12,715 research outputs found
Dolichoderus canopus Shattuck & Marsden, 2013, sp. n.
No full textDolichoderus canopus sp. n. (Fig. 4) Types. Holotype worker from 6.5km ENE Canopus Homestead, Danggali Conservation Park, 33 ° 29 'S 140 ° 46 'E, South Australia, 21 May 1996, T.A. Weir & K. Pullen (ANIC, ANIC 32 -000797); 1 paratype worker, same data as holotype except ANIC 32 -0066652 (ANIC). Diagnosis. Pale markings absent from lower margin of the eyes; sculpturing pattern of head and pronotum, although with large fovea, is indistinct; in dorsal view the pronotum with only weakly defined shoulders, with the area between the shoulders convex to flat; pronotum and propodeum lacking spines; dorsum of propodeum weakly and evenly convex, the length shorter (at most approximately the same length) than the posterior face; a narrow, distinct carina separating the dorsal and posterior faces; posterior face of propodeum weakly concave; gaster dark brown to black with sparse pubescence on the first gastral tergite, with hairs generally not overlapping or entirely absent; tibiae with erect or suberect hairs. This species is most similar to D. formosus and D. nigricornis but can be distinguished by the weaker sculpturing pattern on the head compared to the distinct sculpturing pattern of D. formosus and D. nigricornis (Figs 4, 11 and 17). Worker description. See Fig. 4. The two known specimens of this species are nearly identical. Measurements (n= 2). CI 85 – 85; EI 36–37; EL 0.31–0.32; HL 1.01 – 1.01; HW 0.86 – 0.86; ML 1.32–1.38; MTL 0.73 – 0.73; PronI 64.92–68.22; PronW 0.56–0.58; SI 114–117; SL 0.98 –1.00. Comments. This species is currently known from only two specimens collected in a berlesate sample consisting of litter from under Casuarina cristata trees taken in southern South Australia. Nothing more is known of its biology.Published as part of Shattuck, Steven O. & Marsden, Sharon, 2013, Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), pp. 101-143 in Zootaxa 3716 (2) on pages 110-111, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3716.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/24849
Dolichoderus albamaculus Shattuck & Marsden, 2013, sp. n.
No full textDolichoderus albamaculus sp. n. (Fig. 1) Types. Holotype worker from Billabong, 26 ° 49 'S 114 ° 37 'E, Western Australia, 12 August 1984, B.B. Lowery, sand, scrub (ANIC, ANIC 32 -066614); 7 paratype workers, same data as holotype except ANIC 32 - 061315 (5 in ANIC, 2 in MCZC). Diagnosis. Pale markings present near lower margin of eye; sculpturing on head consisting of large, shallow to moderately deep fovea; pronotum and propodeum lacking spines; posterior face of the propodeum strongly concave, separated from the dorsal face by a distinct carina; dorsum of propodeum weakly convex and elongate (longer than posterior); pubescence on first gastral tergite sparse, the individual hairs generally not overlapping, or hairs absent. This species is easily confused with D. semiorbis. It can be distinguished from this species by the presence of erect or suberect hairs on the tibiae (Fig. 1); and the more distinctive carina protruding upwards separating the dorsal and posterior face of the propodeum (Fig. 1 and Fig. 25). Worker description. See Fig. 1. The available material shows little variation from the imaged specimen. Measurements (n= 5). CI 74–79; EI 41–43; EL 0.30–0.34; HL 0.92–1.05; HW 0.72–0.78; ML 1.24–1.53; MTL 0.69–0.83; PronI 68.82–78.05; PronW 0.51–0.61; SI 112–128; SL 0.82–0.99. Material examined. Northern Territory: 60km N Alice Springs (Zakharov) (ANIC); South Australia: 51km W Emu Junction (Forrest,J.A.) (ANIC); Sevenhill (Lowery,B.B.) (ANIC); Western Australia: 0.6km W of Neergabby (Heterick,B.E.) (JDMC); Caiguna RH (Heterick,B.E.) (JDMC); Henderson (Heterick,B.E.) (JDMC); Int. Holland Tr./Norseman Rd. (Heterick,B.E.) (JDMC); The Granites (Mt. Magnet) (Heterick,B.E.) (JDMC). Comments. Although rarely encountered, D. albamaculus is widespread across semi-arid southern Australia, occurring from the Western Australian coast to eastern South Australia. It has been found in open scrub and Acacia woodland habitats.Published as part of Shattuck, Steven O. & Marsden, Sharon, 2013, Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), pp. 101-143 in Zootaxa 3716 (2) on page 106, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3716.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/24849
Dolichoderus omicron Shattuck & Marsden, 2013, sp. n.
No full text<i>Dolichoderus omicron</i> sp. n. <p>(Fig. 18)</p> <p> <b>Types</b>. Holotype worker from Poochera, "Freightline site" just south of village, 32°43'S 134°50'E, South Australia, 10–13 November 1981, R.W. Taylor & R.J. Bartell, nocturnal foragers, mallee woodland (ANIC, ANIC32- 066601); 5 paratype workers, same data as holotype except ANIC32- 061292 (ANIC); 6 paratype workers from Poochera, "Rubbish dump site" just north of village, 32°43'S 134°50'E, South Australia, 10–13 November 1981, R.W. Taylor & R.J. Bartell, diurnal collection, mallee woodland (ANIC32- 061295, 3 in ANIC, 3 in MCZC); 1 paratype worker from the Poochera area, " <i>Nothomyrmecia</i> original site", 32°43'S 134°50'E, South Australia, 13–17 November 1977, R.W. Taylor & P.S. Ward, diurnal (ANIC, ANIC32- 061294); 2 paratype workers from Poochera, "collected in CSIRO enclosure", 32°43'S 134°50'E, South Australia, October–November, 1984, R.W. Taylor & R.J.</p> <p>Bartell, mallee woodland (ANIC, ANIC32- 061291); 1 paratype worker from Poochera, site "X" 2km S of village, 32°43'S 134°50'E, South Australia, 6–15 November 1982, R.W. Taylor & R.J. Bartell, mallee woodland (ANIC, ANIC32- 061293).</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis</b>. Pale markings absent from lower margin of the eyes; pronotum and propodeum lacking spines; in dorsal view the pronotum with only weakly defined shoulders, with the area between the shoulders more strongly convex to flat; dorsum of propodeum weakly and evenly convex, the length shorter (at most approximately the same length) than the posterior face, with a narrow carina separating the dorsal and posterior faces; posterior face of propodeum weakly concave, separated from the dorsal face by a distinct carina; gaster yellowish red and lighter in colour than the mesosoma; with sparse pubescence on the first gastral tergite and hairs generally not overlapping or entirely absent; tibiae with erect or suberect hairs.</p> <p> This species is most similar to <i>D. canopus</i> but can be distinguished by having a gaster yellowish red and lighter in colour that the mesosoma whereas <i>D. canopus</i> has a gaster which is at least similar in colour if not darker than the mesosoma.</p> <p> <b>Worker description</b>. See Fig. 18. Available specimens uniform and similar to the figured individual except in showing moderate variation in body colour, which varies from light reddish-brown to brown (as illustrated), and leg colour, which ranges from yellow-red to reddish-brown (as illustrated).</p> <p> <b>Measurements</b> (n=5). CI 82–87; EI 31–34; EL 0.24–0.28; HL 0.87–0.99; HW 0.72–0.86; ML 1.14–1.34; MTL 0.61–0.71; PronI 66.49–70.16; PronW 0.49–0.59; SI 112–119; SL 0.85–0.96.</p> <p> <b>Material examined</b>. <i>New South Wales</i>: 7mi. S Hillston (Lowery,B.B.) (ANIC); Bogan River (Armstrong,J.) (ANIC); <i>South Australia</i>: 10km S Yardea HS, Gawler Ranges (Greenslade,P.J.M.) (ANIC); 11mi. E Kimba (Greenslade,P.J.M.) (ANIC); 53km E Vokes Hill, Victoria Desert (Greenslade,P.J.M.) (ANIC); Blyth (Lowery,B.B.) (ANIC); Brookfield [Brookfield Conservation Park] (Greenslade,P.J.M.) (ANIC); Cambrai (Greenslade,P.J.M.) (ANIC); Ferries-McDonald Reserve, Monarto Sth. [Monarto South] (Greenslade,P.J.M.) (ANIC); Goondooloo (Crozier,R.C.) (ANIC); Inkster, SW Poochera (Casparson,K.) (ANIC); Mambray Creek, S Flinders Ranges (Greenslade,P.J.M.) (ANIC); Monarto Stn (Greenslade,P.J.M.) (ANIC); Poochera (Taylor,R.W. & Bartell,R.J.) (ANIC); Poochera area (Taylor,R. & Ward,P.) (ANIC); Sevenhill (Lowery,B.B.) (ANIC); Sinclair Gap (Barker,S.) (SAMA); Streaky Bay (Lowery,B.B.) (ANIC); <i>Victoria</i>: Wyperfeld National Park., Duttuck Tk. (Harvey,M.S. & Roberts,B.E.) (ANIC); <i>Western Australia</i>: 11 mi. E Pingrup (Greaves,T.) (ANIC); 19mi. NNW Widgiemooltha (Taylor,R.W.) (ANIC); 26mi. ENE Norseman (Taylor,R.W.) (ANIC); 3km S Wundowie (Ward,P.S.) (ANIC); Caiguna (Lowery,B.B.) (ANIC); Eucla (Shattuck,S.O.) (ANIC); York (Douglas,A.M. & Douglas,M.J.) (ANIC).</p> <p> <b>Comments</b>. <i>Dolichoderus omicron</i> is found in semi-arid open forested areas such as mallee woodlands and broombrush thickets across most of southern Australia. It forages during the day in columns primarily on the ground and nests in soil under rocks.</p>Published as part of <i>Shattuck, Steven O. & Marsden, Sharon, 2013, Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), pp. 101-143 in Zootaxa 3716 (2)</i> on pages 127-129, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3716.2.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/248496">http://zenodo.org/record/248496</a>
A biosynthesis-inspired approach to over twenty diverse natural product-like scaffolds
No full textA synthetic approach to diverse scaffolds was developed that was inspired by diterpene biosynthesis. Initial scaffolds, generated using Diels–Alder reactions of furyl-functionalised amines, were transformed into alternative scaffolds using cleavage, ring expansion, annulation and rearrangement reactions. In total, 25 diverse scaffolds were prepared that were shown to have high natural product-likeness
A new species of Aleurolobus Quaintance et Baker (Homoptera, Aleyrodidae) from Southern Europe.
No full textAleurolobus teucrii n. sp. is described from southern Italy and the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean). The species seems to be monophagous on Teucrium fruticans L. A key to the European species of this genus (A. niloticus Priesner et Hosny, A. olivinus (Silvestri), A. wunni (Ryberg) and A. teucrii n. sp.) is provided.peer-reviewe
Vipera walser Ghielmi, Menegon, Marsden, Laddaga & Ursenbacher, sp. nov.
No full textVipera walser Ghielmi, Menegon, Marsden, Laddaga & Ursenbacher sp. nov. (Figs 1–4). Holotype Adult female: MSNG 34485, collected in S. Giovanni d’Andorno, on the road to Oropa in the Biella prealps, at about 1300 m a.s.l. by A. Rosazza in the summer of 1930 (Fig. 5). Paratypes One adult male: MSNG 33638 M collected at Monte Rosso del Croso, on 30 August 1933. One juvenile male: MSNG 33637 B and one subadult male: MSNG 30818 C collected at Alpe Finestre by Felice Capra, respectively, on 28 July 1930 and 15 August 1928. One adult female: MSNG 30818 A, one subadult female: MSNG 30818 B, and two juvenile females: MSNG 33637 C and MSNG 33637 D collected by Felice Capra at Alpe Finestre between August 1928 and August 1939. One juvenile female: MSNG 30286 collected by F. Capra at Monte Rosso del Croso on 12 September 1934; one adult female MSNG 33637 A collected by F. Capra at Alpe le Piane on 5 August 1937; one adult female MSNG 41663 collected by A. Margiocco at Piedicavallo in September 1967. Type locality San Giovanni d’Andorno, strada per Oropa at 1300 m a.s.l. in the Alps north of town of Biella, a subrange of the Pennine Alps, north-western Italy. Differential diagnosis Vipera walser sp. nov. is generally similar to the species of the subgenus Pelias and can be confused with V. berus, which co-occurs on the Alps in allopatry (Fig. 6, Table 2). The species differs in a generalized higher count of cephalic scales, in particular the ones listed below (V. berus in parentheses): higher number of crown scales: 7–30, mean 17.4 (versus 4–22, mean 13.0); loreals: 4–15, mean 9.36 (versus 2–12, mean 6.72); and, to a lesser extent, perioculars: 16–23, mean 19.8 (versus 13–23, mean 18.4) (see Table 2). V. walser, in contrast to V. berus, also shows a marked tendency towards fragmentation of the cephalic large shields: the parietal scales are often completely broken down into several smaller scales: 2–14, mean 6.3 (versus 2–10, mean 2.4; see also Fig. 7). Less commonly, also the frontal scale is fragmented into smaller scales. Some individuals exhibit a dorsum of the head covered in small, irregular scales, like in V. aspis. V. walser has between 1.5 and 2 rows of subocular scales on both sides of the head in 85 % of the analysed specimens (V. berus has typically one row of suboculars, with the exception of some populations in the southern Alps). The dorsal zigzag is often broken down into separate bars as in Vipera aspis (Linnaeus, 1758) or Vipera berus bosniensis (see Fig. 6). Despite the lack of a strictly diagnostic morphological character, V. walser can be readily distinguished from populations of V. berus from Central and northern Europe by a combination of several characters (e.g. the number of subocular scales, fragmentation of parietals and number of apicals). Identification based solely on observation of external morphology is less obvious if individuals of V. berus from southern Alps are considered. Despite this, discriminant analysis correctly identified individuals to species in 94 % of females and 88 % of males, based on a set of analysed characters (see Figs 2 and 3). The mean p-distance, based on a combined dataset of about 3000 base pairs of mitochondrial genes, between V. berus and. walser is 5.36 %. Based on our current knowledge of its distribution, Vipera walser is restricted to the Alps north of town of Biella, a subrange of the Pennine Alps, west of the river Ticino, north-western Italy (Fig. 8). The differences in cephalic scale count between Vipera walser and. berus are shown in Table 2: Crown scales (females: t 45,49 = 4.81, p <0.0001; males: t 28,71 = 5.20, p <0.0001); loreals (females: t 94,59 = - 7.52, p <0.0001; males: t 62,67 = - 4.43, p <0.0001); and, in females only, perioculars (female: t 64,16 = 5.33, p <0.0001; males: t 17,25 = - 0.16, p = 0.87) and apicals (females: t 32,86 = 2.14, p = 0.04; males: t 18,0 8 = - 0.12, p = 0.91); the number of scales between the eyes and the supralabials are higher (females: t 66,40 = 5.85, p <0.0001; males: t 37,93 = 7.90, p <0.0001). Paratype variations Details and meristics for the analysed individuals, including the type series, are summarized in Table 3. Description of the holotype Adult female conserved in 70 % EtOH in rather good condition, with the body slightly swollen probably due to preservation. Snout-vent length (SVL) 515.2 mm, tail 55.0 mm, ratio of tail proportion (/ SVL) 0.107. Two apical scales in contact with the rostral. Head oval shaped, wider in the temporal region, neck not very distinct, snout rounded. Frontal single, and larger than any other scale on head, five parietals. Rostral slightly higher than broader; nasal roundish, nostril circular and approximately in the centre of the nasal; one internasal on left side of the head and two on right side; perioculars 11 – 10; two rows of suboculars on both sides of the head; circumoculars separated from nasals by six and five loreal scales, respectively, on right and left side; supralabials 9 – 9, the fourth and the fifth below the eye; 147 ventrals; 31 divided subcaudals (excluding spine); anal entire; 21 scale rows at midbody. Dorsum is brown in colour with a continuous and regular darker brown zigzag. Head is reddish-brown with scattered, faint darker markings, and a more obvious inverted V-shaped ornamentation just before the neck. Labials are paler with black markings bordering the edges. A wide black band is present on both sides of the head between the postoculars and the neck. Ventrals are black, with white, scattered speckling along the lower margin of the scales and, more consistently, on both scale extremes by the first row of dorsals. Etymology Vipera walser sp. nov. is named after, and dedicated to, the Walser people with whom it shares an extraordinary beautiful and wild area of the south-western Alps. Discussion Delineating species boundaries correctly is crucial for the discovery of life’s diversity because it determines whether or not different individual organisms are members of the same entity (Dayrat 2005). Most evolutionary biologists now agree that species are separately evolving lineages of populations or meta-populations, with disagreements remaining only about where along the divergence continuum separate lineages should be recognized as distinct species (Padial et al. 2010). The Mitochondrial Tree Morphological Character Congruence (MTMC) approach has been formalized by Miralles and Vences (2013) and represents the most common practice in zootaxonomic studies, combining evidence from DNA sequences and morphological data. Integrative taxonomy has been also proposed as a framework to bring together conceptual and methodological developments aimed to describe, classify and name new taxa (Padial et al. 2010). The integration by congruence approach of integrative taxonomy follows the principle that different lines of evidence should be combined to delimit species, such as genetic (mtDNA and nuclear), morphological, distributional and ecological data. The genetic differentiation between. walser and. berus, both on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, is beyond known values between well-established species within the same subgenus. The status of full species is further confirmed by the bPTP analysis and as a morphological line of evidence by the discriminant analysis. Furthermore, there is no evidence of introgression from, for example,. berus as confirmed by the numerous individuals analysed for mtDNA, and the strong difference between these two species on the two nuclear genes sequenced. The species, within the alpine context, inhabits an ecologically peculiar area, characterized by some the highest rainfall of the whole alpine region (Mercalli et al. 2008). The discovery of the. walser lineage was particularly unexpected, especially in this biologically well-known and densely sampled region of western Europe. The species shows closer genetic affinities with, on one hand,. darevskii and. kaznakovi, species occurring in the Caucasus and, on the other, with the. ursinii complex (see Table 1), than with the. berus complex. Limited phylogenetic support suggests a simultaneous split between. ursinii complex,. kaznakovi (Georgia) complex and. walser (possible trichotomy). Moreover, the ML phylogenetic reconstruction regrouped. walser with the. kaznakovi (Georgia) complex, whereas the genetic distance displayed more affinities with the. ursinii complex. Until now, it was believed that western Europe was colonized from the Pelias subgenus only by. berus (including. seoanei Lataste, 1879, restricted to the Iberian peninsula), and the. ursinii group, which occupy distinct habitats (cold forest for. berus and steppe areas for. ursinii; Saint Girons 1978). The presence of a new distinct lineage, more related to the Caucasian vipers, strongly suggests an additional, more recent, colonization of western Europe (from the. kazankovi complex or during the split between the. kaznakovi complex and. ursinii complex) than the one involving the. berus group, and possibly one that was concurrent with that of. ursinii (Early Pliocene; Ferchaud et al. 2012). Given that the European viper species tend to exclude each other geographically, resulting in limited portions of overlapped ranges (Saint Girons 1978), we can assume that. walser found refugial areas different from those of. berus during the numerous glaciations of the Pleistocene. Currently, both. berus and. walser seem to occupy very similar habitats, suggesting a possible competition (or ecological differentiation as that between. aspis and. berus; Guillon et al. 2014). It is, however, possible that, like V. kaznakovi,. walser can tolerate warmer temperatures than can. berus so long as sufficient humidity is present. Yet, this possibility needs to be investigated as it could have important implications for future conservation programmes. Near-future threats and conservation Vipera walser appears to occur only in a very limited area in the Alps north of Biella (Fig. 8). It is very likely that all native populations of adder south of the Alps and west of the river Ticino belong to the species herein described. Based on the Italian Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles (Sindaco et al. 2006), the current distribution area (‘extent of occurrence’) is almost certainly <1000 km 2. Consequently,. walser should be classified as ‘endangered’ according to (2014) Red List criteria B 1 a/B 2 a. If we consider that the population is strongly fragmented, or that the actual area of occupancy is probably <500 km 2 and fragmented (Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition), then. walser appears to be among the most threatened vipers in the world. The new taxon’s sister species. darevskii, with area of occupancy <10 km 2, is now listed as ‘critically endangered’ (Tuniyev et al. 2009), whereas. kaznakovi (related to. darevskii and thus to. walser) is considered ‘endangered’, meaning that the entire clade is highly threatened with extinction. Within its restricted range,. walser appears to be quite common in suitable habitat. However, to date, no systematic survey has been undertaken, either to estimate its population density or identify its habitat requirements. Such surveys are clearly a priority for the future research. Estimates of current abundance, using mark–recapture or distance sampling (e.g. Mazerolle et al. 2007), would be useful to determine total population size and trends, and to more precisely assign the species to a Red List category. Occupancy modelling (Larson 2014) might also be suitable to determine areas of occupancy at appropriate scales. Perhaps more important would be detailed studies of the species’ precise habitat requirements, to determine how past and current land use changes have affected the species, and how they might be altered to benefit the species in the near future. Based on our preliminary observations, this species inhabits open areas, often with rocky outcrops (Fig. 9), and may not tolerate woodland unless it is very sparse. European mountains experienced a long period of agricultural/agropastoral expansion from the Late Middle Ages to the 19 th century, with large areas of the Alps converted to upland grasslands and heathlands (e.g. Vives et al. 2014). These open landscapes were presumably beneficial for. walser. However, the decline in agropastoral activities in the last 100 years and associated afforestation (Carlson et al. 2014; Garbarino et al. 2014) is probably the greatest threat to the species, and it is an urgent priority to assess such changes within the range of. walser. More immediate and major threats in the short term are culling and collection. Indeed, the description of several new vipers species (e.g.. kaznakovi and Montivipera wagneri (Nilson & Andŕen, 1984)), as well as the attraction of being peculiar and rare (e.g. Macrovipera schweizeri (Werner, 1935), has led to the illegal collection of numerous individuals for the international pet trade (Nilson et al. 1999, http://www.iucnredlist.org), causing local extinctions. Because this species occurs only in Italy, we strongly suggest that a specific legal protection for the species should be implemented very quickly. Longer term prospects and climatic change Of course, it can be argued that. walser, as a restricted-range relic species, is likely heading down an evolutionary dead-end path (Allendorf and Luikart 2007), in the sense of Darwin’s ‘wreck of ancient life’ (Darwin 1859) or Jeannel’s ‘fossiles vivants’ (Jeannel 1943). Its eventual natural extinction may take many millennia, but its ability to survive the next 100 years may hang on two important aspects of its biology. First, there is a real lack of genetic variability within the population as compared to that in other vipers (e.g. Ursenbacher et al. 2006 a, b; Ferchaud et al. 2011). The population is already fragmented into two main subpopulations, and, presumably, the complex topography of ridges and valleys may work to further isolate populations, as in. berus (Ursenbacher et al. 2009). A high priority for future study is an examination of habitat suitability at the landscape scale coupled with research on dispersal mechanisms and ability in the species. Second, and related to the above, its ability to withstand or adapt to climatic change expected to take place within its range will be crucial. The current habitat of. walser is restricted to an area of around 800 km 2 within a few valleys, which experience some of the highest rainfall in the Alps (Mercalli et al. 2008). Point estimates of annual rainfall from presence locations within its area of occupancy range from 1018 to 1604 mm (mean = 1348 mm ± 111) and mean minimum temperature between May and October from 3.1 to 10.0° C (mean = 6.1 ± 1.2 ° C SD). Climate models (CMIP 5 IPPC Fifth Assessment; www.worldclim.org) indicate that in the next 20 years, these valleys will become far wetter (mean = 1536 mm ± 129 SD) and warmer (mean = 8.5 ± 1.2 ° C SD; Fig. 10). Consequently, species distribution modelling, and how this distribution might change under realistic climate change scenarios, especially including the influence of habitat and habitat change and dispersal ability (e.g. Pearson and Dawson 2003), is clearly a priority. Conclusion The present study described and named a new viper species,. walser, which shows strong genetic divergence and clear morphological differentiation from all other known European viper species. The new taxon occurs in a restricted area of the southwestern Italian Alps and shows close affinities with the Caucasian species. dinniki,. darevskii and. kaznakovi, opening unexpected and interesting biogeographic scenarios. The very small extent of occurrence of the new species implies a particularly high threat level, and thus conservation managements should be developed. The protection of its habitat, the limitation of the forest regrowth, but also the evaluation of its likely future distribution given climatic changes (for the long term) or struggle against culling (short term) are key elements to investigate. Involvement of local authorities, foundations and other stakeholders will be crucial in realizing effective protection of this species.Published as part of Samuele Ghielmi, Michele Menegon, Stuart J. Marsden, Lorenzo Laddaga & Sylvain Ursenbacher, 2016, A new vertebrate for Europe: the discovery of a range-restricted relict viper in the western Italian Alps, pp. 161-173 in J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Research 54 (3) on pages 164-171, DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12138, http://zenodo.org/record/19190
Mosquito Larvicidal Constituents from Lantana Viburnoides SP Viburnoides Var Kisi (A. rich) Verdc (Verbenaceae).
No full text\ud
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Lantana viburnoides sp viburnoides var kisi is used in Tanzania ethnobotanically to repel mosquitoes as well as in traditional medicine for stomach ache relief. Bioassay-guided fractionation and subtraction bioassays of the dichloromethane extract of the root barks were carried out in order to identify the bioactive components for controlling Anopheles gambiae s.s. mosquito larvae. Twenty late III or early IV instar larvae of An. gambiae s.s. were exposed to various concentrations of the plant extracts, fractions, blends and pure compounds, and were assayed in the laboratory by using the protocol of WHO 1996. Mean mortalities were compared using Dunnett's test (p < 0.05) and lethal concentration calculated by Lackfit Inversel of the SAS programme. The crude extract (LC50 = 7.70 ppm in 72 h) and fractions exhibited different level of mosquito larvicidal activity with subtraction of some fractions resulting in activity enhancement. The active fractions contained furanonaphthaquinones regio-isomers (LC50 = 5.48-5.70 ppm in 72 h) and the lantadene triterpenoid camaric acid (LC50 = 6.19 ppm in 72 h) as active principles while the lupane triterpenoid betulinic acid (LC50 < 10 ppm in 72 h) was obtained from the least active fraction. Crude extracts and some fractions had higher or comparable larvicidal activity to the pure compounds. These results demonstrate that L. viburnoides sp viburnoides var kisi extracts may serve as larvicides for managing various mosquito habitats even in their semi-purified form. The isolated compounds can be used as distinct markers in the active extracts or plant materials belonging to the genus Lantana
Thermotoga lettingae sp. nov., a novel thermophilic, methanol-degrading bacterium isolated from a thermophilic anaerobic reactor
No full textA novel, anaerobic, non-spore-forming, mobile, Gram-negative, thermophilic bacterium, strain TMO(T), was isolated from a thermophilic sulfate-reducing bioreactor operated at 65 degrees C with methanol as the sole substrate. The G C content of the DNA of strain TMO(T) was 39.2 molÐThe optimum pH, NaCl concentration, and temperature for growth were 7.0, 1.0°and 65 degrees C, respectively. Strain TMO(T) was able to degrade methanol to CO(2) and H(2) in syntrophic culture with Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus DeltaH or Thermodesulfovibrio yellowstonii. Thiosulfate, elemental sulfur, Fe(III) and anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate were able to serve as electron acceptors during methanol degradation. In the presence of thiosulfate or elemental sulfur, methanol was converted to CO(2) and partly to alanine. In pure culture, strain TMO(T) was also able to ferment methanol to acetate, CO(2) and H(2). However, this degradation occurred slower than in syntrophic cultures or in the presence of electron acceptors. Yeast extract was required for growth. Besides growing on methanol, strain TMO(T) grew by fermentation on a variety of carbohydrates including monomeric and oligomeric sugars, starch and xylan. Acetate, alanine, CO(2), H(2), and traces of ethanol, lactate and alpha-aminobutyrate were produced during glucose fermentation. Comparison of 16S rDNA genes revealed that strain TMO(T) is related to Thermotoga subterranea (98€and Thermotoga elfii (98Ž The type strain is TMO(T) (=DSM 14385(T)=ATCC BAA-301(T)). On the basis of the fact that these organisms differ physiologically from strain TMO(T), it is proposed that strain TMO(T) be classified as a new species, within the genus Thermotoga, as Thermotoga lettingae
Data Science Education: The Signal Processing Perspective [SP Education]
No full textIn the last decade, the signal processing (SP) community has witnessed a paradigm shift from model-based to data-driven methods. Machine learning (ML) - more specifically, deep learning - methodologies are nowadays widely used in all SP fields, e.g., audio, speech, image, video, multimedia, and multimodal/multisensor processing, to name a few. Many data-driven methods also incorporate domain knowledge to improve problem modeling, especially when computational burden, training data scarceness, and memory size are important constraints.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Signal Processing System
Screening of biodiesel production from waste tuna oil (Thunnus sp.), seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii and Gracilaria sp.
No full textBiodiesel has several advantages over solar. Compared to solar, biodiesel has more eco-friendly characteristic
and produces lower greenhouse gas emissions. Biodiesel that is made from animal fats can be produced from fish oil,
while other alternative sources from vegetable oils are seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii and Gracilaria sp. Waste tuna oil
(Thunnus sp.) in Indonesia is commonly a side product of tuna canning industries known as tuna precook oil; on the other
hand, seaweed Gracilaria sp. and Kappaphycus alvarezii are commonly found in Indonesia’s seas. Seaweed waste that
was used in the present study was 100 kg and in wet condition, and the waste oil was 10 liter. The seaweed was extracted
with soxhletation method that used n-hexane as the solvent. To produce biodiesel, trans esterification was performed on
the seaweed oil that was obtained from the soxhletation process and waste tuna oil. Biodiesel manufactured from
seaweed K. alvarezii obtained the best score in flash point, freezing point, and viscosity test. However, according to level
of manufacturing efficiency, biodiesel from waste tuna oil is more efficient and relatively easier compared to biodiesel
from waste K. alvarezii and Gracilaria sp
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