Synopsis The rapid expansion of genome sequence data is increasing the discovery of protein-coding genes across all domains of life. Annotating these genes with reliable functional information is ...necessary to understand evolution, to define the full biochemical space accessed by nature, and to identify target genes for biotechnology improvements. The majority of proteins are annotated based on sequence conservation with no specific biological, biochemical, genetic, or cellular function identified. Recent technical advances throughout the biological sciences enable experimental research on these understudied protein-coding genes in a broader collection of species. However, scientists have incentives and biases to continue focusing on well documented genes within their preferred model organism. This perspective suggests a research model that seeks to break historic silos of research bias by enabling interdisciplinary teams to accelerate biological functional annotation. We propose an initiative to develop coordinated projects of collaborating evolutionary biologists, cell biologists, geneticists, and biochemists that will focus on subsets of target genes in multiple model organisms. Concurrent analysis in multiple organisms takes advantage of evolutionary divergence and selection, which causes individual species to be better suited as experimental models for specific genes. Most importantly, multisystem approaches would encourage transdisciplinary critical thinking and hypothesis testing that is inherently slow in current biological research.
Abstract When colonizing new regions, invading species might compete strongly with phylogenetically related species native to the regions they are colonizing, eventually leading to coexistence or ...displacement. In the southeast of the United States, recently established coyotes (Canis latrans) compete with red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), although it remains unclear if competition is leading to resource partitioning or displacement by species. Using nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes, we tested the hypothesis that coyotes compete with foxes for food resources, with canids partitioning those resources to mitigate competition. We compared diets of canids in the southeast to those in the Plains region of the United States, a region where all three species historically have coexisted. We analyzed 217 hair samples from both regions pre-1960, prior to coyote colonization of the southeast, and post-2000, after coyotes were ubiquitous there, to assess differences in diet among species for both regions (southeast versus Plains and time periods, pre- versus postcolonization by coyotes). Modeling revealed significant dietary overlap among historical and contemporary populations in the southeast. Historically, all species partitioned resources in the Plains. Contemporarily, red fox and coyotes co-occurring in the Plains overlapped in diet; however, gray fox diet did not overlap with those of red fox and coyotes. Absence of partitioning in diet among co-occurring canids in the southeast indicates that interspecific competition could be strong in the region. Competition among canid populations in the southeast could lead to further resource partitioning among species that promotes coexistence or competitive exclusion of smaller fox species where coyote populations are abundant.
Abstract Austrolebias accorsii is redescribed based on specimens from type-locality, nearby temporary pools, and other locations within the same hydrologic unit. Additionally, a novel Austrolebias ...species is described, exclusively found in two temporary waterbodies in “Abayoy”, a unique vegetation type situated in the transitional zone between the Dry Chaco, Chiquitano Dry Forest, and Pantanal Flooded Savannas ecoregions in southeastern Bolivia, bordering Paraguay, where the last voluntarily isolated indigenous people outside the Amazon in America reside. Diagnostic characters for both species are presented. Within Austrolebias two species groups are recognized with different morphological characters, geographical distribution, and ecological traits of their habitats. Furthermore, we suggest the usage of median and interquartile range rather than mean and standard deviation to analyze morphometric and meristic data of rivulids, given the typically non-Gaussian distribution of this data.
Resumen Austrolebias accorsii es redescrita basado en especímenes de la localidad tipo, charcos temporales cercanos y otras localidades en la misma unidad hidrológica. Además, se describe una nueva especie de Austrolebias, exclusiva de dos cuerpos de agua temporales en “Abayoy”, un tipo de vegetación único situado en la zona de transición entre las ecorregiones del Chaco Seco, Bosque Seco Chiquitano y Sabanas Inundadas del Pantanal al sureste de Bolivia, en la frontera con Paraguay, donde residen los últimos indígenas en aislamiento voluntario fuera de la Amazonía en América. Se presentan caracteres diagnósticos para ambas especies. Dentro de Austrolebias se reconocen dos grupos de especies con diferentes caracteres morfológicos, distribución geográfica y características ecológicas del hábitat. Además, sugerimos el uso de mediana y rango intercuartil en lugar de media y desviación estándar para analizar datos morfométricos y merísticos de rivúlidos, dada la distribución generalmente no gaussiana de estos datos.
Abstract Morphological and molecular data support the description of a new Aequidens species from the upper rio Correntes, considered herein as endemic to the upper rio Paraguai basin in the Cerrado ...biome in Brazil. The new species is distinguished from all congeners, except from A. plagiozonatus by having anteriorly oblique dark brown flank bars vs. vertical flank bars, and is additionally distinguished from some congeners by showing a discontinuous lateral band and presence of a dark cheek spot. The new species differs from Aequidensplagiozonatus by having the profile of the dorsal part of head almost straight (in lateral view), with a conspicuous concavity at the interorbital, and by the longer length of upper and lower jaws. Furthermore, delimitation analyses based on mitochondrial data provide additional support for the validity of the species. Our study data also revealed the occurrence, and consequently the first record, of A.plagiozonatus in the upper rio Araguaia basin, which was most likely driven by headwater capture events.
Resumo Dados morfológicos e moleculares apoiam a descrição de uma nova espécie de Aequidens do alto rio Correntes, considerada aqui como uma espécie endêmica da bacia do alto rio Paraguai, no bioma Cerrado no Brasil. A nova espécie distingue-se de todas as congêneres, exceto de Aequidensplagiozonatus, por apresentar barras laterais marrom-escuras oblíquas em direção anterodorsal vs. barras verticais nos flancos. Além disso, distingue-se de algumas espécies por apresentar uma faixa lateral descontínua e pela presença de uma mancha escura na porção entre a órbita e a margem preopercular. A nova espécie difere de A. plagiozonatus por apresentar o perfil da parte dorsal da cabeça (em vista lateral) aproximadamente reta, com uma concavidade conspícua na porção interorbital, e pelo maior comprimento das maxilas superior e inferior. Além disso, análises de delimitação baseadas em dados mitocondriais oferecem evidência a favor da validade da espécie. Nossos dados também revelaram a ocorrência e, consequentemente, o primeiro registro de A. plagiozonatus na bacia do alto rio Araguaia, provavelmente devido a eventos de captura de cabeceiras.
ABSTRACT The hairy-tailed bolo mouse, Necromys lasiurus (Lund, 1841), which is typical of the Cerrado (CE), has been recorded in some open areas within the Atlantic Forest (AF) domain of the ...Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). In the CE, N. lasiurus is a known reservoir of zoonotic agents, and is the reservoir of an orthohantavirus genotype, Araraquara virus (ARAV), the etiological agent of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS). Given this, the presence of N. lasiurus has potentially negative implications for public health in the state, and therefore it is important to elucidate the origin of its populations in RJ and their connections with populations outside the AF known to carry the ARAV. In the present study we combined phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches to elucidate the evolutionary history of N. lasiurus populations in RJ, and to test if their dispersal into the AF domain is recent or ancient. These analyses were based on sequences of the mitochondrial Cytochrome b gene, obtained from N. lasiurus specimens from the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro (AF-RJ), together with all the sequences of this gene available for N. lasiurus in GenBank. In addition to the phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses, the sequences were used to test among five hypothetical demographic scenarios, proposed to explain the evolutionary history of the hairy-tailed bolo mouse in the state of RJ. The results of all the analyses indicated that populations from AF and the Arid Diagonal (AD) of South America, which includes the CE, diverged in the Late Pleistocene but reconnected in the Holocene. The RJ population (AF-RJ) resulted from this recent genetic admixture among diverging populations from AF and AD. Despite the recent reconnection, no evidence has been found that the AF-RJ N. lasiurus population acts as a reservoir of ARAV, although the continued genetic connectivity with those from AD highlight the need to reinforce the public health monitoring of orthohantavirus in this rodent, especially given the potential spillover of other genotypes. Overall, then, the results of the present study provide important new insights into the evolutionary history of N. lasiurus, which should contribute to the surveillance of orthohantaviruses, and the development of more effective measures for the prevention and control of this zoonosis.
ABSTRACT We provide the first record of the giant deep-sea jellyfish Stygiomedusa gigantea (Browne, 1910) from the tropical Southwestern Atlantic, based on a posting made on social media. The image ...was found during data filtering through the hashtag #aguavivagigante (in English, #giantjellyfish) on Instagram. The jellyfish was seen floating motionless at the surface, presumed dead, off Bahia, Northeast Brazil (12°34’39”S; 38°00’19”W), on August 23rd, 2016. Pygmy killer whales, Feresa attenuata Gray, 1874, were observed in the intermediate area and apparently interacting with the jellyfish. Observations of S. gigantea usually come from submersibles and ROVs. This is the first record extracted from social media, highlighting its potential use to complement information based on traditional scientific methods, and expanding the known geographic distribution of jellyfish. With the growth and development of social media in the coming years, we highlight its potential as a data source from citizen science. We also expect that social media will increasingly contribute to the knowledge of remarkable but poorly known species such as S. gigantea.
ABSTRACT Taxonomic data about Brazilian hydraenids are currently available open access at the Taxonomic Catalog of the Brazilian Fauna (Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil - CTFB) website, an ...online database with taxonomic information on the animal species occurring in Brazil. Based on taxonomic contributions published until September 2023, a total of 34 valid Hydraenidae species have been recorded from Brazil, 27 (79%) of which are endemic. Foreign authors have dominated the description of Brazilian Hydraenidae species (eight out of 10), and Dr. P.D. Perkins from the United States has authored the highest number of species described from Brazil (20). While the primary type specimens of species described from Brazil are predominantly deposited in non-Brazilian institutions (65%), the collection of Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, has the most Hydraenidae type species (11) in the country. So far, Hydraenidae have been recorded in 19 Brazilian states. The two states with the highest hydraenid biodiversity are Minas Gerais and Bahia, with 12 and seven species, respectively. Species distribution by Brazilian biomes reveals that the Atlantic Forest is the most diverse, with 24 species (21 endemic), followed by the Amazon rainforest, with nine species (five endemic). In this study we also analyzed the potential distribution of the four Hydraenidae genera occurring in Brazil using ecological niche modeling. Our results indicate that Hydraena Kugelann, 1794 and Ochthebius Leach, 1815 have a wide potential distribution, covering a large part of the country. Otherwise, Adelphydraena Perkins, 1989 would be restricted to the Amazon and Parhydraenida J. Balfour-Browne, 1975 to the mountains of the Brazilian Shield. The knowledge on the Brazilian hydraenid fauna is still very poor: There are significant knowledge gaps, and many areas have been under-sampled. This deficiency should be addressed in future studies.
ABSTRACT In 2022, we published an article in this journal entitled “Cave-dwelling gastropods (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Brazil: state of the art and conservation”. In that study, we compiled all the ...available information about cave-dwelling gastropods in the country, including terrestrial and freshwater species. We focused on the troglobites but also included information regarding some troglophilic species that we deemed worthy of discussion. In 2023, Ferreira et al. also in this journal, raised concerns regarding our article. We respond to their observations here.
ABSTRACT The earliest fossil member of Bothrideridae, Alveoderes yamamotoi Li & Cai gen. et sp. nov., is reported from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. Alveoderes gen. nov. appears to be ...most similar to extant Deretaphrus in the 3-segmented antennal club and pronotal morphology, but is also distinctive among the whole Bothrideridae in having a large cavity (possible glandular opening) at each anterior pronotal angle. Our discovery of a definitive bothriderid beetle from the late Mesozoic highlights the antiquity of the family. A key to the extant and extinct genera of Deretaphrini is added.
