The terrestrial vertebrate fauna of the krakatau islands, sunda strait, 1883-1986

1990 ◽  
Vol 328 (1245) ◽  
pp. 3-28 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Ocean Currents ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽  
Breeding Populations ◽  
Early Arrival ◽  
Lepidodactylus Lugubris ◽  
Varanus Salvator ◽  
Crocodylus Porosus

The results of terrestrial vertebrate collecting on the Krakatau Islands, Sunda Strait, during La Trobe University-L.I.P.I. expeditions in 1984, 1985 and 1986 are reported and previous records from the islands are consolidated and reviewed. Since the 1883 eruption of Krakatau, 15 species of terrestrial vertebrates (13 reptiles and 2 mammals) have been recorded from the Krakatau Group. Two of the species records ( Crocodylus porosus and Cosymbotus platyursare only incidental but the remaining thirteen species have at some stage established breeding populations on one or more islands. In the first 50 years up to 1933, ten species (eight reptiles and two mammals) reached the islands, eight of which ( Hemidactylus frenatus, Lepidodactylus lugubris, Emoia atrocostata, Mabuya multifasciata,Varanus salvator, Python reticulatus, Rattus rattus and Rattus tiomanicus ) had established breeding populations. Results of collections made over the period 1982-1986 showed that two of the species (L. lugubris and E. atrocostata) with breeding populations in 1933 had become extinct, whereas five new species ( Gekko gecko, Gekko monarchus, Hemiphyllodactylus typus, Chrysopelea paradisi and Ramphotyphlops braminus ) have reached the islands and established breeding populations. Therefore at the end of 100 years, eleven species of terrestrial vertebrates have extant breeding populations on one or more islands in the Krakatau group; two species have become extinct; and two species have incidental records. Significant ecological changes in the development of the present day terrestrial fauna are discussed. These include canopy closure of the forests and continual marine erosion of the coasts that together have eliminated most of the open habitats on Rakata, Sertung and Panjang; heavy ash falls from volcanic eruptions on Anak Krakatau that have periodically disrupted successional stages and habitats on Sertung, Panjang and Anak Krakatau. The dispersal of terrestrial vertebrates in the Sunda Strait is discussed in the light of the heavy boat traffic and the predominant southwest ocean currents. It is concluded that dispersal by human agency on boats is highly significant, seven of the 15 recorded species (46%) being most likely to have reached the islands in this way; and the prevailing southwest flow of water in Sunda Strait makes Sebesi and Sumatra the probable source areas for the eight species most likely to have dispersed on ocean currents by swimming or rafting. Anak Krakatau, the volcanic island that became permanent in Aug. 1930, has three species of terrestrial vertebrates ( H. frenatus, V. salvator . and C. paradisi ) all of which have established breeding populations on Rakata, Sertung and Panjang. The early arrival of H. frenatus and V. salvator and their present abundance on all four islands distinguishes them as the most successful terrestrial vertebrate colonizers of the Krakatau group.

Chilling Out

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Livermore
Keyword(s):  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Ocean Currents ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Continental Rifts ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
The One ◽  
Tectonic Forces

The Earth’s climate changes naturally on all timescales. At the short end of the spectrum—hours or days—it is affected by sudden events such as volcanic eruptions, which raise the atmospheric temperature directly, and also indirectly, by the addition of greenhouse gases such as water vapour and carbon dioxide. Over years, centuries, and millennia, climate is influenced by changes in ocean currents that, ultimately, are controlled by the geography of ocean basins. On scales of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years, the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is the crucial influence, producing glaciations and interglacials, such as the one in which we live. Longer still, tectonic forces operate over millions of years to produce mountain ranges like the Himalayas and continental rifts such as that in East Africa, which profoundly affect atmospheric circulation, creating deserts and monsoons. Over tens to hundreds of millions of years, plate movements gradually rearrange the continents, creating new oceans and destroying old ones, making and breaking land and sea connections, assembling and disassembling supercontinents, resulting in fundamental changes in heat transport by ocean currents. Finally, over the very long term—billions of years—climate reflects slow changes in solar luminosity as the planet heads towards a fiery Armageddon. All but two of these controls are direct or indirect consequences of plate tectonics.

scholarly journals Initial terrestrial vertebrate diversity assessment in upland Cavite, Philippines

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Diversity Index ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽  
Wiener Diversity Index ◽  
Diversity Assessment ◽  
Animal Diversity

Cavite’s remaining upland forest fragments are either remnant from commercial logging activities ca. 25-45 years ago or as a direct result of land conversions for agriculture or human settlements. These forest fragments are very significant because they represent areas where pockets of wildlife habitat still remain. The terrestrial vertebrates are often used to assess animal diversity because they are ideal biological indicators of environmental change and anthropogenic disturbances. The study aimed to determine terrestrial vertebrate diversity, conservation status, and identify major anthropogenic threats in these fragments. Terrestrial vertebrates were surveyed using a combination of strip-transect sampling, time-constrained searches, visual encounter survey (VES), and acoustic encounter survey (AES; for amphibians only), point counts, live trapping and mist netting from October 2014 to March 2016. Species richness and biodiversity estimation were computed using Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index, linear regression, detection and probability modeling using PAST, and confidence limits for nestedness (0.05α) using EpiTools. A total of 175 terrestrial vertebrates were documented and among the vertebrate groups, the birds had the highest observed diversity. Twenty-nine (19 birds, 3 mammals, 3 lizards, and 4 anurans) species are listed as threatened. Habitat loss and degradation due to the conversion of habitats to agricultural and/or residential areas remained to be the most prevalent threat in the remaining forested areas in upland Cavite. Baseline data generated shall be used in the different government biodiversity monitoring activities as the basis for impacts and mitigation and initial planning for the management and conservation of these remaining forest patches.

scholarly journals The earliest record of Caribbean frogs: a fossil coquí from Puerto Rico

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 20190947 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Blackburn ◽  
Rachel M. Keeffe ◽  
María C. Vallejo-Pareja ◽  
Jorge Vélez-Juarbe
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Distal Humerus ◽  
Greater Antilles ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Early Arrival ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Molecular Phylogenies ◽  
Additional Support

The nearly 200 species of direct-developing frogs in the genus Eleutherodactylus (the Caribbean landfrogs, which include the coquís) comprise an important lineage for understanding the evolution and historical biogeography of the Caribbean. Time-calibrated molecular phylogenies provide indirect evidence for the processes that shaped the modern anuran fauna, but there is little direct evidence from the fossil record of Caribbean frogs about their distributions in the past. We report a distal humerus of a frog from the Oligocene (approx. 29 Ma) of Puerto Rico that represents the earliest known fossil frog from any Caribbean island. Based on its prominent rounded distal humeral head, distally projecting entepicondyle, and reduced ectepicondyle, we refer it to the genus Eleutherodactylus . This fossil provides additional support for an early arrival of some groups of terrestrial vertebrates to the Greater Antilles and corroborates previous estimates based on molecular phylogenies suggesting that this diverse Caribbean lineage was present in the islands by the mid-Cenozoic.

scholarly journals First record of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from Lithuania: phytosaurs (Diapsida: Archosauriformes) of probable Late Triassic age, with a review of phytosaur biogeography

2012 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN L. BRUSATTE ◽  
RICHARD J. BUTLER ◽  
GRZEGORZ NIEDŹWIEDZKI ◽  
TOMASZ SULEJ ◽  
ROBERT BRONOWICZ ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
First Record ◽  
Upper Triassic ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Early Triassic ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate

AbstractFossils of Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrates from Lithuania and the wider East Baltic region of Europe have previously been unknown. We here report the first Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate fossils from Lithuania: two premaxillary specimens and three teeth that belong to Phytosauria, a common clade of semiaquatic Triassic archosauriforms. These specimens represent an uncrested phytosaur, similar to several species within the generaPaleorhinus,Parasuchus,RutiodonandNicrosaurus. Because phytosaurs are currently only known from the Upper Triassic, their discovery in northwestern Lithuania (the Šaltiškiai clay-pit) suggests that at least part of the Triassic succession in this region is Late Triassic in age, and is not solely Early Triassic as has been previously considered. The new specimens are among the most northerly occurrences of phytosaurs in the Late Triassic, as Lithuania was approximately 7–10° further north than classic phytosaur-bearing localities in nearby Germany and Poland, and as much as 40° further north than the best-sampled phytosaur localities in North America. The far northerly occurrence of the Lithuanian fossils prompts a review of phytosaur biogeography and distribution, which suggests that these predators were widely distributed in the Triassic monsoonal belt but rarer in more arid regions.

scholarly journals Progesterone: An Enigmatic Ligand for the Mineralocorticoid Receptor

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Baker ◽  
Yoshinao Katsu
Keyword(s):  
Mineralocorticoid Receptor ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Reproductive Physiology ◽  
Elephant Shark ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
High Affinity ◽  
Reproductive Tissues ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Cartilaginous Fishes

The progesterone receptor (PR) mediates progesterone regulation of female reproductive physiology, as well as gene transcription in non-reproductive tissues, such as brain, bone, lung and vasculature, in both women and men. An unusual property of progesterone is its high affinity for the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), which regulates electrolyte transport in the kidney in humans and other terrestrial vertebrates. In humans, rats, alligators and frogs, progesterone antagonizes activation of the MR by aldosterone, the physiological mineralocorticoid in terrestrial vertebrates. In contrast, in elephant shark, ray-finned fishes and chickens, progesterone activates the MR. Interestingly, cartilaginous fishes and ray-finned fishes do not synthesize aldosterone, raising the question of which steroid(s) activate the MR in cartilaginous fishes and ray-finned fishes. The simpler synthesis of progesterone, compared to cortisol and other corticosteroids, makes progesterone a candidate physiological activator of the MR in elephant sharks and ray-finned fishes. Elephant shark and ray-finned fish MRs are expressed in diverse tissues, including heart, brain and lung, as well as, ovary and testis, two reproductive tissues that are targets for progesterone, which together suggests a multi-faceted physiological role for progesterone activation of the MR in elephant shark and ray-finned fish. The functional consequences of progesterone as an antagonist of some terrestrial vertebrate MRs and as an agonist of fish and chicken MRs are not fully understood. Indeed, little is known of physiological activities of progesterone via any vertebrate MR.

scholarly journals Molecular evolution of the switch for progesterone and spironolactone from mineralocorticoid receptor agonist to antagonist

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (37) ◽  
pp. 18578-18583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Fuller ◽  
Yi-Zhou Yao ◽  
Ruitao Jin ◽  
Sitong He ◽  
Beatriz Martín-Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Mineralocorticoid Receptor ◽  
Steroid Receptors ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Ligand Binding Domain ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate

The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is highly conserved across vertebrate evolution. In terrestrial vertebrates, the MR mediates sodium homeostasis by aldosterone and also acts as a receptor for cortisol. Although the MR is present in fish, they lack aldosterone. The MR binds progesterone and spironolactone as antagonists in human MR but as agonists in zebrafish MR. We have defined the molecular basis of these divergent responses using MR chimeras between the zebrafish and human MR coupled with reciprocal site-directed mutagenesis and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation based on the crystal structures of the MR ligand-binding domain. Substitution of a leucine by threonine in helix 8 of the ligand-binding domain of the zebrafish MR confers the antagonist response. This leucine is conserved across fish species, whereas threonine (serine in rodents) is conserved in terrestrial vertebrate MR. MD identified an interaction of the leucine in helix 8 with a highly conserved leucine in helix 1 that stabilizes the agonist conformation including the interaction between helices 3 and 5, an interaction which has previously been characterized. This switch in the MR coincides with the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates and of aldosterone synthesis. It was perhaps mandatory if the appearance of aldosterone as a specific mediator of the homeostatic salt retention was to be tolerated. The conformational changes also provide insights into the structural basis of agonism versus antagonism in steroid receptors with potential implications for drug design in this important therapeutic target.

scholarly journals Adaptation of the carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase enzyme in an extremophile fish

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 201200
Author(s):  
Lewis J. White ◽  
Gemma Sutton ◽  
Asilatu Shechonge ◽  
Julia J. Day ◽  
Kanchon K. Dasmahapatra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Urea Cycle ◽  
Substrate Affinity ◽  
Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthetase ◽  
Carbamoyl Phosphate ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽  
Myogenic Lineage ◽  
Mature Fish

Tetrapods and fish have adapted distinct carbamoyl-phosphate synthase (CPS) enzymes to initiate the ornithine urea cycle during the detoxification of nitrogenous wastes. We report evidence that in the ureotelic subgenus of extremophile fish Oreochromis Alcolapia , CPS III has undergone convergent evolution and adapted its substrate affinity to ammonia, which is typical of terrestrial vertebrate CPS I. Unusually, unlike in other vertebrates, the expression of CPS III in Alcolapia is localized to the skeletal muscle and is activated in the myogenic lineage during early embryonic development with expression remaining in mature fish. We propose that adaptation in Alcolapia included both convergent evolution of CPS function to that of terrestrial vertebrates, as well as changes in development mechanisms redirecting CPS III gene expression to the skeletal muscle.

Identification of Antibacterial Molecule(s) from Animals Living in Polluted Environments

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 425-437
Author(s):  
Foo Y.M. Winnie ◽  
Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui ◽  
Kuppusamy Sagathevan ◽  
Naveed A. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
Heat Inactivation ◽  
Antimicrobial Substances ◽  
Lactate Dehydrogenase Release ◽  
Monitor Lizard ◽  
Bactericidal Effects ◽  
Varanus Salvator ◽  
Monitor Lizards

Background: Snakes feed on germ-infested rodents, while water monitor lizards thrive on rotten matter in unhygienic conditions. We hypothesize that such creatures survive the assault of superbugs and are able to fend off disease by producing antimicrobial substances. In this study, we investigated the potential antibacterial activity of sera/lysates of animals living in polluted environments. Methods: Snake (Reticulatus malayanus), rats (Rattus rattus), water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator), frog (Lithobates catesbeianus), fish (Oreochromis mossambicus), chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), and pigeon (Columba livia) were dissected and their organ lysates/sera were collected. Crude extracts were tested for bactericidal effects against neuropathogenic E. coli K1, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. To determine whether lysates/sera protect human cells against bacterialmediated damage, cytotoxicity assays were performed by measuring lactate dehydrogenase release as an indicator of cell death. Lysates/sera were partially characterized using heat-treatment and pronasetreatment and peptide sequences were determined using the Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). Results: Snake and water monitor lizard sera exhibited potent broad-spectrum bactericidal effects against all bacteria tested. Heat inactivation and pronase-treatment inhibited bactericidal effects indicating that activity is heat-labile and pronase-sensitive suggesting that active molecules are proteinaceous in nature. LCMS analyses revealed the molecular identities of peptides. Conclusion: The results revealed that python that feeds on germ-infested rodents and water monitor lizards that feed on rotten organic waste possess antibacterial activity in a heat-sensitive manner and several peptides were identified. We hope that the discovery of antibacterial activity in the sera of animals living in polluted environments will stimulate research in finding antibacterial agents from unusual sources as this has the potential for the development of novel strategies in the control of infectious diseases.

scholarly journals Seasonal dynamics of terrestrial vertebrate abundance between Amazonian flooded and unflooded forests

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo C M Costa ◽  
Carlos A Peres ◽  
Mark I Abrahams
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Flood Pulse ◽  
Trophic Guilds ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Terra Firme ◽  
Seasonal Movements ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽  
Main Factor

The flood pulse is the main factor structuring and differentiating the ecological communities of Amazonian unflooded (terra firme) and seasonally-flooded (várzea) forests as they require unique adaptations to survive the prolonged annual floods. Therefore, várzea and terra firme forests hammer out a spatio-temporal mosaic of resource availability, which may result in landscape scale seasonal movements of terrestrial vertebrates between adjacent forest types. Yet the lateral movements of terrestrial vertebrates between hydrologically distinct neighbouring forest types exhibiting staggered resource availability remains poorly understood, despite the important implications of this spatial dynamic for the ecology and conservation of forest wildlife. We examined the hypothesis of terrestrial fauna seasonal movements between two adjacent forest types at two contiguous sustainable-use forest reserves in Western Brazilian Amazonia. We used camera trapping data on the overall species richness, composition, and abundance of nine major vertebrate trophic guilds to infer on terrestrial vertebrate movements as a function of seasonal changes in floodplain water level. Species richness differed in neighboring terra firme forests between the high-and low-water phases of the flood pulse and terra firme forests were more species rich than várzea forests. There were clear differences in species composition between both forest types and seasons. Generalized Linear Models showed that water level was the main factor explaining aggregate abundance of all species and three trophic guilds. Our results indicate that the persistence of viable populations of large terrestrial vertebrates adjacent to major Amazonian rivers requires large, well-connected forest landscapes encompassing different forest types to ensure large-scale lateral movements by forest wildlife.

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