scholarly journals Nuisance Algae in Ballast Water Facing International Conventions. Insights from DNA Metabarcoding in Ships Arriving in Bay of Biscay

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2168
Author(s):  
Alba Ardura ◽  
Yaisel Borrell ◽  
Sara Fernández ◽  
Mónica González Arenales ◽  
José Martínez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Exotic Species ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Bay Of Biscay ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
Nuisance Algae ◽  
Nuisance Species ◽  
International Conventions ◽  
Species Being ◽  
Harmful Species

Ballast water is one of the main vectors of transport of nuisance species among marine ports. Neither treatment nor interchange completely reduces the risk of ballast water containing DNA from harmful species, being a signal of potential threat. However, although there are some efficient treatments, they are not available on all ships and there might be some technological/economical constrains for their active and routine usage. Understanding what routes lead to a higher risk of contamination is important for designing targeted surveillance. We analysed ballast water from seven ships arriving in Gijon port (south Bay of Biscay, Spain). DNA metabarcoding was employed for identification of exotic species and harmful algae. One ship carried DNA of 20 risk species in the ballast water. Three ships contained DNA of only one risk species, and three ships had none. Seventy two algae species were found, 22.2% are exotic to the Bay of Biscay and 11.1% are catalogued as harmful. The results demonstrated the importance of continuous surveillance of ballast water.

scholarly journals STRATEGIE INNOVATIVE PER IL CONTROLLO DI ZANZARE, VETTORI DI ORGANISMI PATOGENI

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliano Gasperi
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Gene Drive ◽  
West Nile Fever ◽  
Environmentally Safe ◽  
Safe Control ◽  
Human Infections ◽  
Species Being ◽  
Harmful Species

Mosquitoes are the most dangerous insect species being the vectors of the pathogens causing the most widespread diseases as Malaria, Dengue fever, Chikungunya, West Nile fever, Yellow fever, Zika. Several species of the Anopheles, Aedes and Culex are responsable for millions of human infections causing hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. This causes dramatic socio-economic and health consequences, especially in developing countries. Harmful insects are controlled using chemical insecticides which cause insecticide resistance and environmental pollution, due to long term use. In the second half of the 20th century, new insect environmentally safe control stategies were been developed, based on the insect’s reproductive behaviour. Notably, the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has been successfully applied against some dipteran pest species in several regions of the World. It drived several research efforts to increase our knowledge of the biology of the harmful species. SIT improvements have been also achieved with several molecular biology approaches and transgene technologies such as the innovative RIDL, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) and gene drive.

scholarly journals Cartography of Free-Living Amoebae in Soil in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) Using DNA Metabarcoding

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 440
Author(s):  
Yann Reynaud ◽  
Célia Ducat ◽  
Antoine Talarmin ◽  
Isabel Marcelino
Keyword(s):  
West Indies ◽  
Hot Springs ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Microbial Pathogens ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Les Saintes ◽  
Enrichment Step

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are ubiquitous protists. Pathogenic FLA such as N. fowleri can be found in hot springs in Guadeloupe, soil being the origin of this contamination. Herein, we analyzed the diversity and distribution of FLA in soil using a targeted metataxonomic analysis. Soil samples (n = 107) were collected from 40 sites. DNA was extracted directly from soil samples or from FLA cultivated at different temperatures (30, 37 and 44 °C). Metabarcoding studies were then conducted through FLA 18SrDNA amplicons sequencing; amplicon sequence variants (ASV) were extracted from each sample and taxonomy assigned against SILVA database using QIIME2 and SHAMAN pipelines. Vermamoeba were detected in DNA extracted directly from the soil, but to detect other FLA an amoebal enrichment step was necessary. V. vermiformis was by far the most represented species of FLA, being detected throughout the islands. Although Naegleria were mainly found in Basse-Terre region, N. fowleri was also detected in Grand Terre and Les Saintes Islands. Acanthamoeba were mainly found in areas where temperature is approx. 30 °C. Vannella and Vahlkampfia were randomly found in Guadeloupe islands. FLA detected in Guadeloupe include both pathogenic genera and genera that can putatively harbor microbial pathogens, therefore posing a potential threat to human health.

scholarly journals Hammer Chyme: The Russian-Doll Effect Limits Reconstructing Marine Trophic Food Webs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark de Bruyn ◽  
Matteo Barbato ◽  
Joseph D. DiBattista ◽  
Matt K. Broadhurst
Keyword(s):  
Trophic Interactions ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Carcharhinus Limbatus ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
The Common ◽  
Species Being

Abstract Increasing fishing effort, including bycatch and discard practices, are impacting marine biodiversity, particularly among slow-to-reproduce taxa such as elasmobranchs, and specifically sharks. While some fisheries involving sharks are sustainably managed, collateral mortalities continue, contributing towards >35% of species being threatened with extinction. To effectively manage shark stocks, life-history information, including resource use/feeding ecologies is pivotal, especially among those species with wide-ranging distributions and habitats. Two cosmopolitan sharks bycaught off eastern Australia are the common blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus; globally classified as Near Threatened) and great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran; Critically Endangered). We opportunistically sampled the digestive tracts of these two species and also any whole prey; (termed the ‘Russian-doll’ approach) caught in bather-protection gillnets off northern New South Wales to investigate their regional feeding ecologies and the capacity for DNA metabarcoding to delineate trophic interactions. Sphyrna mokkaran fed predominantly on Myliobatiformes and Rajiformes, but also teleosts, while C. limbatus mostly consumed teleosts, with some inter-specific dietary overlap of prey items. Extensive cross-contamination of predator and prey digestive tracts, likely via the predator’s stomach chyme, was evident from the metabarcoding assays limiting the opportunity to delineate trophic interactions from these data. This Russian-doll effect requires further investigation in DNA metabarcoding studies focused on dietary preferences, but implies any outcomes will need to be interpreted concomitant with traditional visual approaches.

Electrolytic Sodium Hypochlorite System for Treatment of Ballast Water

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf C. Matousek ◽  
David W. Hill ◽  
Russell P. Herwig ◽  
Jeffery R. Cordell ◽  
Bryan C. Nielsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sodium Hypochlorite ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
Chloride Ion ◽  
Disinfection Byproducts ◽  
Field Station ◽  
Residual Toxicity ◽  
Nuisance Species ◽  
Viable Method ◽  
The U.S

The potential problems of organisms introduced by ballast water are well documented. In other settings, electrolytic generation of sodium hypochlorite from seawater has proven to be a simple and safe method of handling and injecting a biocide into water. After the hypochlorite oxidizes organisms, it reverts back to the chloride ion. Mesocosm-scale testing of this technology combined with filtration, using organisms from Puget Sound, Washington demonstrated that hypochlorite generation and use may be a viable method to eliminate aquatic nuisance species from ballast water while minimizing disinfection byproducts and residual toxicity. These experiments were conducted at the U.S. Geological Survey Marine Field Station on Marrowstone Island, Washington. Results from the first set of studies of the system showed that hypochlorite levels greater than 3.0 ppm hypochlorite with or without filtration reduced bacteria by > 99.999%, reduced phytoplankton by > 99%, and reduced mesozooplankton by > 99%. Filtration only improved efficacy when hypochlorite concentration was initially less than 1.5 ppm.

U.S. Federal Policies, Legislation, and Responsibilities Related t Importation of Exotic Fishes and Other Aquatic Organisms

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (S1) ◽  
pp. 162-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon G. Stanley ◽  
Robert A. Peoples Jr. ◽  
James A. McCann
Keyword(s):  
Exotic Species ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Federal Policies ◽  
Lacey Act ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
Nuisance Species ◽  
State And Local

Within the Federal government, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has primary responsibility for legal and policy responsibility for introduced exotic species. The Lacey Act of 1900 authorizes the Service to prohibit the importation of species that are potentially injurious to native fish and wildlife. However, regulations under authority of the Lacey Act cover only a few species. The Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 established a Task Force co-chaired by the Director of the Service and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. The Task Force consults with the Secretary of Transportation to develop regulations to prevent the importation and spread of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes through exchange of ballast water. Federal agencies must comply with Presidential Executive Order 1198, Exotic Organisms, that prohibits Federal agencies or activities they fund or authorize from introducing exotic species. The Service conducts research and evaluation of exotic species to support Federal, State, and local efforts to prevent further importation of harmful species. Effective regulation will also depend on the full cooperation with Canada.

scholarly journals Detecting nuisance species using NGST: Methodology shortcomings and possible application in ballast water monitoring

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 64-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasija Zaiko ◽  
Jose L. Martinez ◽  
Alba Ardura ◽  
Laura Clusa ◽  
Yaisel J. Borrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ballast Water ◽  
Water Monitoring ◽  
Nuisance Species

scholarly journals Unravelling the plant diversity of the Amazonian canga through DNA barcoding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santelmo Vasconcelos ◽  
Gisele Nunes ◽  
Mariana Dias ◽  
Jamily Lorena ◽  
Renato Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Dna Barcode ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Dna Barcodes ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding ◽  
Industrial Mining ◽  
First Time ◽  
Species Being

The canga of the Serra dos Carajás, in Eastern Amazon, is home to a unique open plant community, harbouring several endemic and rare species. Although a complete flora survey has been recently published, scarce to no genetic information is available for most plant species of the ironstone outcrops of the Serra dos Carajás. In this scenario, DNA barcoding appears as a fast and effective approach to assess the genetic diversity of the Serra dos Carajás flora, considering the growing need for robust biodiversity conservation planning in such an area with industrial mining activities. Thus, after testing eight different DNA barcode markers (matK, rbcL, rpoB, rpoC1, atpF-atpH, psbK-psbI, trnH-psbA and ITS2), we chose rbcL and ITS2 as the most suitable markers for a broad application in the regional flora. Here we describe DNA barcodes for 1,130 specimens of 538 species, 323 genera and 115 families of vascular plants, with a total of 344 species being barcoded for the first time. In addition, we assessed the potential of using DNA metabarcoding of bulk samples for surveying plant diversity in the canga. Upon achieving the first comprehensive DNA barcoding effort directed to a complete flora in the Brazilian Amazon, we discuss the relevance of our results to guide future conservation measures in the Serra dos Carajás.

scholarly journals The Nuclear Civil Liability Regimes and the Path Forward for the State of Qatar

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-283
Author(s):  
Ali Al Maadeed
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Civil Liability ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Alternative Energy Sources ◽  
The North ◽  
Energy Independence ◽  
International Conventions

While many states are moving away from nuclear power and decommissioning their reactors for cheaper and safer alternative energy sources, recent years have seen a spark in interest for nuclear power within the Middle East under the pretext of ‘energy independence’. This trend poses a potential threat for the safety of the region considering that nuclear power plants are prone to human errors, deliberate attacks, and natural environmental convulsions which could trigger potential transboundary fallout. Given the region’s small and compacted geography along with the increasingly volatile geopolitical instability, a regional incident would likely have much direr consequences compared to other previous nuclear incidents. As a non-nuclear power state, Qatar is not currently party to any of the nuclear civil liability conventions which could guarantee some level of compensation for the victims in case of transboundary nuclear harm. In due course, Qatar will be surrounded by nuclear reactors from the north (the Iranian Bushehr plant), the east (the UAE Barakah plant) and the west (the planned Saudi plants). As exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, theoretical transboundary calamities can unexpectedly become a sudden reality and there is a solemn need to work proactively when dealing with such consequential hypotheticals. Therefore, this article qualitatively assesses the relevant international conventions with an aim of being policy relevant and navigate Qatari decision-makers through the vexing web of the nuclear civil liability regimes.

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