High-value Species Research Articles

Tree Diversity and Its Ecological Importance Value in Silvopastoral Systems: A Study along Elevational Gradients in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon

This study analyzes tree diversity and its ecological importance value in silvopastoral systems in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve (SBR), Ecuador, along an altitudinal gradient of 400–2000 masl. Twenty-six plots distributed into low (400–700 masl), medium (701–1600 masl) and high (1601–2000 masl) zones were used. The Shannon index and the importance value index (IVI), based on abundance, dominance and relative frequency, were estimated. The results highlight that in pastures with dispersed trees, the richness of trees decreases with increasing altitude in the elevational gradient; they also show a higher tree density at lower altitudes in contrast to the Andean–Amazonian primary forests. The lower and middle zones showed higher diversity, linked to regeneration and the presence of nearby forests. Species of high commercial value, such as Cedrela odorata and Jacaranda copaia, were common, reflecting knowledge of the local timber market. In the lower and middle zones, the 10 most important species accounted for more than 70% of the trees, with up to 96% in the upper zone. A total of 51 taxa (including 42 species and nine taxa at the rank of genus) were identified, which were mostly native; 64.7% are classified by the IUCN as least-concern (LC) species, 31.4% as not evaluated (NE) species and 3.9% as vulnerable (VU) species, specifically highlighting Cedrela odorata and Cedrela montana. The study concludes with policy recommendations related to the importance of trees in silvopastoral systems for the conservation of species and the livelihoods of local communities, highlighting the need for responsible management of Amazonian pasturelands.

Analysis of the Implementation Status and Characteristics of Ecological Restoration Projects in Korea: Ecosystem Conservation Charge Return Projects

Research on the Ecosystem Conservation Charge Return Project (ECCRP), a restoration initiative guided by the polluter-pays principle, is limited. Moreover, certain projects lack location analyses and specific restoration goals. Here, we examined the ecological restoration trends in South Korea based on the ECCRP. We collected data from 277 projects completed between 2003 and 2022 and explored project characteristics, site types, locations, and restoration target species trends. Wetlands and urban areas were frequently targeted, with forestry as the primary land category. Such projects prioritize restoration in areas with a potential for increased biodiversity. Small-scale projects were the most common, likely because of budget constraints and site selection challenges. The establishment of guidelines in 2010 resulted in considerable changes in restoration projects. Forested areas and parks close to species supply sources became important, and specifying target species for restoration was emphasized. Target species primarily included birds, amphibians, and insects. From a sustainability perspective, it is crucial to consider post-monitoring. Species of high restoration value and animals with a small habitat must be selected as performance indicators of restoration outcomes. Our results can help the ECCRP to strengthen the ecological restoration approaches to better achieve sustainability goals—improving biodiversity and conserving and restoring ecosystems.

A non-lethal stable isotope analysis of valued freshwater predatory fish using blood and fin tissues as alternatives to muscle tissue.

Stable isotope analysis (SIA) is widely used to study trophic ecology and food webs in aquatic ecosystems. In the case of fish, muscle tissue is generally preferred for SIA, and the method is lethal in most cases. We tested whether blood and fin clips can be used as non-lethal alternatives to muscle tissue for examining the isotopic composition of two freshwater predatory fish, European catfish (Silurus glanis) and Northern pike (Esox lucius), species of high value for many freshwater systems as well as invasive species in many others. Blood samples from the caudal vein, anal fin clips, and dorsal muscle obtained by biopsy punch were collected from four catfish and pike populations (14-18 individuals per population). Subsequently, these samples were analyzed for δ13C and δ15N. The effects of alternative tissues, study site, and fish body mass on the isotopic offset were investigated. Both species showed a correlation between the isotopic offset and the tissue type, as well as the study site, but no significant relationship with the body mass. The isotopic offsets between tissues were used to calculate the conversion equations. The results demonstrated that both blood and fin clips are suitable and less invasive alternative to muscle in SIA studies focused on European catfish and Northern pike. Blood provided better correspondence to muscle isotope values. However, our results clearly demonstrated that isotopic offsets between tissues vary significantly among populations of the same species. Therefore, obtaining a muscle biopsy from several individuals in any population is advisable to gain initial insights and establish a possible population-specific inter-tissue conversion.

Effects of Choline Supplementation in Diets on Juvenile Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus): Productive Performance, Proximate Composition and Serum Lipid Level.

Pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) is a Brazilian fish species of high commercial value and has emerged as one of the main species with potential for intensive farming. This study aimed to investigate the impact of choline supplementation on productive performance, visceral fat, hepatosomatic indices, proximate composition, serum biochemical profile, and liver coloration in juvenile pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus). The 60-day experiment was conducted in the experimental hatchery of the Study Group of Aquaculture Management - GEMAq of the State University of West Paraná, Brazil. The completely randomized design consisted of five treatments with four replicates each. A total of 200 fish, with an average initial weight and length of 4.25 g and 5.97 cm, were distributed among 20 experimental hapas, resulting in a stocking density of 10 fish per experimental unit. Fish fed a choline-deficient diet exhibited the lowest values for final weight, weight gain, visceral fat, and hepatosomatic index. Conversely, in terms of proximate composition, fish fed choline-deficient diets had the highest moisture content but the lowest crude fat content. Triglyceride levels in juvenile pacu were significantly higher in groups fed diets containing choline (400 to 1200 mg kg-1 ). We also observed significant differences in the cyan color of the liver (P < 0.05). Notably, we observed significant differences in the cyan coloration of the liver (P < 0.05). Other parameters did not exhibit significant changes in response to varying choline levels in the diets. Our study demonstrated that choline supplementation in P. mesopotamicus juveniles at an optimal concentration of 400 mg kg-1 significantly impacted growth, metabolism, productive performance, proximate composition, biochemical parameters, and liver color. These findings offer crucial guidance for aquaculture professionals, enabling them to enhance growth and health in P. mesopotamicus farming. Further research on choline's influence on lipid metabolism holds potential for more precise dietary recommendations, ultimately improving the efficiency and sustainability of aquaculture practices for this species.

Investigating the planning efficiency of species richness- and complementarity-based algorithms in data deficient areas

Efficient conservation planning is a necessary approach for protecting endangered species with deficient distribution data and reducing biodiversity loss. Richness- and complementarity-based algorithms can improve conservation planning efficiency to different degrees, but differences in planning efficiency caused by data availability and algorithms are often disregarded and require clarification. Here, we classified endangered, endemic, and national key protected plant species based on their occurrence data availability for species distribution modeling. We implemented species richness- (SRA), species number complementarity- (SNCA) and species value complementarity-based algorithms (SVCA) to identify priority conservation areas (PCAs) in the Southeast Himalaya Biodiversity Priority Conservation Area. We established six scenarios and compared their planning efficiencies. The spatial distribution of PCAs and their conservation efficiency varied depending on data availability and optimization algorithms. The 17%, 30%, and 45% PCAs identified in the six scenarios differed in geographical pattern, whereas differences in species occurrences had less effect on their conservation efficiency. Specifically, the PCAs identified by using species with sufficient data as surrogates captured species with high conservation value. Additionally, SNCA was better suited for capturing species number, and SVCA was more cost-effective for protecting species area and species of high conservation value, but SRA distribution pattern presented less fragmented and well-connected. Nevertheless, 50.11% area of the optimized PCAs remained uncovered by existing protected areas. Our analysis reveals the influence of species occurrence data availability, and algorithms on planning efficiency, and provides a cost-effective solution for improving planning efficiency and optimizing protected area network in data deficient areas.

Sparid species discrimination by COIBar-RFLP in commercial products

Processed seafood products are subject to fraudulent species substitution practices that pose problems not only economically but also for human health due to the risk of allergies. DNA-based molecular techniques offer an undoubted contribution to unraveling commercial fraud in processed seafood products, and several investigations have been conducted to develop specific and rapid assays for the identification of fish species. In this context, we hypothesize that the Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) Barcode-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (COIBar- RFLP) strategy may be a useful molecular tool to quickly assess the authenticity of seafood products because (i) it takes advantage of the specific discriminatory power of the COI gene as a barcode and of the robust Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism methodology and (ii) the interspecific variation in the digestion pattern obtained using the restriction enzymes allows bypassing the gene sequencing step. The Sparidae family includes species of high commercial value and many sparid species are difficult to recognize considering only their morphological features; thus, misidentifications are frequent. The aim of this work was to identify sparid species in processed products using the COIBar-RFLP strategy with the MspI restriction enzyme which yielded differential digestion patterns and unveiled two cases of species substitution. The proposed methodology could be used in food control laboratories to combat the widespread habit of fraudulent species substitution in the fishing industry.

Untangling the Complexity of Small-Scale Fisheries: Building an Understanding of Grouper-Snapper Fisheries Dynamics in Saleh Bay, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Small-scale tropical fisheries are complex systems that utilize multiple fishing gears to target various species. In this study, we investigated small-scale reef and demersal fisheries in Saleh Bay, Indonesia, using catch and effort data from 2016 to 2019, where 57.7 percent of the catch was grouper (serranids) and snapper (lutjanids). Despite the complexity (75 documented species and eight fishing methods), this fishery is characterized by the catches of four dominant species: leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus), orange-spotted-grouper (Epinephelus coioides), spotted coral grouper (P. maculatus), and malabar blood snapper (Lutjanus malabaricus). The species caught varied among fishing methods. Over 90% of the catch was attributed to three primary fishing methods: bottom longline, speargun, and handline. Multivariate analyses found that fishing depth, season, and/or year significantly influenced the catch composition for each of these fishing methods. Fishing activities exhibit a temporal pattern influenced by monsoonal seasons. Results also suggest that fishers employ specialized fishing tactics by targeting high-value species to maximize their profits. This study recommends a management strategy of focusing on monitoring and managing the three main fishing gears and four important species during their peak seasons to reduce some of the complexity and management costs.

On the Species Identification of Korean Geoduck Clam (Panopea sp. 1) Based on the Morphological and Molecular Evidence

The geoduck clam is a high-value species in South Korea. However, the molecular and morphological characteristics of geoduck clams from the southern coast of South Korea remain unexamined. The accurate identification of native geoduck clams is crucial for their conservation and management. Therefore, this study used a combination of molecular and morphological analyses to characterize native geoduck clams from the southern coast of South Korea. Based on complete mitochondrial genome and morphological analyses, the native species of geoduck clam from this study area was identified as Panopea sp. 1. The complete mitochondrial genome sequencing of Panopea sp. 1 revealed a total of 16,225 bp in length with 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes). It was also shown that Panopea sp. 1 belongs to the family Hiatellidae based on a phylogenetic analysis tree with 11 bivalve species. In particular, Panopea sp. 1 is closely related to three other Panopea species (Panopea sp., Panopea abrupta, and Panopea japonica). The phylogenetic analysis correlated with the morphological analysis. Overall, this is the first reliable record of Panopea sp. 1 in South Korea. These findings provide a basis for accurate species identification based on morphological characteristics and complete mitochondrial genome sequencing.

The diversity and distribution of Gecarcinidae MacLeay, 1838 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura), a potential land crab as a valuable food resource, in Indonesia

Gecarcinidae is one of the land crabs that is commonly found in intertidal and coastal areas comprises of 28 species worldwide. On some regions, this crab has been known as one of food resources. However, Indonesians have no interest yet in consuming this potentially high-value species. The present study aims to reveal the diversity and distribution of Gecarcinidae in Indonesia and discuss its potencies. Specimens of Gecarcinidae deposited in Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB) were used for observation and their morphological differences were recorded. Their recorded localities were used to define the hypothetical distribution. Their economic potential assessments were based on some literatures. In total, there are five species recorded in Indonesia, i.e., Cardisoma carnifex, Gecarcoidea humei, Gecarcoidea lalandii Tuerkayana hirtipes, and Tuerkayana magnum. The widest-distributed species are Cardisoma carnifex and Tuerkayana hirtipes. Among these species, the two largest species are Cardisoma carnifex and Tuerkayana magnum. In Pacific regions, Gecarcoidea is harvested as one of food resources. Therefore, these five species have high potency to support food sustainability and revealing the potencies and chance for captivity could serve as a catalyst to elevate community welfare, especially in coastal areas. Conservation on the natural habitat is necessary to maintain the sustainable utilization.

Contaminants from dredged sediments alter the transcriptome of Manila clam and induce shifts in microbiota composition

BackgroundThe reuse of dredged sediments in ports and lagoons is a big issue as it should not affect the quality and the equilibrium of ecosystems. In the lagoon of Venice, sediment management is of crucial importance as sediments are often utilized to built-up structures necessary to limit erosion. However, the impact of sediment reuse on organisms inhabiting this delicate area is poorly known. The Manila clam is a filter-feeding species of high economic and ecological value for the Venice lagoon experiencing a drastic decline in the last decades. In order to define the molecular mechanisms behind sediment toxicity, we exposed clams to sediments sampled from different sites within one of the Venice lagoon navigable canals close to the industrial area. Moreover, we investigated the impacts of dredged sediments on clam’s microbial communities.ResultsConcentrations of the trace elements and organic chemicals showed increasing concentrations from the city of Venice to sites close to the industrial area of Porto Marghera, where PCDD/Fs and PCBs concentrations were up to 120 times higher than the southern lagoon. While bioaccumulation of organic contaminants of industrial origin reflected sediments’ chemical concentrations, metal bioaccumulation was not consistent with metal concentrations measured in sediments probably due to the activation of ABC transporters. At the transcriptional level, we found a persistent activation of the mTORC1 signalling pathway, which is central in the coordination of cellular responses to chemical stress. Microbiota characterization showed the over-representation of potential opportunistic pathogens following exposure to the most contaminated sediments, leading to host immune response activation. Despite the limited acquisition of new microbial species from sediments, the latter play an important role in shaping Manila clam microbial communities.ConclusionsSediment management in the Venice lagoon will increase in the next years to maintain and create new canals as well as to allow the operation of the new mobile gates at the three Venice lagoon inlets. Our data reveal important transcriptional and microbial changes of Manila clams after exposure to sediments, therefore reuse of dredged sediments represents a potential risk for the conservation of this species and possibly for other organisms inhabiting the Venice lagoon.

Co-management of a high-value species with territorial use rights for fisheries: a spatial bioeconomic approach with environmental variability

Abalone is a high-value resource that is an important export market fishery of Mexico that is managed through territorial use rights for fisheries allocated to a coastal community. A specific age-structured spatial bioeconomic model was applied to this fishery to undertake stock recovery to target levels. The model incorporates uncertainty in the parameter k of a von Bertalanffy growth function with environmental variability. The risk of falling below and exceeding the target and bioeconomic limit reference points of the population with alternative fisheries management strategies was studied using a Monte Carlo analysis. The management strategy evaluation showed that Emin (minimum effort) and EmaxNPV (resource rent maximization effort) generated higher biomass levels and higher present value of resource rent than Emsy (effort in maximum sustainable yield) at the end of the simulation period, regardless of the bioeconomic reference points and assuming a reduction in fishing effort. Emin and EmaxNPV increased and maximized the present value of resource rent generated by the species while avoiding its overexploitation. The social consequences of the management strategies were considered with the participation of fishers of this co-managed fishery.

Evaluation of the Reproductive Performance of Females of Anguilla anguilla Characterized by Different Levels of Silvering

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758), is a species of high conservation and commercial value. Also, with a high aquacultural value, it was one of the most farmed species in Europe before its decline. Conservation measures for this species are currently being implemented, some of which are the release of adults to allow them to migrate to spawning grounds and artificial reproduction to minimise the impact of overfishing. Much progress has been made regarding the closing of the life cycle, but several problems remain to be solved, such as the weaning and growth of larvae. In this regard, the study of local populations and the identification of the best spawners could be a good way forward as it would help to identify spawners with high reproductive potential and good offspring quality. In this study, we compared the reproductive performance of female eels from migratory areas of the Northern Adriatic Sea at different maturation stages (10 pre-migrant stage; 10 migrant stage), treating both groups with the same hormonal protocol (weekly carp pituitary extract, injection of 17α,20β-Dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one at complete oocyte maturation). The research showed that eels at the beginning of metamorphosis (SI III), i.e., eels not yet ready to undertake migration, achieve reproductive performance equal to that of eels ready for migration (SI IV). Their performance was on par in both qualitative and quantitative terms. The optimal results in hatching (with values of 65.8 ± 3.2% for pre-migrant and 68.2 ± 4.1% for migrant) and survival rates (with value of 25.7 ± 5.4% pre-migrants; 27.2 ± 3.7% migrants), as well as the results about the time to reach full gonadal maturation, may have positive implications when considering release and restocking measures.

Variations in the Intestinal Microbiota of the Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle (Trionyx sinensis) between Greenhouse and Pond Aquaculture.

The microbial community structure in aquaculture water plays an important role in the intestinal microbial diversity of aquatic animals. The Chinese soft-shelled turtle (SST) (Trionyx sinensis) is an important aquaculture species of high economic value in the Asia-Pacific region. An intuitive understanding of the microbial diversity and abundances of SST aquaculture is crucial for comprehending these ecosystems. Herein, the evolutionary characteristics of the bacterial communities in the SST and its aquaculture water systems were investigated using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. This experiment sampled nine SSTs from a pond outside a greenhouse and was repeated three times. The sequencing results revealed significant differences in the microflora composition at the phylum and genus levels in both the intestine and aquaculture water of the SSTs in the greenhouse and pond aquaculture environments. A total of 1039 genera belonging to 65 phyla were identified. At the phylum level, the relative abundances of Chloroflexi (24%), Acidobacteria (5%), and Nitrospira (3%) were higher in the greenhouse water than in the pond water. The relative abundances of Bacteroidetes (35%), Actinobacteria (8%), and Cyanobacteria (4%) were higher in the pond water than in the greenhouse water. The intestinal microorganisms in the SSTs experienced significant changes after the SSTs were transferred from a greenhouse culture to a pond culture environment for 28 days. After the SSTs were cultured in the ponds, we observed decreases in the relative abundances of Actinobacteria (39% to 25%), Cyanobacteria (24% to 0.8%), Chlorobacteria (9% to 3%), and Firmicutes (5.5% to 0.8%. However, we observed increases in the relative abundances of Bacteroidetes (2% to 35%) and Acidobacteria (0.3% to 25%). These results showed that the bacterial diversity and richness compositions in the intestinal tract and aquaculture water were the same. However, the relative abundances of bacterial communities varied. The results of this study are of great significance in understanding how the environment affects SST cultures. These data may provide valuable instructions for Chinese soft-shelled turtle aquaculture management.

Estimating and managing broad risk of chronic wasting disease spillover among cervid species

AbstractThe management of infectious wildlife diseases often involves tackling pathogens that infect multiple host species. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that can infect most cervid species. CWD was detected in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) in Norway in 2016. Sympatric populations of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and moose (Alces alces) are at immediate risk. However, the estimation of spillover risk across species and implementation of multispecies management policies are rarely addressed for wildlife. Here, we estimated the broad risk of CWD spillover from reindeer to red deer and moose by quantifying the probability of co‐occurrence based on both (1) population density and (2) habitat niche overlap from GPS data of all three species in Nordfjella, Norway. We describe the practical challenges faced when aiming to reduce the risk of spillover through a marked reduction in the population densities of moose and red deer using recreational hunters. This involves setting the population and harvest aims with uncertain information and how to achieve them. The niche overlap between reindeer and both moose and red deer was low overall but occurred seasonally. Migratory red deer had a moderate niche overlap with the CWD‐infected reindeer population during the calving period, whereas moose had a moderate niche overlap during both calving and winter. Incorporating both habitat overlap and the population densities of the respective species into the quantification of co‐occurrence allowed for more spatially targeted risk maps. An initial aim of a 50% reduction in abundance for the Nordfjella region was set, but only a moderate population decrease of less than 20% from 2016 to 2021 was achieved. Proactive management in the form of marked population reduction is invasive and unpopular when involving species of high societal value, and targeting efforts to zones with a high risk of spillover to limit adverse impacts and achieve wider societal acceptance is important.

Evolutionary history of Castanea sativa in the Caucasus driven by Middle and Late Pleistocene paleoenvironmental changes.

Due to global climate cooling and aridification since the Paleogene, members of the Neogene flora were extirpated from the Northern Hemisphere or were confined to a few refugial areas. For some species, the final reduction/extinction came in the Pleistocene, but some others have survived climatic transformations up to the present. This has occurred in Castanea sativa, a species of high commercial value in Europe and a significant component of the Caucasian forests' biodiversity. In contrast to the European range, neither the historical biogeography nor the population genetic structure of the species in its isolated Caucasian range has been clarified. Here, based on a survey of 21 natural populations from the Caucasus and a single one from Europe, we provide a likely biogeographic reconstruction and genetic diversity details. By applying Bayesian inference, species distribution modelling and fossil pollen data, we estimated (i) the time of the Caucasian-European divergence during the Middle Pleistocene, (ii) the time of divergence among Caucasian lineages and (iii) outlined the glacial refugia for species. The climate changes related to the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition are proposed as the major drivers of the intraspecific divergence and European-Caucasian disjunction for the species, while the impact of the last glacial cycle was of marginal importance.

Importance of estuaries for the horse-eye jack Caranx latus in northeastern Brazil: a case study of underestimated connectivity at the land-sea interface

This study aimed to evaluate the importance of inshore estuarine habitats for the maintenance of offshore exploited stocks of the horse-eye jack Caranx latus, a marine tropical species of high economic value. Otoliths of 143 yearlings were used to develop a data set of multi-elemental fingerprints for different juvenile habitats of C. latus in northeastern Brazil, including 7 estuaries and the coastal zone. This data set was then compared to the signatures in the juvenile part of the otolith of 40 sub-adult and adult fish caught at sea to identify their origin. Although otolith multi-elemental concentrations overlapped for some of the estuaries investigated, the maximum overall discrimination accuracy between them was only 58%. However, grouping several estuaries according to their similarity in elemental signatures increased accuracy to 80%. In both cases, correct re-assignment rates for the coastal zone were above 94%, and strontium (Sr) was the most significant element in juvenile habitat discrimination. The remaining elements (B, Ba, Co, P, Rb, and Zn) allowed us to distinguish between 3 distinct groups of estuaries, for which correct re-assignment rates were 70-88%. Juvenile fingerprints in sub-adult and adult otoliths revealed that most of the fish in the local, exploited stock (75%) originate from an inshore estuarine habitat, particularly from larger estuaries under constant marine influence (32.5%). This biological connectivity between continental and coastal waters should be considered for the conservation of tropical marine coastal stocks in general, as it is likely to apply to other exploited marine species, in Brazil and elsewhere.

Kinetic Growth of Multicomponent Microcompartment Shells.

An important goal of systems and synthetic biology is to produce high value chemical species in large quantities. Microcompartments, which are protein nanoshells encapsulating catalytic enzyme cargo, could potentially function as tunable nanobioreactors inside and outside cells to generate these high value species. Modifying the morphology of microcompartments through genetic engineering of shell proteins is one viable strategy to tune cofactor and metabolite access to encapsulated enzymes. However, this is a difficult task without understanding how changing interactions between the many different types of shell proteins and enzymes affect microcompartment assembly and shape. Here, we use multiscale molecular dynamics and experimental data to describe assembly pathways available to microcompartments composed of multiple types of shell proteins with varied interactions. As the average interaction between the enzyme cargo and the multiple types of shell proteins is weakened, the shell assembly pathway transitions from (i) nucleating on the enzyme cargo to (ii) nucleating in the bulk and then binding the cargo as it grows to (iii) an empty shell. Atomistic simulations and experiments using the 1,2-propanediol utilization microcompartment system demonstrate that shell protein interactions are highly varied and consistent with our multicomponent, coarse-grained model. Furthermore, our results suggest that intrinsic bending angles control the size of these microcompartments. Overall, our simulations and experiments provide guidance to control microcomparmtent size and assembly by modulating the interactions between shell proteins.

Mass spectrometry-based approaches to assess the botanical authenticity of dietary supplements.

Dietary supplements are legally considered foods despite frequently including medicinal plants as ingredients. Currently, the consumption of herbal dietary supplements, also known as plant food supplements (PFS), is increasing worldwide and some raw botanicals, highly demanded due to their popularity, extensive use, and/or well-established pharmacological effects, have been attaining high prices in the international markets. Therefore, botanical adulteration for profit increase can occur along the whole PFS industry chain, from raw botanicals to plant extracts, until final PFS. Besides the substitution of high-value species, unintentional mislabeling can happen in morphologically similar species. Both cases represent a health risk for consumers, prompting the development of numerous works to access botanical adulterations in PFS. Among different approaches proposed for this purpose, mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques have often been reported as the most promising, particularly when hyphenated with chromatographic techniques. Thus, this review aims at describing an overview of the developments in this field, focusing on the applications of MS-based techniques to targeted and untargeted analysis to detect botanical adulterations in plant materials, extracts, and PFS.

Optimizing Tectona grandis L.F. (teak) Tree Clonal Propagation via Regrowth and the Application of Plant Growth Regulators

Tectona grandis L.F., known as teak, is a species of high commercial and ecological value for which the development of efficient clonal propagation strategies is being sought. The availability of clonally propagated materials from plus trees is scarce. The main objective of the research was to evaluate the root induction capacity of Tectona grandis L.F. plus tree sprouts using different hormone concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) selected at 30 and 60 days. A completely randomized design (CRD) with seven treatments, four replicates, and three experimental units per replicate was used to determine statistical differences between treatments. The best results for rooting of teak shoots were observed in treatment T5 (500 mg kg-1 of IBA) with an average of three roots per plant, T1 (control), and T7 (1500 mg kg-1 of IBA) with an average of four leaves per plant. The highest survival rates were observed in T2 (500 mg kg-1 of NAA) and T7 (1500 mg kg-1 of IBA) with 58.33% and in T1 (control), T2 (500 mg kg-1 of NAA) 50% rooting was obtained after 60 days. Although no differences were observed between treatments, the numerical differences allowed to observe that the use of auxins promotes rooting and survival of the shoots of adult trees of T. grandis and opens the possibility of propagation and cloning strategies for this species. This study provides valuable knowledge on vegetative propagation, breeding and conservation of forest species, which is relevant for academia, public and private sectors.

Close-kin mark-recapture informs critically endangered terrestrial mammal status

Reliable information on population size is fundamental to the management of threatened species. For wild species, mark-recapture methods are a cornerstone of abundance estimation. Here, we show the first application of the close-kin mark-recapture (CKMR) method to a terrestrial species of high conservation value; the Christmas Island flying-fox (CIFF). The CIFF is the island's last remaining native terrestrial mammal and was recently listed as critically endangered. CKMR is a powerful tool for estimating the demographic parameters central to CIFF management and circumvents the complications arising from the species’ cryptic nature, mobility, and difficult-to-survey habitat. To this end, we used genetic data from 450 CIFFs captured between 2015 and 2019 to detect kin pairs. We implemented a novel CKMR model that estimates sex-specific abundance, trend, and mortality and accommodates observations from the kin-pair distribution of male reproductive skew and mate persistence. CKMR estimated CIFF total adult female abundance to be approximately 2050 individuals (95% CI (950, 4300)). We showed that on average only 23% of the adult male population contributed to annual reproduction and strong evidence for between-year mate fidelity, an observation not previously quantified for a Pteropus species in the wild. Critically, our population estimates provide the most robust understanding of the status of this critically endangered population, informing immediate and future conservation initiatives.