Biodiversity Informatics
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Northern King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor 1836), rescue and conservation efforts in and around Assam University, Silchar, Cachar District, Assam
Full text linkWe herein describe Northern King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) rescues, road mortality incidents, andhuman-King Cobra conflicts in and around Assam University, Silchar, Assam, India, with the aim of assessing thestatus and threats of the species in the Barak Valley. From July 2020 to December 2024, data were collected on KingCobra rescues and mortality events by a trained two-member team. Rescue and relocation were considered secondaryoptions, employed only when necessary; in most cases, the snakes were allowed to disperse naturally away from humansettlements. During rescues, lengths and weights of snakes were recorded prior to release into nearby forested habitats.A total of 49 Northern King Cobras were rescued and released over the study period. Mean length and weight of rescuedindividuals was 3.1 m (1 to 4.3 m) and 5.8 kg (2.8 to 14.5 kg). Snake encounters in human-inhabited areas werehighest during April and more frequent during the pre-monsoon period than other times of year. A positive relationshipwas evident between snake length and weight, indicating that each additional meter in length was associated withan approximate increase of 3 kg in weight. We emphasize the need for further research into the ecological and biologicalcharacteristics of this ecologically significant and charismatic species and, given the frequent human-induced mortalitydriven by fear, we recommend implementation of additional conservation education and community-engagementprograms to promote coexistence and support effective conservation strategies
Checklist of snakes from Dang District of Lumbini Province, Nepal
No full textWe herein present a checklist of 28 species of snakes in 20 genera and seven families recorded as rescuesor opportunistic sightings between July 2018 and December 2024 in Dang District, Lumbini Province, Nepal.Fifteen species are in the family Colubridae, five in the family Elapidae, two each in the families Erycidae, Natricidae,and Viperidae, and one each in the families Pythonidae and Typhlopidae. We provide photographic evidence of theStreaked Kukri Snake (Oligodon taeniolatus) from the Deukhuri Valley as a new record for Nepal and an additional 13species were new records for Dang District. The major threats observed during the study period were forest fires, forestencroachment, construction activities, and intentional killing of snakes
Whither Dendrelaphis in western India? A critique of recent papers by Vaishnav and Ghadi (2025) and Puranik et al. (2025)
Full text linkStratigraphic and Regional Trends in Chemistry and Quality of Natural Gas in Central and Western Kansas, Midcontinent, USA
No full textNatural gas from many midcontinent geological formations can contain significant quantities of nitrogen and subsidiary amounts of helium. Argon and carbon dioxide also can be present, but they commonly compose less than 0.5% of the total gas. In as many as a third of the fields in Kansas, noncombustible component gases reduce heating values to less than 950 BTU/scf.
Natural gas analyses, when differentiated into histograms according to their heat content (i.e., BTU/scf), array as skewed bell-shaped distributions with a “tail” on the lower-BTU flank of the distribution. There are no separate populations of low-BTU and high-BTU gases. The definition of a low-BTU gas is therefore somewhat arbitrary and artificial and mostly defined by what quality of natural gas will be accepted by pipeline companies. A gas with less than 950 BTU/scf — usually the minimum quality of gas accepted by pipelines without price discounts — is nominally identified as a low-BTU gas. Occurrences of low-BTU gas are geographically extensive in Kansas. Much of this low-BTU gas has either been shut in behind pipe or simply abandoned after discovery if it could not be blended with any readily available higher-BTU gas.
Most gas production in Kansas is from Permian Chase Group strata in the giant Hugoton Gas Field in southwestern Kansas. Elsewhere in the state, other Permian and older strata producing gas are associated with petroleum that was generated in and then migrated out of the Anadarko basin of Oklahoma. Cretaceous gases are present in the northwestern corner of the state. The Cretaceous gases are biogenic in origin and are updip of thermogenic gas occurrences in the Denver-Julesburg basin of Colorado and Wyoming.
Percentages of higher-molecular-weight hydrocarbon component gases (i.e., ethane, propane, butane, pentane, etc.) and helium generally decrease with decreasing age of the reservoir. Helium content is commonly linked to nitrogen content in a relatively constant ratio that generally increases with decreasing age of the reservoir. The median nitrogen/helium ratio for Kansas Cretaceous gases is 45/1. Median ratios for other strata are 31/1 for Permian strata, 25/1 for Pennsylvanian (Virgilian) strata, and 21/1 for Pennsylvanian (Missourian) strata. Gas-bearing zones along the basal Pennsylvanian angular unconformity have a median nitrogen/helium ratio of 11/1.
Some low-BTU regions in the Hugoton Gas Field and along the basal Pennsylvanian unconformity are possibly caused by interaction of the gases with formation water. Formation water could either leach the component gases, such as various hydrocarbon gases, from a natural gas accumulation or it could contribute component gases such as nitrogen and helium to a gas accumulation. Alternately, mixing with a lower-BTU gas also could alter the original composition of a natural gas accumulation.
The natural gas in the Chase Group of the Hugoton Gas Field in southwestern Kansas displays some consistent changes in composition. The perimeter of the field is characterized by low-BTU gas, and the perimeter is particularly wide in the northeastern corner of the field. For reasons unknown, gas analyses in the western (updip) part of the field assay with greater hydrocarbon wetness (i.e., greater percentages of higher-molecular-weight gases relative to methane) than gases in the eastern part of the field.
Helium content in natural gas accumulations increases from south to north and peaks on the southern part of the Central Kansas uplift. Maps of helium percentages and nitrogen/helium ratios define several areas where helium can be extracted to augment the economics of natural gas production in Kansas
Downloading images from GBIF: Licenses, citation and link rot
Full text linkDownloading images of preserved specimens in bulk is becoming increasingly important for many research projects, especially those connected with machine learning and image analysis. A useful source of images is the standard biodiversity aggregator, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Here we identify four major issues connected to GBIF image downloads, distinct from those associated with text downloads. These are (1) license considerations, (2) citation issues, (3) restricting to specific providers for project reasons or cybersecurity concerns, and, finally, (4) attempting to use links that are no longer functioning (often referred to as “link rot” or “data rot”). We suggest an incremental approach to downloading and suggest techniques for improved image download. We provide an implementation of our suggestions in Python (gbifimage-downloader)
Treatise Online no. 193: Part R, Revised, Volume 1, Structure and taphonomy of decapod cuticle in the fossil record
No full textPredation by a non-native Cuban Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) of a native Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus) in Miami, Florida, USA
No full textBlood levels of interleukin-17 family members in healthy individuals and various diseases
Full text linkInterleukin-17 (IL-17) family of cytokines and receptors plays important roles in host defense, inflammation and autoimmunity, and cancer. This study re-analyzed a pan-disease blood proteomics dataset containing one healthy population (n = 825) and 59 disease populations (n = 5227) classified into cardiovascular, metabolic, cancer, psychiatric, autoimmune, infection, and pediatric classes. Dataset of IL-17A, IL-17C, IL-17D, IL-17F, IL-17RA, and IL-17RB were retrieved from the published report and re-analyzed focusing on comparisons between diseases and healthy people. We found that IL-17A and IL-17RA blood levels were increased in 55 diseases compared to healthy people. IL-17C, IL-17D, IL-17F, and IL-17RB levels were increased in some diseases but decreased in other diseases. While it was expected that IL-17A, IL-17C, IL-17D, and IL=17F levels were frequently increased in infection diseases, it was surprising that IL-17RA and IL-17RB levels were remarkably increased in pediatric tumors. Future studies will investigate the roles of IL-17RA and IL-17RB in the pathogenesis of pediatric tumors
Geology and Ground-Water Resources of Jewell County, Kansas
Full text linkThis report describes the geography, geology, and ground-water resources of Jewell County in north-central Kansas. The county has an area of 915 square miles and in 1950 had a population of 9,698. Jewell County lies in the Great Plains Pliocene to Cretaceous ground-water province. The county has three types of topography--the deeply dissected uplands in the northern and central parts of the county, a level or gently sloping plain which bounds the uplands on the east and south, and alluvial valleys.
The rocks that crop out at the surface in Jewell County are sedimentary, ranging in age from Late Cretaceous to Recent. The oldest rocks exposed in the county are sandstone and shale beds of the Dakota formation, which crops out in a small area on the south side of Buffalo Creek valley in the southeastern corner of the county. The Dakota is overlain by a conformable series of marine upper Cretaceous rocks classified, in ascending order: Graneros shale, Greenhorn limestone, Carlile shale, and Niobrara formation. Unconsolidated continental deposits of fluviatile and eolian origin represent at least three stages of the Pleistocene. These deposits include the Meade formation of Kansan age, in the northeastern part of the county between Republican River and White Rock Creek. Stream-laid deposits of the Meade formation also fill a narrow valley extending northward from near Mankato. Volcanic ash deposits and associated silt beds in the northwestern and southern parts of the county also are a part of the Meade formation. Later Pleistocene deposits that are present in Jewell County include terrace deposits of Illinoian and Wisconsinan age, the Loveland and Peoria silt members of the Sanborn formation, and Recent alluvium.
Ground-water recharge in the area is largely from local precipitation; ground-water discharge is mainly by seepage into streams and transpiration by plants. All municipal supplies and most domestic and stock supplies are obtained from wells. Most wells in the county are drilled or dug. No irrigation is practiced in Jewell County. On the whole, ground-water supplies are small.
Ground water in Jewell County is generally hard but otherwise suitable for most uses, except for water from certain wells which is excessively high in dissolved solids content or in nitrate.
The field data upon which this report is based are given in tables. They include records of 259 wells, chemical analyses of water from 36 representative wells, and logs of 13 test holes