Reconstructing Druze population history

The Druze are an aggregate of communities in the Levant and Near East living almost exclusively in the mountains of Syria, Lebanon and Israel whose ~1000 year old religion formally opposes mixed marriages and conversions. Despite increasing interest in genetics of the population structure of the Druze, their population history remains unknown. We investigated the genetic relationships between Israeli Druze and both modern and ancient populations. We evaluated our findings in light of three hypotheses purporting to explain Druze history that posit Arabian, Persian or mixed Near Eastern-Levantine roots. The biogeographical analysis localised proto-Druze to the mountainous regions of southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq and southeast Syria and their descendants clustered along a trajectory between these two regions. The mixed Near Eastern-Middle Eastern localisation of the Druze, shown using both modern and ancient DNA data, is distinct from that of neighbouring Syrians, Palestinians and most of the Lebanese, who exhibit a high affinity to the Levant. Druze biogeographic affinity, migration patterns, time of emergence and genetic similarity to Near Eastern populations are highly suggestive of Armenian-Turkish ancestries for the proto-Druze

Genetic variability of the grey wolf Canis lupus in the Caucasus in comparison with Europe and the Middle East: distinct or intermediary population?

Despite continuous historical distribution of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) throughout Eurasia, the species displays considerable morphological differentiation that resulted in delimitation of a number of subspecies. However, these morphological discontinuities are not always consistent with patterns of genetic differentiation. Here we assess genetic distinctiveness of grey wolves from the Caucasus (a region at the border between Europe and West Asia) that have been classified as a distinct subspecies C. l. cubanensis. We analysed their genetic variability based on mtDNA control region, microsatellite loci and genome-wide SNP genotypes (obtained for a subset of the samples), and found similar or higher levels of genetic diversity at all these types of loci as compared with other Eurasian populations. Although we found no evidence for a recent genetic bottleneck, genome-wide linkage disequilibrium patterns suggest a long-term demographic decline in the Caucasian population – a trend consistent with other Eurasian populations. Caucasian wolves share mtDNA haplotypes with both Eastern European and West Asian wolves, suggesting past or ongoing gene flow. Microsatellite data also suggest gene flow between the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. We found evidence for moderate admixture between the Caucasian wolves and domestic dogs, at a level comparable with other Eurasian populations. Taken together, our results show that Caucasian wolves are not genetically isolated from other Eurasian populations, share with them the same demographic trends, and are affected by similar conservation problems

Phylogeography of Sardinian Cave Salamanders (Genus Hydromantes) Is Mainly Determined by Geomorphology

Detecting the factors that determine the interruption of gene flow between populations is key to understanding how speciation occurs. In this context, caves are an excellent system for studying processes of colonization, differentiation and speciation, since they represent discrete geographical units often with known geological histories. Here, we asked whether discontinuous calcareous areas and cave systems represent major barriers to gene flow within and among the five species of Sardinian cave salamanders (genus Hydromantes) and whether intraspecific genetic structure parallels geographic distance within and among caves. We generated mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences from 184 individuals representing 48 populations, and used a Bayesian phylogeographic approach to infer possible areas of cladogenesis for these species and reconstruct historical and current dispersal routes among distinct populations. Our results show deep genetic divergence within and among all Sardinian cave salamander species, which can mostly be attributed to the effects of mountains and discontinuities in major calcareous areas and cave systems acting as barriers to gene flow. While these salamander species can also occur outside caves, our results indicate that there is a very poor dispersal of these species between separate cave systems

salamander, Mertensiella caucasica in the Western Lesser Caucasus

Selection of breeding habitat plays a fundamental role in the reproductive success of urodeles and anurans. We studied the influence of water chemistry variables on the selection of a specific water resource as breeding habitat in Mertensiella caucasica. To determine the influence of water chemistry parameters on their habitat selection, we surveyed a total of 45 small river, streams and brooks in the Western Lesser Caucasus (northeastern Turkey and southwestern Georgia). The water samples taken from these localities were analyzed for 14 chemical variables and the results submitted to multiple logistic regression analysis in order to evaluate the influence of these parameters on the presence or absence of the species in the localities. Of these parameters, chloride concentration influenced the breeding habitat selection of Mertensiella caucasica significantly. To cite this article: F. Sayim et al., C. R. Biologies 332 (2009). (C) 2009 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

მესხეთში, სოფ. რუსთავის რაიონში ჩატარებული ელექტრომეტრული გამოკვლევების ინტერპრეტაცია

მესხეთში, სოფ. რუსთავის რაიონში მდ. მტკვრის ხეობაში მდებარე პლატოზე ჩატარდა გეოფიზიკური (ელექტრომეტრული) გამოკვლევები ნიადაგის წარმომქმნელი მასალის შემადგენლობის დადგენის მიზნით. გეოელექტრული ჭრილების მიხედვით გამოიყო რიგი გეოელექტრული განსაკუთრებულობებისა. დასაწყისში დაბალომიანი სუსტი სიმძლავრის ქანები, შემდეგ მაღალომიანი კარგად შემოკონტურებული წარმონაქმნი და ზოლებადი მაღალი სიმძლავრის ფენები. წარმოდგენილია ნიადაგის წარმომქმნელი მასალის ლითოლოგიური შემადგენლობა

Phylogeography of Potamon ibericum (Brachyura: Potamidae) identifies Quaternary glacial refugia within the Caucasus biodiversity hot spot

Refugia are critical for the maintenance of biodiversity during the periods of Quaternary climatic oscillations. The long-term persistence of refugial populations in a large continuous refugium has resulted in a homogenous pattern of genetic structure among populations, while highly structured evolutionary lineages characterize the restriction of refugial populations to smaller subrefugia. These mechanisms have resulted in the identification of hot spots of biodiversity within putative glacial refugia. We studied phylogeography of Potamon ibericum (Brachyura: Potamidae) in the drainages of the western Caucasus biodiversity hot spot (i.e., Colchis and the Caucasus) to infer spatial genetic structure and potential refugia for a freshwater crab in this region. These areas have traditionally considered as a refugium due to the presence of Tertiary relict species. We integrated population genetic data and historical demographic analysis from cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences and paleoclimatic data from species distribution modeling (SDM). The results revealed the lack of phylogeographic structure and provided evidence for demographic expansion. The SDM presented a rather homogenous and large refugium that extended from northeast Turkey to Colchis during the last glacial period. In contrast to these findings, previous phylogeographic study on P.ibericum of the eastern Caucasus biodiversity hot spot (i.e., Hyrcania) identified multiple independent refugia. By combining these results, we explain the significance of this important western Palearctic hot spot of biological diversity in shaping the geographic distribution of intraspecific genetic diversity in a freshwater taxon

Distinguishing Dielectric Weakly Different Areas With Anthropogenic Influence in Homogeneous Continental Soil Layers

ერთგვაროვან კონტინენტალურ ნიადაგის ფენებში ანთროპოგენული ჩარევით შექმნილი დიელექტრიკულად სუსტად განსხვავებული სივრცეების დაფიქსირება გეორადიოლოკაციის მეთოდით სავსებით შესაძლებელია.გეორადიოლოკაცია, სუსტად კონტრასული დიელექტრიკული გარემო.Distinguishing dielectric weakly different areas with anthropogenic influence in homogeneous continental soil layers is possible by GPRmethod

Subsurface Monitoring Near Surface Repositories / Storages of Aggressive Substances in Seismically Active Territories

მომწამლავ ან რადიოაქტიურ სამარხ/საცავთა მონიტორინგი საშუალებას იძლევა გამოავლინოს მიწისქვეშა განთავსების ნაგებობების მდგომარეობის მთლიანობის დარღვევის ნიშნები დააფიქსიროს და დაადგინოს მათი უარყოფითი გავლენა. სამარხ/საცავთა არაინვაზიური მონიტორინგის საშუალებას იძლევა ისეთი მძლავრი გეოფიზიკური მეთოდი, როგორიც არის გეორადიოლოკაცია. საქართველოში გეორადიოლოკაციური მეთოდით გეორადარ “Zond 12e”-ის გამოყენებით, მონიტორინგის მიზნით, გამოკვლეულ იქნა გარემოს დამაბინძურებელი მასალების სამარხ/საცავი და აღმოჩენილ იქნა კონსტრუქციის მთლიანობის დარღვევის ნიშნები. შესაბამისი ორგანოების მიერ დაზიანებულ სამარხ/საცავებში გატარებული სარემონტო ღონისძიებების შედეგად, შემცირებულ იქნა გარემოს დაბინძურების რისკის საშიშროება.Мониторинг ядовитых или радиоактивных захоронений / хранилищ позволяет обнаружить признаки нарушения конструкционной целостности подземных хранилищ и выявить возможность их негативного влияния на окружающую среду. В данном случае использовался мощный геофизический метод, такой, как георадиолокация, который является неинвазивным методом мониторинга подземных конструкций, в том числе и захоронений / хранилищ. В Восточной Грузии метод георадиолокации, с использованием георадара «Zond 12e», применялся для мониторинга захоронения / хранилища загрязнителей окружающей среды с целью идентификации части подземных конструкций. В следствии заключения георадиолокационного мониторинга риск загрязнения окружающей среды был уменьшен после проведения соответствующих ремонтных работ над захоронением / хранилищем.Monitoring of toxic or radioactive burial sites / storages allows to detect signs of violation of the structural integrity of underground storages and to identify the possibility of their negative impact on the environment. In this en_US case, we used a powerful geophysical method, such as GPR, which is a non-invasive method for monitoring underground structures including burials / storages. In Eastern Georgia, the GPR method using “Zond 12e” georadar was used to monitor the burial / storage of environmental pollutants in order to identify part of underground structures. Due to the conclusion of GPR monitoring, the risk of environmental pollution was reduced after the corresponding repair work on the burial / storage site