Alien plant species on roadsides of the northwestern Patagonian steppe (Argentina)

The introduction of alien species represents one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide. Highway construction increases the dispersal and invasion of exotic plant species. This study examined the assembly process of the plant communities to determine whether the roadsides of the Patagonian steppe represent a reservoir and dispersal source of invasive exotic species. We analyzed the composition of exotic and native species and functional groups present in the established vegetation and seed banks of roadsides and reference areas nearby. The type of dispersal of exotic and native species at the roadsides was also evaluated. Total cover and that of exotic and native species was lower at the roadsides than in the reference areas; however, at the roadsides the cover and seed abundance of exotic species was higher than that of native species. In the roadsides vegetation, native shrubs such as Acaena splendens predominated, along with exotic perennial herbs and grasses which were mainly represented by Rumex acetosella. In the seed bank the predominant species were exotic perennial herbs, also represented by R. acetosella, annual exotic species such as Epilobium brachycarpum and Verbascum thapsus, and annual native species such as Heliotropium paronychioides. No exotic shrubs were found either at the roadsides or in the reference areas. The species at the roadsides did not present a dominant type of dispersal. The abundance of exotic species at the roadsides, both in the aboveground vegetation and the seed bank, may be due to the stressful environment and the characteristics of the species themselves, such as the ability to form seed banks. This work revealed that the roadsides of the Patagonian steppe constitute reservoirs of invasive exotic species, highlighting the importance of identifying them and controlling their spread, with a view to generating ecosystem management programs.

Urban Forestry in Sabah, Malaysia

This chapter provides a holistic understanding of the existing conditions of urban green spaces in Sabah by reviewing relevant past studies and publications. Nature serves as the foundation in the establishment of pocket parks, urban parks, and forest protected areas that are made available for public access within and outside of the major urban areas in Sabah. Presently, both native and exotic flora and fauna species are coexisting at the local urban green spaces, although some invasive exotic species have developed into urban pests of Sabah. Moreover, the importance and functions of urban green spaces in maintaining the well-being of mankind and ensuring the survival of indigenous wildlife species are acknowledged by society. Nevertheless, much research is required to fill up the research gaps of urban forestry, and also to provide solutions to the existing problems that happened at the urban green spaces in Sabah.

Identification of Key Genes for the Precise Classification between Solenopsis invicta and S. geminata Facilitating the Quarantine Process

One of the 100 worst invasive exotic species, Solenopsis invicta (red imported fire ant), has the possibility to induce an allergic reaction that may eventually cause death from its aggressive stinging. In 2017, S. invicta was found at a container yard in Gamman Port, Busan, South Korea for the first time. It may result in an infestation of fire ants in the Korean environment. After this incident, sensitive quarantine procedures are required to detect possible contamination of fire ants in imported containers. However, currently, fire ant identification relies on phenotypic characteristics. This requires highly trained experts for identification and there are not enough to cover all imported containers. Here, we develop a key molecular marker to distinguish S. invicta from others using the whole genome sequence (WGS) of collected S. invicta from Gamman Port and NCBI-deposited WGS data of S.invicta and S. geminata. The consolidated genotypes of Solenopsis genus successfully indicate the distinguishable gene. The gel-based experimental validation confirmed expected classification and the developed cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) marker also gave a consistent result. Using the CAPS marker derived from our consolidated genotypes, the samples collected from containers in several ports can be easily tested by PCR in a few hours. The quick and easy test would increase not only the labor efficiency but also the environmental safety from fire ants.

Ecological impacts of the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) in Tahiti

The little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) is one of the worst invasive exotic species of the world. Its pantropical expansion is explosive; the ant has been present in Tahiti for more than 20 years. This study is the first to be carried out in Tahiti to assess its ecological impacts. The ecological richness of three invaded environments located in or close to the Key Biodiversity Areas (Maruapo, Papehue, Hopuetamai and Orofero Valleys) was compared with that of adjoining uninvaded sites, in a xerophytic site of ferns and a rainforest in the bottom of a valley for invertebrates and finally a canyon and its cliffs for avifauna. At the last site, one bank is infested and the other bank is free of W. auropunctata. Invertebrates and birds were examined respectively by pitfall traps and observation points. The effects of W. auropunctata were significantly negative at each study site, and species diversity in infested sites was one-third of that in uninfested sites. For arthropods, the phytophages, omnivores, detritivores, predators and other ants were the most affected. Significantly fewer birds also frequented the infested shoreline, particularly endemic birds such as the Tahiti monarch (81% non-infested shoreline observation) and the Society fruit-dove in comparison with the adjacent non-infested shoreline. Moreover, Tahiti monarchs (which are territorial) were established in three territories located at the bottom of the infested zone or close to it in 2016. These birds have now deserted the areas colonised by W. auropunctata. Our results suggest that W. auropunctata is a serious threat to Tahitian terrestrial biodiversity, and related ecosystem services.

Effects of invasive species snails in continental aquatic bodies of Pernambucano semiarid

Aim The aim of this study was to survey the species of molluscs and to evaluate the effect of exotic species on the native mollusks of three reservoirs in the Pajeú Basin Cachoeira II, Jazigo and Serrinha. Methods Sampling was carried out with trawl net (5 mm mesh opening) and hand net (2 mm mesh opening). Results and conclusions Were quantified 60,244 specimens, distributed among the species Melanoides tuberculata (49,398), Pomacea lineata (573), Biomphalaria straminea (376) and Physa marmorata (01). The invasive exotic species M. tuberculata was dominant in all reservoirs with a relative abundance greater than 85% and the other species were classified as occasional and rare, with emphasis in Physa marmorata that is present in the red list of species vulnerable to extinction. Regarding the frequency of occurrence, all species were classified as euconstant (occurrence greater than 65%), except P. lineata and P. marmorata, which were classified as ancillary (occurrence less than 40%). Among the species, M. tuberculata were the highest average density (1,636 ind.m-2) in Serrinha reservoir, showed a strong adaptation to the environmental conditions, due to its high dominance in all the reservoirs, being probably the main cause for the low diversity and density indices of native molluscs. Since P. marmorata presented low density and frequency, becoming an important point to be investigated as possible species impaired by the dominance of M. tuberculata.

PECEN Publications in the Field of Biological Sciences: Present and Future

Biological Sciences is the discipline that studies the most diverse aspects of microscopic and macroscopic life forms on earth. This vast field of studies enables biologists to follow numerous paths according to their professional interest.<br />Biological Sciences has made rapid advances in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biotechnology, Botany, Cell Biology, Ecology, Ethnobiology, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Immunology, Mycology, Microbiology, Morphology, Parasitology, Physiology and Zoology. In some cases, the expansion of different fields of Biological Sciences is tied to the crisis of biodiversity and environmental problems, such as the extinction of species, the introduction of invasive exotic species, increasing habitat loss and degradation, the overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, diseases and human-induced climate change.<br />In 2017, Pesquisa e Ensino em Ciências Exatas e da Natureza/Research and Teaching in Exact and Natural Sciences (PECEN) received 28 manuscripts for evaluation and published 18 papers, all related to the field of Biological Sciences. An analysis of the papers published in year shows that the field of Zoology (branch of Biology that studies the animal kingdom) has been the flagship of publications with 7 papers so far. Among the contributions within Zoology published in PECEN are papers involving the following sub-fields of knowledge: (2) Morphology of Recent Groups; (4) Taxonomy of Recent Groups; and (3) “ecological interactions” – phenomenon and object of study also in the field of Ecology. In 2017, PECEN also published important contributions in the fields of Ecology (2), Environmental Sciences (1), Health and Biological Science (1), Mycology (2) and Science Teaching (2).<br />Contributions in the fields of biodiversity and science teaching will undoubtedly continue to play an important role in the scientific production of PECEN in both qualitative and quantitative terms. However, given the vast field of Biological Sciences, we expect a substantial increase in the number of publications on the most diverse subjects in 2018.<br />It is important to emphasize that PECEN is a multidisciplinary journal that receives contributions from diverse fields, such as Agrarian, Biomedical, Chemical, Earth, Environmental, Health and Exact and Natural Sciences. The fundamental mission is to strengthen multidisciplinary publications through scientific and theoretical-methodological studies as well as thematic literature reviews. Regardless of the number of submissions, the main factor for publication in PECEN is the importance and quality of the contributions.

Ocorrência do Caramujo Africano Achatina Fulica (Bowdich, 1822) em Várzea Grande-MT: Estudo de Caso na Sede do Ministério da Agricultura

O objeto de estudo é o Achatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822), uma espécie exótica introduzida no Brasil, frequentemente encontrada em ambientes antrópicos. Esse trabalho tem por objetivo verificar a ocorrência do caramujo africano (A. fulica) na área do Ministério da Agricultura, Várzea Grande/ MT, e investigar os conhecimentos da população sobre o molusco. Utilizou-s como metodologia a observação durante dois meses, entre 05h00min e 06h00min da manhã, horário de maior atividade do molusco, e foi aplicado um questionário composto por dez perguntas sobre o molusco aos residentes próximos da área de cultivo das hortaliças, e aos funcionários do órgão público. Os resultados demonstraram que o público-alvo possui pouca informação sobre o caramujo africano; 64% disseram que não conhecem o molusco, 36,2% dos entrevistados não sabiam que esses animais podem causar doenças, 83,33% desconheciam a alimentação de A. fulica, 83% responderam que os animais eram mais visualizados no período chuvoso e 47,22% responderam que não acreditavam na existência de um método de controle eficaz. O desenvolvimento de estratégias eficientes para o controle e erradicação de A. Fulica, fundamentalmente, deve contar com envolvimento da sociedade em parceria com o Poder Público.Palavras-chave: Espécies Invasoras Exóticas. Molusco. Informação.AbstractThe Giant African Snail, Achatina fulica, is an exotic species introduced in Brazil, often found in anthropic environments. This study aimed to verify the occurrence of A. fulica in the area of the Ministry of Agriculture, Várzea Grande-MT, and investigate the knowledge of the population about themollusk. The methodology considered the mollusks observation for two months, between 5-6 am, considered the main period of snails activity, and a questionnaire was applied which was composed of 10 questions about the mollusk considering the residents that live nearby, and employees of the public body. The results showed that respondents have low information about the Giant African Snail, 64% said did not know the mollusk, 36.2 % did not know that these mollusks can cause disease, 83.33 % were unaware of the mollusks alimentary items, 83 % answered that the animals were most viewed in the rainy season and 47.22 % answered that they did not recognize any effective method of control. For the development of efficient strategies for A. fulica control is fundamental the involvement of society in partnership with the government.Keywords: Invasive Exotic Species. Mollusk. Information.

Wildlife species preferences differ among children in continental and island locations

SUMMARYEfforts to prioritize wildlife for conservation benefit from an understanding of public preferences for particular species, yet no studies have integrated species preferences with key attributes of the conservation landscape such as whether species occur on islands (where invasive exotics are the primary extinction threat) or continents (where land use change is the primary extinction threat). In this paper, we compare wildlife species preferences among children from a continental location (North Carolina, USA, n = 433) and an island location (Andros Island, The Bahamas, n = 197). Children on the island preferred feral domesticated species and different types of taxa than mainland children, perhaps due to the strongly divergent species richness between the regions (e.g. island children showed greater preferences for invertebrates, lizards and aquatic species). Boys preferred fish, birds and lizards more than girls, whereas girls preferred mammals. The fact that island children showed strong preferences for invasive species suggests challenges for conservation efforts on islands, where controlling invasive exotic species is often of paramount importance, but can conflict with cultural preferences for these same species.