs are produced by contractions of laryngeal muscles innervated by motor neurons of the caudal medulla (within cranial nerve nucleus IX-X). We have traced afferents to laryngeal motor neurons in male and female frogs using retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase conjugated to wheat germ agglutinin (HRP-WGA). After iontophoretic injection of HRP-WGA into n. IX-X, retrogradely labelled neurons were seen in the contralateral n. IX-X, in rhombencephalic reticular nuclei, and in the pre-trigeminal nucleus of the dorsal tegmental area (DTAM) of both males and females.     

Organellar Calcium Buffers

Ca²⁺ is an important intracellular messenger affecting many diverse processes. In eukaryotic cells, Ca²⁺ storage is achieved within specific intracellular organelles, especially the endoplasmic/sarcoplasmic reticulum, in which Ca²⁺ is buffered by specific proteins known as Ca²⁺ buffers. Ca²⁺ buffers are a diverse group of proteins, varying in their affinities and capacities for Ca²⁺, but they typically also carry out other functions within the cell. The wide range of organelles containing Ca²⁺ and the evidence supporting cross-talk between these organelles suggest the existence of a dynamic network of organellar Ca²⁺ signaling, mediated by a variety of organellar Ca²⁺ buffers.     

Structural variability of C3larvin toxin. Intrinsic dynamics of the α/β fold of the C3-like group of mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase toxins

C3larvin toxin is a new member of the C3 class of the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase toxin family. The C3 toxins are known to covalently modify small G-proteins, e.g. RhoA, impairing their function, and serving as virulence factors for an offending pathogen. A full-length X-ray structure of C3larvin (2.3 Å) revealed that the characteristic mixed α/β fold consists of a central β-core flanked by two helical regions. Topologically, the protein can be separated into N and C lobes, each formed by a β-sheet and an α-motif, and connected by exposed loops involved in the recognition, binding, and catalysis of the toxin/enzyme, i.e. the ADP-ribosylation turn–turn and phosphate–nicotinamide PN loops. Herein, we provide two new C3larvin X-ray structures and present a systematic study of the toxin dynamics by first analyzing the experimental variability of the X-ray data-set followed by contrasting those results with theoretical predictions based on Elastic Network Models (GNM and ANM). We identify residues that participate in the stability of the N-lobe, putative hinges at loop residues, and energy-favored deformation vectors compatible with conformational changes of the key loops and 3D-subdomains (N/C-lobes), among the X-ray structures. We analyze a larger ensemble of known C3bot1 conformations and conclude that the characteristic ‘crab-claw’ movement may be driven by the main intrinsic modes of motion. Finally, via computational simulations, we identify harmonic and anharmonic fluctuations that might define the C3larvin ‘native state.’ Implications for docking protocols are derived.