Highest Diversity Values Research Articles

Flora and fauna in the areas around artisanal gold mining in Selogiri Sub-district, Wonogiri, Indonesia

Abstract. Isworo S, Oetari PS. 2022. Flora and fauna in the areas around artisanal gold mining in Selogiri Sub-district, Wonogiri, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 6600-6618. Artisanal or small-scale gold mining has devastating impacts on the environment due to negligence of the principles of good environmental management. In particular, the mining activities often involve vegetation clearing and topsoil removal, which affect the biotic elements of the mined landscape. Selogiri Sub-district, Wonogiri District, Central Java Province, has a gold mineral resource that drives many traditional mining activities that have an indirect impact on the ecosystem's species diversity and community structure. This research aimed to investigate the diversity of flora and fauna in Selogiri Sub-district by comparing the area where the artisanal gold mining occurred (the inside area) and the areas surrounding the mining (the outside area). Six groups of taxa were observed in this study, including the plant group using the plot method, avifauna (birds) using Indices Ponctuels d'Abondance method, Odonata (dragonflies) and Lepidoptera (butterflies) both using visual encountering survey (VES) method, micromammals (Rodentia) using traps, VES, and camera traps and herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) using VES method. The diversity values of each taxa group in the inside and outside area were calculated and Sorensen's Coefficient Similarity Index formula was analyzed to see the community similarity between the two areas. A total of 243 species were found, consisting of Lepidoptera (35%), flora taxa (29%), avifauna (16%), herpetofauna (9%), Odonata (7%), and mammals (3%). The avifauna and Odonata had higher diversity values in the outside area than in the inside area. Similarly, the outside area had a higher diversity value for mammalian taxa documented using the VES method. Meanwhile, using the trap method, the taxa of Lepidoptera, herpetofauna, and mammals had higher diversity value in the inside area than in the outside. Nonetheless, the two areas had moderate similarity in the composition of flora and fauna species, with a community similarity value of less than 60% for all taxa studied. Conservation activities and off-site tree planting are solutions for restoring ecosystem structure and function to support ecological stability and biodiversity.

Effect of Urbanization Development on Coral Reef at Marsa Alam Coast, Southern Egyptian Red Sea

assessment and distribution of coral reefs were studied in three sites in front of Marsa Alam city, Red Sea, Egypt These sites were surveyed mainly for the sensitivity of coral reefs to tourism activities. The survey was conducted using diving equipment throughout the period 2020-2022. line intercepted transect method was used to determined corals and other benthic fauna percentage cover. The results of the current study revealed a significant degradation in the quality of coral reefs in all studied sites, compared to other studies in the Red Sea. While the percentage of live coral cover ranged from 55% in site 1 to 67.6% in site 3 Coral reefs in the studied sites are characterized by higher degraded reefs above the 2 m and 5 m depth zone. Dead coral coverage was 27.8%, 22.9% and 20.6% at sites 1, 2 and 3, respectively. However, the Newly broken colonies were highest at site 1 (2.7%) than at sites 2 (1.4 %) and site 3 (0.9 %). Shannon diversity index H` are all less than 0.70 ranging from 0.65 site 1 to 0.67 at site 3; however, Shannon evenness index J` is in the range between 0.5 site 1 and 0.8 at site 3. Berger-Parker dominance d represents higher variations between sites ranging from 0.25 at site 1 to 0.3 at site 3. Simpson diversity D has lower values ranging from 0.13 at site 1 and Canyon to 0.14 at sites 1 & 2. Margalef diversity M has higher values of diversity but in contrast to other indices, it is lowest in site 1 (0.13) and highest in sites 2 & 3 (0.14). Although Mackintosh diversity D and Mackintosh evenness index E has values lower than those of Margalef, they have a similar variation between sites having lowest values in site 1 and highest value in site 3. Mackintosh D and Mackintosh E are grouped together having the highest % similarity (97.13%), followed by Shannon H` and Shannon J` which are grouped together (92.29%). However, Simpson D and Berger-Parker are grouped together having a % similarity of 71.23%, finally Margalef index is separated in one group having the lowest % similarity with other groups. Values of indices for richness in general are lowest where the study sites recorded a recent damage. There are some variances in variety between sites in this study, which can be explained by the varying pressures that the sites are subjected to (Boumeester 2005). Site 3 is considered as the healthiest site (based on Shannon species diversity H`) while site 1 is the least healthiest of all

Comparison of Boraginales Plastomes: Insights into Codon Usage Bias, Adaptive Evolution, and Phylogenetic Relationships

The Boraginales (Boraginaceae a.l.) comprise more than 2450 species worldwide. However, little knowledge exists of the characteristics of the complete plastid genome. In this study, three new sequences representing the first pt genome of Heliotropiaceae and Cordiaceae were assembled and compared with other Boraginales species. The pt genome sizes of Cordia dichotoma, Heliotropium arborescens, and Tournefortia montana were 151,990 bp, 156,243 bp, and 155,891 bp, respectively. Multiple optimal codons were identified, which may provide meaningful information for enhancing the gene expression of Boraginales species. Furthermore, codon usage bias analyses revealed that natural selection and other factors may dominate codon usage patterns in the Boraginales species. The boundaries of the IR/LSC and IR/SSC regions were significantly different, and we also found a signal of obvious IR region expansion in the pt genome of Nonea vesicaria and Arnebia euchroma. Genes with high nucleic acid diversity (pi) values were also calculated, which may be used as potential DNA barcodes to investigate the phylogenetic relationships in Boraginales. psaI, rpl33, rpl36, and rps19 were found to be under positive selection, and these genes play an important role in our understanding of the adaptive evolution of the Boraginales species. Phylogenetic analyses implied that Boraginales can be divided into two groups. The existence of two subfamilies (Lithospermeae and Boragineae) in Boraginaceae is also strongly supported. Our study provides valuable information on pt genome evolution and phylogenetic relationships in the Boraginales species.

Comparative plastomes and phylogenetic analysis of seven Korean endemic Saussurea (Asteraceae)

BackgroundSaussurea is one of the most species-rich genera in the Cardueae, Asteraceae. There are approximately 40 Saussurea species distributed in Korea, with nearly 40% of them endemics. Infrageneric relationships remain uncertain due to insufficient resolutions and low statistical support. In this study, we sequenced the plastid genomes of five Korean endemic Saussurea (S. albifolia, S. calcicola, S. diamantica, S. grandicapitula, and S. seoulensis), and comparative analyses including two other endemics (S. chabyoungsanica and S. polylepis) were conducted.ResultsThe plastomes of Korean endemics were highly conserved in gene content, order, and numbers. Exceptionally, S. diamantica had mitochondrial DNA sequences including two tRNAs in SSC region. There were no significant differences of the type and numbers of SSRs among the seven Korean endemics except in S. seoulensis. Nine mutation hotspots with high nucleotide diversity value (Pi > 0.0033) were identified, and phylogenetic analysis suggested that those Korean endemic species most likely evolved several times from diverse lineages within the genus. Moreover, molecular dating estimated that the Korean endemic species diverged since the late Miocene.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into understanding the plastome evolution and evolutionary relationships of highly complex species of Saussurea in Korean peninsula.

Caddisfly (Trichoptera, Insecta) fauna and assemblages of the north-eastern part of the Pannonian Lowland (West Ukraine, Transcarpathia).

The caddisfly fauna of the Transcarpathian part of the Pannonian Lowland was poorly studied formerly. Here, we present the results of a six-year survey (2015-2020) carried out in four sampling sites of the Ukrainian part of the Bereg Plain and provide the actualised checklist of this area. Actually, 7346 specimens of 53 caddisfly species were collected. The number of known caddisfly species increased from 13 to 61. Two species Hydropsycheguttata and Parasetodesrespersellus, which formerly were considered extinct in the Pannonian Ecoregion, were detected and another especially rare species (e.g. Cyrnusflavidus) was also recorded. The fauna of the region cover a significant part of both Hungarian and Ukrainian caddisfly fauna. Assemblages of four characteristic habitat types of the region showed significant differences considering their quantitative and qualitative composition, substrate, current, hydrological- and feeding types. The high diversity and natural value of the small lowland watercourses were proven using a new Caddisfly Conservation Index (CCI) calculated, based on vulnerability and rarity of species. The fauna and assemblages showed a unique character mainly independent from large rivers of the region.

DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF CLASS INSECTA FROM SELECTED AREA OF TUBA ISLAND RESERVE FOREST

Insects are ubiquitous and inhabit all types of ecosystems that include island ecosystems. A study on the diversity and distribution of Class Insecta was conducted at a selected forest area in Pulau Tuba using malaise traps. No insect study has been conducted at Pulau Tuba before. Three study sites namely forest fringe, middle forest, and inner forest were chosen. A total of 5883 specimens belonging to seven orders and 106 morphospecies of insects were collected. The orders identified were Blattodea, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Isoptera, and Lepidoptera. Diptera samples were the most found while Blattodea recorded the lowest number recorded. Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H’) showed that the inner forest had the highest diversity value with H’ = 0.53, followed by the forest fringe with H’ = 0.44, and the middle forest with H’ = 0.22. The Evenness Index (E’) and Margalef Richness Index (R’) also showed the highest value comes from the inner forest with E’ = 0.28 and R’ = 0.81 respectively. Kruskal-Wallis test showed that there was a significant difference in insect distribution across three study sites where P< 0.05. Overall, this study suggested that the diversity of Class Insecta at Pulau Tuba was low in the three locations confirming the low species richness of insects in the island forest ecosystem.

Comparative analysis of the complete chloroplast genomes of six threatened subgenus Gynopodium (Magnolia) species

BackgroundThe subgenus Gynopodium belonging to genus Magnolia have high ornamental, economic, and ecological value. Subgenus Gynopodium contains eight species, but six of these species are threatened. No studies to date have characterized the characteristics of the chloroplast genomes (CPGs) within subgenus Gynopodium species. In this study, we compared the structure of CPGs, identified the mutational hotspots and resolved the phylogenetic relationship of subgenus Gynopodium.ResultsThe CPGs of six subgenus Gynopodium species ranged in size from 160,027 bp to 160,114 bp. A total of 131 genes were identified, including 86 protein-coding genes, eight ribosomal RNA genes, and 37 transfer RNA genes. We detected neither major expansions or contractions in the inverted repeat region, nor rearrangements or insertions in the CPGs of six subgenus Gynopodium species. A total of 300 large repeat sequences (forward, reverse, and palindrome repeats), 847 simple sequence repeats, and five highly variable regions were identified. One gene (ycf1) and four intergenic regions (psbA-trnH-GUG, petA-psbJ, rpl32-trnL-UAG, and ccsA-ndhD) were identified as mutational hotspots by their high nucleotide diversity (Pi) values (≥ 0.004), which were useful for species discrimination. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference trees were concordant and indicated that Magnoliaceae consisted of two genera Liriodendron and Magnolia. Six species of subgenus Gynopodium clustered as a monophyletic clade, forming a sister clade with subgenus Yulania (BS = 100%, PP = 1.00). Due to the non-monophyly of subgenus Magnolia, subgenus Gynopodium should be treated as a section of Magnolia. Within section Gynopodium, M. sinica diverged first (posterior probability = 1, bootstrap = 100), followed by M. nitida, M. kachirachirai and M. lotungensis. M. omeiensis was sister to M. yunnanensis (posterior probability = 0.97, bootstrap = 50).ConclusionThe CPGs and characteristics information provided by our study could be useful in species identification, conservation genetics and resolving phylogenetic relationships of Magnoliaceae species.

Genetic Polymorphism of 27 Y-STR Loci in the Western Kazakh Tribes from Kazakhstan and Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan.

Data on the genetic polymorphism of 27 Y-STR in Kazakhs of the Junior Zhuz has been presented and analyzed in relation to forensic features. A total of 464 representatives of the Western Kazakh tribes of Kazakhstan (Western Kazakhs, n = 405) and Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan Kazakhs, n = 59) were examined by the Yfiler Plus set. The data are available in the YHRD under accession numbers YA006010 and YA006009. Genetic analysis (AMOVA and MDS) did not show significant differences between the two groups (Kazakhstan and Karakalpakstan Kazakhs) in terms of Y-chromosome diversity. Both groups are characterized by haplogroup C2a1a2 as a founder effect, which dominated two of the three tribes: Alimuly (67%), Baiuly (74.6%), and Zhetiru (25.8%). At the same time, the phylogenetic network for each tribe found its own clusters within C2a1a2. Western Kazakhs and Karakalpakstan Kazakhs present high values of unique haplotypes (84.44% and 96.61%), discrimination capacity (90.37% and 98.30%), and haplotype diversity (0.9991 and 0.9994). A set of 27 Y-STR loci distinguishes closely related individuals within the Western Kazakh tribes quite well. It is suitable for forensic application, and is also optimal for population genetics studies.

Fine-scale differences in eukaryotic communities inside and outside salmon aquaculture cages revealed by eDNA metabarcoding.

Aquaculture impacts on marine benthic ecosystems are widely recognized and monitored. However, little is known about the community changes occurring in the water masses surrounding aquaculture sites. In the present study, we studied the eukaryotic communities inside and outside salmonid aquaculture cages through time to assess the community changes in the neighbouring waters of the farm. Water samples were taken biweekly over five months during the production phase from inside the cages and from nearby points located North and South of the salmon farm. Eukaryotic communities were analyzed by eDNA metabarcoding of the partial COI Leray-XT fragment. The results showed that eukaryotic communities inside the cages were significantly different from those in the outside environment, with communities inside the cages having higher diversity values and more indicator species associated with them. This is likely explained by the appearance of fouling species that colonize the artificial structures, but also by other species that are attracted to the cages by other means. Moreover, these effects were highly localized inside the cages, as the communities identified outside the cages, both North and South, had very similar eukaryotic composition at each point in time. Overall, the eukaryotic communities, both inside and outside the cages, showed similar temporal fluctuations through the summer months, with diversity peaks occurring at the end of July, beginning of September, and in the beginning of November, with the latter showing the highest Shannon diversity and richness values. Hence, our study suggests that seasonality, together with salmonid aquaculture, are the main drivers of eukaryotic community structure in surface waters surrounding the farm.

Influence of grazing and solar panel installation on tenebrionid beetles (Coleoptera Tenebrionidae) of a central Asian steppe

Grazing may represent a major threat to biodiversity in arid grasslands. The increasing use of grasslands for solar parks may represent a new important threat. No study has investigated the effects of solar parks on soil insects. Tenebrionids are a major component of the arthropod fauna of grasslands of central Asia. These ecosystems are threatened by grazing and increasing land use for solar parks. Aim of this work was to investigate the effects of grazing and solar panels on tenebrionids in arid grasslands (desert steppe) in China by comparing their community structure in ungrazed, heavily grazed, and solar park sites. Beetles were sampled by pitfall traps, and sites were compared for abundance and diversity (Hill numbers). All sites were characterized by simple, strongly dominated tenebrionid communities. Species proportions varied among sites. Grazing negatively influenced overall abundance, but did not alter species proportions; by contrast, solar panels had no effect on the average abundance, but reduced the proportion of the most abundant species. Compared with the other two sites, the solar park was characterized by a higher plant biomass and lower temperatures. A major availability of resources and less harsh conditions in the solar park might have a role in reducing the dominance of the most abundant species, allowing other species to attain higher abundances. This led to a more balanced community structure, with higher values of diversity. Although neither grazing nor solar panel installation modified radically tenebrionid species-abundance distribution or diversity, grazing and solar panel installation had different effects in species abundances and their impact might amplify the effect of other disturbance factors such as the ongoing climate change.

Strategi Pembangunan dan Pengelolaan Hutan Kota Sabak di Kelurahan Rano Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Timur Provinsi Jambi

This study aims to analyze the natural resources potential of the Sabak City Forest, analyze the benefits of development and management of the Sabak City Forest for the surrounding community both Ecologically, Economically, and Socially and Culturally, and Formulate the Development and Management Strategy of the Sabak City Forest. Based on the results of research using vegetation analysis, it shows that the potential flora in the Sabak City Forest area has a high diversity value with plant species at the Tree level and Pole level having an INP of more than 15% while for the Sapling level there are 7 species that have an INP of more than 10%. and the Semai level has 5 species that have an INP of more than 10%, meanwhile the types of Fauna are potential for the development of educational and educational attractions. This study also shows that the benefits of the development and management of the Sabak City Forest from the Ecological aspect to reduce urban environmental degradation, from the Economic aspect of the Sabak City Forest can be an opportunity to improve the economy through business opportunities, work opportunities, increase craft creativity, and provide benefits in social aspects. culture as a space for social interaction, recreational facilities, and as a cultural landmark of the city. The results of the stakeholder analysis show that the amalgamation of Quadrant I (subjects) with quadrant III (Context setters) in the development and management of the Sabak City Forest can be a major force that greatly influences the development and management of the Sabak City Forest. The strategy for the development and management of the Sabak City Forest is with the support of parties who have influence and interest in the development and management of the Sabak City Forest.

The Application of DNA Barcoding in Crustacean Larvae Identification from the Zhongsha Islands, South China Sea

Marine crustaceans are known as a group with high morphological diversity and great economic value. Most species have planktonic larval stages that are difficult to identify to species level using traditional approaches because of insufficient morphological diagnostic characters or taxonomic descriptions. We used DNA barcoding and molecular species identification to investigate the species diversity and distribution of crustacean larvae in the Zhongsha Islands waters, South China Sea. In total, 108 sequences were obtained from crustacean larvae collected in the Zhongsha Islands waters in 2019 using vertical hauls between the depths of 5 and 200 m. The molecular classification approach confirmed that 108 sequences represented crustaceans typical to the South China Sea, with 70 species identified, representing 43 genera, 23 families, and 4 orders. However, the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences of only 27 species identified from the larval samples matched with available sequences taken from adults in GenBank. The comparison of K2P distances yielded a notable gap of 3.5–10.7% between intraspecific and interspecific distances across the sequence dataset. More than 80% of the crustacean larvae species belonged to the order Decapoda, and they displayed marked differences in their distributionsin the Zhongshan Islands waters. The orders Calanoida and Amphipoda were represented by the fewest species, which were recorded only at the edge of the Zhongsha Atoll.

Are Afrotropical Protected Areas Effective in Increasing Waterbird Richness and Diversity? A Case Study from South Sudan (East Africa)

In many tropical areas of high conservation concern there is still no evidence on the effectiveness of protected areas in protecting specific components of biodiversity. Here, to assess the management effectiveness of protected areas, we carried out a field sampling design for collecting data on waterbird communities within the Nibule National Park (South Sudan), a poorly-known hot-spot of biodiversity, and in the surrounding buffer zone. All the metrics of richness (absolute species richness, Margalef index, Chao-1) and diversity were significantly higher for bird communities inhabiting the national park, when compared to the buffer zone. Evenness was predictably lower in the national park when compared to the buffer zone, probably due to the large numbers of rare species that were observed in the park’s richer communities, thus increasing the differences in relative frequencies between species. The diversity profiles highlighted this pattern, with more sloping curves in the park sites, evidencing a role of protected area management in positively affecting the bird community structure. Our data provide the first evidence for a poorly-known area of high conservation concern on the effective role played by a National Park in maintaining high values of richness and diversity, at least for wetland-related birds.

How Can We Resolve Lewontin's Paradox?

We discuss the genetic, demographic, and selective forces that are likely to be at play in restricting observed levels of DNA sequence variation in natural populations to a much smaller range of values than would be expected from the distribution of census population sizes alone—Lewontin’s Paradox. While several processes that have previously been strongly emphasized must be involved, including the effects of direct selection and genetic hitchhiking, it seems unlikely that they are sufficient to explain this observation without contributions from other factors. We highlight a potentially important role for the less-appreciated contribution of population size change; specifically, the likelihood that many species and populations may be quite far from reaching the relatively high equilibrium diversity values that would be expected given their current census sizes.

Genetic diversity and marker trait association for phytophthora resistance in chilli.

Chilli is an important commercial crop with positive returns tendency. Phytophthora root rot causes drastic damage to chilli plant. Dearth of detecting marker trait associations is a major hinderance in practicing marker assisted selection in chilli breeding. Herein, 110 chilli accessions were assessed for 15 agronomic traits under control and disease infected conditions for two crop seasons (2018-2019). The SSR genotyping revealed high values of major allele frequency (MAF = 0.70), genetic diversity (GD = 0.39) and Polymorphic Information Content (PIC = 0.31). Principal coordinate analysis and population structure analysis showed distribution of diverse genotypes in all groups by dividing 110 genotypes in three populations and nine sub-populations. The UPGMA based Archaeopteryx tree was in concordance with population structure analysis. Linkage disequilibrium analysis evaluated that LD decays within 3-10bp. Marker trait association (MTA) revealed the associations of 35 SSRs with 14 morphological traits. The significant MTA for marker CAeMS073 with relative leaf damage (RLD, 0.183 R2) under control and treated conditions was consistently observed in both models. The markers, CAMS173 and CAMS194 were found to be strongly associated with RLD and Disease Index (DI), respectively. The absence of MTA was detected for height of first branch. The MTAs reported in this study can facilitate marker assisted breeding for developing chilli germplasm resistant against Phytophthora capsici.

Comparative Analysis of Pseudo-nitzschia Chloroplast Genomes Revealed Extensive Inverted Region Variation and Pseudo-nitzschia Speciation

Pseudo-nitzschia is a species-rich genus where many species can induce harmful algae blooms (HABs) associated with the toxin domoic acid (DA) production. Despite the importance of Pseudo-nitzschia species to coastal environments, their genomic information is rather limited, hindering research on biodiversity and evolutionary analysis. In this study, we report full-length chloroplast genomes (cpDNAs) of nine Pseudo‐nitzschia, among which cpDNAs of eight Pseudo-nitzschia species were reported for the first time. The sizes of these Pseudo-nitzschia cpDNAs, which showed typical quadripartite structures, varied substantially, ranging from 116,546 bp to 158,840 bp in size. Comparative analysis revealed the loss of photosynthesis-related gene psaE in cpDNAs of all Pseudo-nitzschia species except that of P. americana, and the selective loss of rpl36 in P. hainanensis. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all Pseudo-nitzschia strains were grouped into two clades, with clade 1 containing cpDNAs of P. multiseries, P. pungens, P. multistriata, and P. americana, and clade 2 containing cpDNAs of P. hainanensis, P. cuspidata, Pseudo-nitzschia sp. CNS00097, P. delicatissima, and P. micropora. The small size of the P. americana cpDNA was primarily due to its shortened inverted repeat (IR) regions. While psaA and psaB were found in the IR regions of cpDNAs of other eight species, these two genes were found outside of the IR regions of P. americana cpDNA. In contrast, P. hainanensis had the largest size because of expansion of IR regions with each IR region containing 15 protein-coding genes (PCGs). Eleven genetic regions of these Pseudo-nitzschia cpDNAs exhibited high nucleotide diversity (Pi) values, suggesting that these regions may be used as molecular markers for distinguishing different Pseudo-nitzschia species with high resolution and high specificity. Phylogenetic analysis of the divergence of nine Pseudo-nitzschia species indicated that these species appeared at approximately 41 Mya. This study provides critical cpDNA resources for future research on the biodiversity and speciation of Pseudo-nitzschia species.

Prevalence and phylogeography of Taenia hydatigena metacestodes from goats of India.

The study determined the prevalence and genetic population structure relationships of Cysticercus tenuicollis (Taenia hydatigena metacestode) retrieved from the goats slaughtered in north India. An overall prevalence of 9.62% (59/613) was recorded. Genetic population structure relationships were assessed by targeting partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 mitochondrial gene sequence. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that all the present study representative isolates (n = 7) formed a major clade and grouped with T. hydatigena isolates retrieved from sheep, goats, pigs and dogs, originating from China, Iran, Nigeria, Ghana and Poland. However, a single isolate from Himachal Pradesh (isolate 3) formed a subgroup within the clade. The neutrality and diversity indices revealed high values of haplotype diversity [Hd = 0.99695 (0.95238–1.0000)] and low nucleotide diversity (π = 0.49276), which was indicative of demographic expansion and low gene flow, suggesting that Indian T. hydatigena isolates were not genetically differentiated. Tajima's D (−1.26988) and Fu and Li's D statistics values (−0.74556) were negative, demonstrating deviations from neutrality and both propounded recent population expansion or purifying selection. Results highlighted a low genetic diversity of T. hydatigena metacestodes across the geographical range of north India.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Côte d’Ivoire Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Using SSR Markers

The aim of this study was to characterize the collection of cassava (Manihot esculenta) obtained from Côte d’Ivoire based on 14 microsatellite loci. Two hundred (200) accessions from five geographical zones – center, center-west, south, south-west, and west – were evaluated. High diversity values were found among the five above-mentioned regions, with 2.415 ± 0.153 alleles per locus on average. A high percentage of polymorphic loci varying from 38.46–100% was also observed. An average of 0.166 ± 0.026 for observed heterozygosity and 0.242 ± 0.028 for expected heterozygosity were observed too. The mean value of the Shannon index was 0.423 ± 0.048. Most genetic diversity was concentrated within the geographical zone (Hs = 0.236 ± 0.026). A high genetic differentiation among the population was found (Fst = 0.241), indicating the low level of gene flow between the population due to the infrequent sharing of cassava planting materials among farmers between regions. Based on these results, therefore, during the collecting missions, it is recommended to collect enough cassava cutting within each population to have the greatest possible diversity.

Rainfall-driven nutrient loading affects coastal phytoplankton in the southwestern Indian Ocean: a lagoon at Mauritius Island

This study aimed to test the effects of rainfall-driven nutrient loading on the microphytoplankton dynamics in the shallow water at Trou aux Biches lagoon on the northwest coast of Mauritius. Changes in density, diversity and estimated productivity of microphytoplankton were monitored in three zones—coast, lagoon and reef—during two rainfall periods of 4 and 3 days’ duration, respectively, in March–April 2017. The average nutrient loading from terrestrial runoff was 15.5% and the salinity decreased by 2.5%. Following the two rainfall events, a 3-fold increase in total microphytoplankton density (TMPD), with a dominance of diatoms, was noted within a week at the coast and lagoon, while it remained relatively unchanged at the reef. These changes in microphytoplankton densities were concomitant with adequate levels of silicate (>2 µM) and high nitrate:silicate ratios (2.84–6.93). During this study, the numbers of genera of diatoms, dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria observed were 28, 12 and 3, respectively. The Shannon–Wiener, equitability and evenness indices showed high diversity values for diatoms and cyanobacteria prior to the rainfall events and for dinoflagellates after the events. The chlorophyll a content, relative electron transport rate, and estimated productivity of microphytoplankton increased during and after the rainy periods. TMPD and chlorophyll a were correlated significantly and positively with nutrients, salinity and temperature. Toxic algal species such as the dinoflagellates Alexandrium, Dinophysis and Tripos were recorded, although not in bloom densities. These findings indicate that rainfall-driven nutrient loading led to an increase in microphytoplankton density and estimated productivity, and a change in its diversity.

Preliminary Study on the Distribution and Diversity of Diptera at Tuba Island Reserve Forest, Langkawi Malaysia

Abstract Insects, the ecologically important organisms, contribute most to the world’s biodiversity. A study on distribution to diversity of order Diptera was conducted in a selected area of Tuba Island Forest Reserve, Langkawi from 17th September to 21st September 2020 using Malaise traps. Three study sites which were forest fringe, middle forest and inner forest were chosen. A total of 5450 individuals of Diptera belonging to 18 families and 27 morphospecies were collected in this study. Diptera samples were highly abundant in the forest fringe with Mycetophilidae as the most abundant family recorded, while the least abundant family was Drosophilidae. The Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H’) showed that the forest fringe had the highest diversity value (H’=2.05), followed by the inner forest (H’=0.67) and middle forest (H’=0.45). The highest Evenness Index (E’) value was recorded from the inner forest with E’=0.66 while the highest value for Margalef Richness Index (R’) was from the forest fringe which was 1.91. The Kruskal-Wallis H test conducted indicates that there was a significant difference in the distribution of Dipteran across the three locations of the forest with P<0.05. Overall, this study suggested that the diversity of order Diptera was higher in the forest fringe compared to the middle and the inner forest. This study is important as it is helpful for future study of Diptera species in Tuba Island as well as for conservation measures in the island ecosystem.