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Morphological, Ultrastructural, And Molecular Identification Of A New Microsporidian Pathogen Isolated From Crepidodera Aurata (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae), Mustafa Yaman, Gönül Algi, Renate Radek

Turkish Journal of Zoology

A new microsporidian pathogen isolated from Crepidodera aurata was identified based on morphological and ultrastructural characteristics, coupled with a molecular phylogenetic analysis. The spores of the microsporidian pathogen were slightly curved in shape, and measured 2.44-3.55 µm in length and 1.25-1.55 µm in width (n = 50). Its ultrastructure is characteristic of monokaryotic groups. All lifecycle stages of the pathogen, including meronts, sporonts, sporoblasts, and mature spores, are monokaryotic. The spore has 6-8 windings of the polar filament. Morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of the lifecycle stages place it within the family Unikaryonidae. However, the phylogenetic tree constructed on the 16S …

Structure Of Molluscan Communities In Shallow Subtidal Rocky Bottoms Of Acapulco, Mexico, José Gabriel Kuk Dzul, Jesús Guadalupe Padilla Serrato, Carmina Torreblanca Ramirez, Rafael Flores Garza, Pedro Flores Rodríguez, Ximena Itzamara Muñiz Sánchez

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The objective of this study was to determine the structure of molluscan communities in shallow subtidal rocky bottoms of Acapulco, Mexico. Thirteen samplings were performed at 8 stations in 2012 (seven samplings), 2014 (four), and 2015 (two). The collection of the mollusks in each station was done at a maximum depth of 5 m for 1 h by 3 divers. A total of 2086 specimens belonging to 89 species, 36 families, and 3 classes of mollusks were identified. Gastropoda was the most diverse and abundant group. Calyptreaidae, Columbellidae, and Muricidae had >5 species, but Pisaniidae, Conidae, Fasciolariidae, and Muricidae had …

Detailed Analysis Of Beluga Sturgeon (Huso Huso) And Stellate Sturgeon(Acipenser Stellatus) Migration In The Lower Danube River, Stefan Hont, Marian Paraschiv, Marian Ion Iani, Elena Taflan, Daniela Nicoleta Holostenco, Delia Oprea, Lucian Oprea

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The swimming ground speed and swimming depths of beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) and stellate sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus) were investigated using ultrasonic telemetry between 2011 and 2017 in the Lower Danube River (river kilometer (rkm) 0 Sulina-rkm 1075 Baziaş). Acoustic telemetry receivers VR2W and V16TP tags (Vemco, Canada) were used to collect data about sturgeon migration behavior in the Lower Danube River between the Black Sea and the Iron Gate II dam. The tags, equipped with depth and temperature sensors, provided data about beluga and stellate sturgeon migration periods, swimming speeds, and depths. Twenty-three beluga sturgeon (184-245 cm TL) and twenty-one …

Comparative Evaluation Of Taxonomic And Functional Diversities Of Leaf-Litter Ants Of The Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Elmo Borges De Azevedo Koch, José Raimundo Maia Dos Santos, Ivan Cardoso Nascimento, Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The ant community living in leaf litter was assessed in 65 forest sites in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest in the southern region of the state of Bahia, Brazil. In addition, we aimed to understand the patterns between taxonomic and functional diversities using two different resolutions of classification of ants into functional groups. We identified 364 ant species belonging to 68 genera in 10 subfamilies in 65 regions. Considering a more general functional classification, we identified a total of 13 functional ant groups, and 26 functional ant groups considering a more specific functional classification. The Atlantic Forest environments studied presented great …

Spatial Distribution Of The Epigeic Species Of Earthworms Dendrobaena Octaedra And D. Attemsi (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae) In The Forest Belt Of The Northwestern Caucasus, Anna Geraskina, Nicolai Shevchenko

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Evaluation of the spatial distribution of 2 ecologically similar, but different, in terms of their spatial ranges, earthworm species, D. octaedra and D. attemsi, in the belt forests of northwestern Caucasus were based on our own natural data and using geographic information system (GIS) modeling of modern potential distributions. The quantitative records of earthworms were collected in beech, deciduous, dark coniferous, coniferous-deciduous, and pine forests (1028 geographic locations). Of the most important microsites inhabited by the epigeic earthworms, 2 (plant litter and deadwood) were examined. It was demonstrated that there was high correlation of the 2 species with the humidity …

Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Ground Beetle Diversity (Coleoptera: Carabidae) In A Ramsar Wetland (Chott Tinsilt) Of Algeria, Cherine Amri, Souad Neffar, Nadia Ouchtati, Haroun Chenchouni

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The aim of this study was to investigate the biodiversity and structure of the Carabidae community living at the edges of a Ramsar wetland in northeastern Algeria, as well as to analyze the effect of environmental variables on this Carabidae community. The study site included two stations (T1, T2). From November 2016 to October 2017, the carabidofauna was sampled fortnightly using pitfall traps. The structure and diversity of the beetle community were measured using nonparametric indices, i.e. species richness, diversity indices, accumulation curves, and similarity analysis. Generalized linear mixed effects models (GLMM) were applied to examine the spatiotemporal variation of …

Siberigondolella Gen. Nov., A Boreal Early Triassic Lanceolate Conodont, Ali̇ Murat Kiliç, Francis Hirsch

Turkish Journal of Zoology

In the Lower Triassic, at the time that segminate gondolellid conodonts defined the Tethyan regions, endemic segminiplanate gondolellid conodonts resembling the genus ?Neogondolella? dwelled in the northern latitudes. Without the multielement apparatus characteristic of the subfamily Neogondolellinae, these forms are phylogenetically incertae sedis and one lineage was attributed to the genus Siberigondolella gen. nov.

Molecular Identification Of Invasive Drosophilid Zaprionus Tuberculatus Malloch (Diptera: Drosophilidae) In Çanakkale, Turkey, Akin Kuyulu, Seda Yücel, Hani̇fe Genç

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The vinegar or pomace fly, Zaprionus tuberculatus Malloch, is native to the Afrotropical region but has recently colonized new areas in Turkey, Italy, Malta, Romania, and Greece. This invasive species was first detected in 2012 in Adana on banana and peach baits and is considered a potential agricultural pest in fig production in Turkey. However, the European and Mediterranean Plant Organization reports that no direct association of the fly with fruit damage has been documented so far because specimens were generally caught in traps. Specimens of Zaprionus sp. were monitored during surveys for cases of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) and Ceratitis …

Environmental Predictors For The Distribution Of The Caspian Green Lizard, Lacerta Strigata Eichwald, 1831, Along Elevational Gradients Of The Elburz Mountains In Northern Iran, Anooshe Kafash, Sohrab Ashrafi, Annemarie Ohler, Benedikt Rudolf Schmidt

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Within its range, the Caspian green lizard, Lacerta strigata, occurs in the Elburz Mountains (northern Iran) at elevations from below sea level to approximately 2700 m a.s.l. To determine the environmental factors affecting the distribution of this lizard, we used an ensemble approach to model the distribution of the Caspian green lizard (Lacerta strigata) in Iran using four algorithms (generalized boosted model, maximum entropy, generalized linear model, random forest). Results revealed that low-elevation habitats between the Elburz Mountains and the Caspian Sea are the most suitable habitats for the species. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), annual precipitation (both with …

Across The Great Divide, Debra Merskin

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman’s target article calls for a reevaluation of claims of human uniqueness and superiority. It also adds to the literature on how species differences, as Darwin noted, are more of degree than kind. The threats to environmental health and species survival are a consequence of excluding nonhuman animals from moral concern and consideration. The theory of intersectionality should include speciesism in the array of discriminatory practices.

“I Am Not An Animal”, Lori Marino

Animal Sentience

The answer to Chapman & Huffman’s question — “Why do we want to think humans are different?” — lies in the work of Ernest Becker and the social psychology literature known as Terror Management Theory, according to which our deep anxiety about animality and death can drive our need to feel superior to the other animals.

Phooey On Comparisons, Gwen J. Broude

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman reject the notion that human beings are very different from other animals. The goal is to undermine the claim that human uniqueness and even superiority are reason enough to treat other animals badly. But evaluating human uniqueness for this purpose only plays into the hands of those who exploit invidious comparisons between us and other animals to justify mistreatment of the rest of the animal kingdom. What human uniqueness we may discover would still be no justification for how we behave toward other animals. We should also ask ourselves whether any human-centric criterion can be justification for …

Just Preservation, Adrian Treves, Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, William S. Lynn

Animal Sentience

We are failing to protect the biosphere. Novel views of conservation, preservation, and sustainability are surfacing in the wake of consensus about our failures to prevent extinction or slow climate change. We argue that the interests and well-being of non-humans, youth, and future generations of both human and non-human beings (futurity) have too long been ignored in consensus-based, anthropocentric conservation. Consensus-based stakeholder-driven processes disadvantage those absent or without a voice and allow current adult humans and narrow, exploitative interests to dominate decisions about the use of nature over its preservation for futurity of all life. We propose that authentically non-anthropocentric …

Who Needs A Mind When You Have Thousands Of Fingers?, Yoram Gutfreund

Animal Sentience

Mather’s target article aligns with a common tendency of granting the octopus a mind or consciousness. But what is the meaning of an octopus’s mind? Is it part of nature or is it observer-dependent, imputed to satisfy our own psychological needs? In this commentary, I build on my own experience with octopuses to challenge the notion that we can conclusively attribute a mind to an animal; and I question the scientific usefulness of doing so.

Octopus Minds Must Lead To Octopus Ethics, Barbara J. King, Lori Marino

Animal Sentience

Mather argues convincingly for the existence of minds in octopuses based largely on laboratory experiments. Many of these experiments are highly invasive and involve mutilation and death. Moreover, octopuses are now being hailed as a “new model” for biological research and are being enthusiastically bred in captivity, both for research and for food. We argue that the compelling evidence for mind in octopuses must be accompanied by intense scrutiny of the ethics that shape how we treat them and that the intrinsic value of their individual lives must be recognized.

The Perfecting Of The Octopus, Ila France Porcher

Animal Sentience

Cephalopods split away from the phylogenetic tree about half a billion years ago, and octopus evolution has been accelerated by an extremely low survival rate. This helps explain why this unusual animal presents qualities found in no other. It has a radially organized nervous system with a processing centre for each of its eight tentacles. Yet, although this might suggest that each tentacle has its own centre of consciousness, it remains just one animal, with one mouth to feed, and one life to lose, and it behaves as if it is centrally controlled. Its capacity for a range of intelligent …

What We Don't Know About Cephalopods And How To Define It, Catia Correia Caeiro

Animal Sentience

Despite the reputation of octopuses as intelligent animals, their cognitive abilities seem to be mostly unknown. This should be the starting point of a long process of scientific enquiry about these taxa, which must include discussions on operational definitions first and foremost. Discussing octopus mind might prove fruitless without more basic concepts. Some approaches are suggested here.

Population Health Of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum) In Created Vernal Pools: An Integrative Approach, Alice R. Millikin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Habitat creation is an important tool for conservation to counteract habitat loss and degradation. Vernal pools are susceptible to destruction due to limited detection, protection, and regulation. These wetlands provide fishless breeding habitat for many amphibian species including spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) in eastern North America. Determining whether created vernal pool habitat is successful is often determined by demographic data of colonizing populations. I suggest that hormone levels, population genetics, and disease prevalence can improve our understanding of population health in created habitat. The goal of this dissertation was to assess the health of spotted salamander larvae in …

Using Physical Contact Heterogeneity And Frequency To Characterize Dynamics Of Human Exposure To Nonhuman Primate Bodily Fluids In Central Africa, Victor Narat, Mamdou Kampo, Thibut Heyer, Stephanie Rupp, Philippe Ambata, Richard Njouom, Tamara Giles-Vernick

Publications and Research

Emerging infectious diseases of zoonotic origin constitute a recurrent threat to global health. Nonhuman primates (NHPs) occupy an important place in zoonotic spillovers (pathogenic transmissions from animals to humans), serving as reservoirs or amplifiers of multiple neglected tropical diseases, including viral hemorrhagic fevers and arboviruses, parasites and bacteria, as well as retroviruses (simian foamy virus, PTLV) that are pathogenic in human beings. Hunting and butchering studies in Africa characterize at-risk human social groups, but overlook critical factors of contact heterogeneity and frequency, NHP species differences, and meat processing practices. In southeastern Cameroon, a region with a history of zoonotic emergence …

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part Xvii.Revision Of Neobuthus, With Description Of Seven New Species From Ethiopia, Kenya And Somaliland (Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Ahmed Ibrahim Awale, Hassan Sh Abdirahman Elmi, Ali Abdi Hurre

Euscorpius

New information about the taxonomy and distribution of the genus Neobuthus Hirst, 1911 is presented, based on material recently collected mainly from Somaliland, but also Djibouti and Kenya. Emended diagnoses are proposed for N. berberensis Hirst, 1911 and N. ferrugineus (Kraepelin, 1898) sensu stricto. New species described are: N. amoudensis sp. n. from Ethiopia and Somaliland; N. erigavoensis sp. n., N. factorio sp. n., N. gubanensis sp. n., N. maidensis sp. n., and N. montanus sp. n. from Somaliland; and N. kloppersi sp. n. from Kenya. This doubles the number of species in Neobuthus, unearthing a rich diversification …

Revision Of The Central Asian Scorpion Genus Anomalobuthus Kraepelin, 1900, With Descriptions Of Three New Species And A Generic Synonymy (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Rolando Teruel, František Kovařík, Victor Fet

Euscorpius

We revise the Central Asian endemic genus Anomalobuthus Kraepelin, 1900, which was considered monotypic for more than 100 years until the recent addition of a second species from Iran (Teruel et al., 2014). We redefine the generic diagnosis of Anomalobuthus and reveal that it is composed of no less than six species, three of which are described as new: A. krivochatskyi, sp. n. (central Uzbekistan and extreme southern Kazakhstan), A. lowei, sp. n. (southeastern Kazakhstan), and A. pavlovskyi, sp. n. (south-central Kazakhstan and extreme northern Turkmenistan). The monotypic genus Psammobuthus Birula, 1911 (described from the Ferghana Valley …

Employing Natural History Collections In The Aid Of Conservation: Streamlining An Approach To Model Species Distributions En Masse For The Preservation Of Biodiversity, Alice Fornari

Master's Projects and Capstones

Using species distribution models (SDMs) in Natural History Collections (NHCs) can influence how humans implement conservation changes in flora and fauna communities and ecosystems. Through the use of legacy data (old NHCs and their associated locality/collection information), data correction (background data or pseudo absences added to presence-only data), and the SDM software, Maxent (and its associated geographic information systems or GIS projected models), it has been shown that it is feasible to create a low budget protocol/setup to project the past, present and future of species population changes. This has been done in the past few decades as more collections …

Checklist Of Zooplanktons In Different Rivers Of Bajwat Area, Zahid Bhatti, Muhammad Asif Gondal, Asad Ghufran, Andleeb Batool

Journal of Bioresource Management

Zooplanktons are important fish and waterfowl food. Limnological studies of Marala Wetlands, a complex created by three rivers, i.e., Jammu Tawi, Chenab and Manawar Tawi, entering Bajwat area located 25 km from North of Sialkot city from state of Jammu and Kashmir, were carried out between October, 2000 to September 2001. This survey was carried out to create a checklist of zooplanktons existing in the study site which would help in future studies relating to aquatic biodiversity and ecological studies of wetlands. A minimum of 25 species of zooplanktons were present in the wetland area, which can be included into …

Population Trend Of Herons And Egrets (Family: Ardeidae) In Marala Head From Oct 2000- Sep 2001, Zahid Bhatti, Fakhra Nazir, Safdar Ali Shah

Journal of Bioresource Management

The species cited from Pakistan included Ardea goliath, Ardea cinerea cinerea, Ardea cinerea rectirostris, Ardea purpurea manilensis and Butorides striatus javanicus, Ardeola grrayii grayii and Bubulcus ibis coromandus, Ardea alba alba, Ardea alba modesta, Egretta intermedia intermedia, Egretta garzetta garzetta and Egretta gularis schistacea, Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax, Ixobrychus minutus minutus, Ixobrychus sinensis and Ixobrychus flavicollis flavicollis. The study was carried out from October 2000 to September 2001, spanning the area from Kikar Post to Head Marala. Point count method was used to record the number of birds observed (Ralph et al., 1995). The birds were further identified using literature. Cattle …

Status And Food Preferences Of Bears In Sub Alpine Scrub Forests, Ajk, Madeeha Manzoor, Safdar Ali Shah, Jibran Haider

Journal of Bioresource Management

Bears belong to the family Ursidae, under the order Carnivora with eight extant species (Grzimek, 2003). Roberts (1997) cite the presence of Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan black bear and Balochistan black bear in Pakistan. Dhirkot National Park (2008), Banjosa Nature Reserve (2009), Tolipir National Park (2008), Pir Chanasi National Park (2010) and Pir Lasura National Park (2009) were surveyed. A broad-spectrum investigation was conducted where the number of bears observed directly; pictures from surveillance cameras (Arc View GIS 3.3, 1992-2002) and at the same time indirect indicators such as bear scats, walking trails, paw prints and fur samples were noted …

Rediscovery Of Red Wolf Ghost Alleles In Canid Population Along The American Gulf Coast, Elizabeth Heppenheimer, Kristin Brzeski, Ron Wooten, William Waddell, Linda Y. Rutledge, Michael J. Chamberlain, Et. Al.

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

Rediscovering species once thought to be extinct or on the edge of extinction is rare. Red wolves have been extinct along the American Gulf Coast since 1980, with their last populations found in coastal Louisiana and Texas. We report the rediscovery of red wolf ghost alleles in a canid population on Galveston Island, Texas. We analyzed over 7000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 60 canid representatives from all legally recognized North American Canis species and two phenotypically ambiguous canids from Galveston Island. We found notably high Bayesian cluster assignments of the Galveston canids to captive red wolves with extensive sharing …

Population Genomic Analysis Of North American Eastern Wolves (Canic Lycaon) Support Their Conservation Priority Status, Elizabeth Heppenheimer, Ryan Harrigan, Linda Rutledge, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Alexandra L. Decandia, Kristin Brzeski, Et. Al.

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

The threatened eastern wolf is found predominantly in protected areas of central Ontario and has an evolutionary history obscured by interbreeding with coyotes and gray wolves, which challenges its conservation status and subsequent management. Here, we used a population genomics approach to uncover spatial patterns of variation in 281 canids in central Ontario and the Great Lakes region. This represents the first genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) dataset with substantial sample sizes of representative populations. Although they comprise their own genetic cluster, we found evidence of eastern wolf dispersal outside of the boundaries of protected areas, in that the frequency …

The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna J. Giberson

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

Sandhill Crane Activity In The Central Platte River Valley In Late May And Early June, Jenna M. Malzahn, Andrew J. Caven, Marin Dettweiler, Joshua D. Wiese

Nebraska Bird Review

In this report we discuss observations of Sandhill Cranes remaining in the Central Platte River Valley until early June 2018 and discuss potential explanations for this extended stay into the breeding season.

We detected two pairs of adult Sandhill Cranes in two different locations on 15 May 2018 (Table 1). We then detected three injured adult Sandhill Cranes in a third location on 16 May 2018 (Table 1). Two of the three Sandhill Cranes each had a missing leg and the third crane’s leg was broken above the tibiotarsal joint; however, all were still capable of foraging and flight. Later, …

Fall Field Report, August - November 2018, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

As far as birds go, this was a relatively quiet season, but, as usual, there was much of interest to chew on. Most important in any report are range changes, major changes in expected numbers or early and late dates, all of which relate directly to the status, positive or negative, of a given species.

Waterfowl in general were only average in numbers; new high counts are rare these days compared with numbers 20 or so years ago. Two winter finches, Common Redpoll and Red Crossbill, that normally arrive in late fall, were virtually unreported. Notable range expansions are under …