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Streptococcus ursoris sp. nov., isolated from oral cavities of bears.
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2010 Feb 5;
Authors: Shinozaki-Kuwahara N, Takada K, Hirasawa M
Three Gram-positive, catalase-negative; coccus-shaped organisms were isolated from the oral cavities of bears. The isolates were tentatively identified as a streptococcal species based on the results of biochemical tests. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies confirmed that the organisms are members of the genus Streptococcus, but they did not correspond to any previously identified species of the genus Streptococcus. The nearest phylogenetic relatives of the isolates were Streptococcus ratti (98.6%), however, DNA-DNA hybridization analysis showed that the isolates displayed less than 15% relatedness with the type strain of S. ratti. The colonies of these strains were grown on Mitis Salivarius agar and showed an extracellular polysaccharide-producing colony morphology. Based on phenotypic and phylogenetic evidence, it is proposed that these isolates be classified in the genus Streptococcus, as Streptococcus ursoris sp. nov. The type strain of S. ursoris is NUM 1615T (=JCM 16361T, =DSM 22768T).
PMID: 20139281 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Rapidly Shifting Baselines in Yangtze Fishing Communities and Local Memory of Extinct Species.
Conserv Biol. 2010 Jan 7;
Authors: Turvey ST, Barrett LA, Yujiang H, Lei Z, Xinqiao Z, Xianyan W, Yadong H, Kaiya Z, Hart T, Ding W
Local ecological knowledge can provide a unique source of data for conservation, especially in efforts to investigate the status of rare or possibly extinct species, but it is unlikely to remain constant over time. Loss of perspective about past ecological conditions caused by lack of communication between generations may create "shifting baseline syndrome," in which younger generations are less aware of local species diversity or abundance in the recent past. This phenomenon has been widely discussed, but has rarely been examined quantitatively. We present new evidence of shifting baselines in local perception of regional species declines and on the duration of "community memory" of extinct species on the basis of extensive interviews with fishers in communities across the middle-lower Yangtze basin. Many Yangtze species have experienced major declines in recent decades, and the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) and Yangtze paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) may have become extinct during the 21(st) century. Although informants across all age classes were strongly aware of the Yangtze ecosystem's escalating resource depletion and environmental degradation, older informants were more likely to recognize declines in two commercially important fish species, Reeves' shad (Tenualosa reevesii) and Yangtze pufferfish (Takifugu fasciatus), and to have encountered baiji and paddlefish in the past. Age was also a strong predictor of whether informants had even heard of baiji or paddlefish, with younger informants being substantially less likely to recognize either species. A marked decrease in local knowledge about the Yangtze freshwater megafauna matched the time of major population declines of these species from the 1970s onwards, and paddlefish were already unknown to over 70% of all informants below the age of 40 and to those who first started fishing after 1995. This rapid rate of cultural baseline shift suggests that once even megafaunal species cease to be encountered on a fairly regular basis, they are rapidly forgotten by local communities.
PMID: 20067488 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Erratum to: Prey selection by resident common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida
Captive-born intergeneric hybrid of a Guiana and bottlenose dolphin: Sotalia guianensisxTursiops truncatus.
Zoo Biol. 2009 Dec 23;
Authors: Caballero S, Baker CS
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) live in sympatry along the Caribbean Coast of Central and South America and social interactions between these species have been described in the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica, including sexual encounters. Here we examine and document the only known hybridization event between a male Guiana dolphin and a female bottlenose dolphin, in captivity at Oceanario Islas del Rosario (Colombian Caribbean), using photographic and genetic evidence from mitochondrial DNA markers and nuclear autosomal introns. Zoo Biol 00:1-11, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
PMID: 20033990 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
