High levels of population genetic differentiation in the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a widely distributed species across coastal and brackish areas of the Neotropical region of the Americas and the Greater Antilles. Available information on patterns of genetic differentiation in C. acutus shows a complex structuring influenced by interspecific interactions (mainly hybridization) and anthropogenic actions (mostly historical hunting, recent poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, and unintentional translocation of individuals). In this study, we used data on mitochondrial DNA control region and 11 nuclear polymorphic microsatellite loci to assess the degree of population structure of C. acutus in South America, North America, Central America and the Greater Antilles. We used traditional genetic differentiation indices, Bayesian clustering and multivariate methods to create a more comprehensive picture of the genetic relationships within the species across its range. Analyses of mtDNA and microsatellite loci show evidence of a strong population genetic structure in the American crocodile, with unique populations in each sampling locality. Our results support previous findings showing large degrees of genetic differentiation between the continental and the Greater Antillean C. acutus. We report three new haplotypes unique to Venezuela, which are considerably less distant from the Central and North American haplotypes than to the Greater Antillean ones. Our findings reveal genetic population differentiation between Cuban and Jamaican C. acutus and offer the first evidence of strong genetic differentiation among the populations of Greater Antillean C. acutus

Autonomous learning of the bioinorganic chemistry and biomaterials laboratory and characterisation techniques used through the use of e-learning tools. Enhancing the understanding of students with disabilities, hearing difficulties or foreigners

Concesión por parte de la Oficina para la Calidad de la prorroga para la entrega de la memoria del proyecto nº 52 hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2022El proyecto tiene como objetivo fundamental la elaboración de material audiovisual para la mejora de las prácticas de la asignatura de Química Bioinorgánica y Biomateriales de cuarto curso del grado en Farmacia para su satisfactorio desarrollo tanto en un escenario totalmente on-line como presencial. Para el buen desarrollo de las prácticas en el laboratorio es necesario que el alumno disponga de una información adecuada que le permita conocer los distintos aspectos del proceso experimental a realizar a través de la elaboración de una página web disponible en el campus virtual. Para ello, la práctica habitual es utilizar un manual de prácticas de laboratorio en el que se aporta información sobre conceptos básicos, material a utilizar, procedimiento experimental, seguridad, etc… de cada práctica. Hay tres aspectos de gran importancia desde el punto de vista formativo: 1) afianzar bien los conceptos básicos en los que se apoya el trabajo experimental posterior, 2) el manejo de los software que permitan el tratamiento de los resultados e interpretación de los datos utilizando herramientas e-learning y 3) facilitar la comprensión de los dos objetivos anteriores a personas con discapacidades auditivas y/o idioma incluyendo subtítulos en español e inglés en los videos elaborados. En dicha elaboración se tendrá muy en cuenta, la inclusión de los alumnos con diversidad presentando dicha información de manera visual, estructurada, secuencial y en pasos ordenados. Estas herramientas de aprendizaje estarán dirigidas inicialmente a los alumnos de cursos superiores del Grado en Farmacia, Química, Ingeniería de Materiales y Máster Universitario en Biomateriales por lo que para comprobar su impacto y eficacia seleccionaemos a estudiantes de los departamentos implicados antes de ponerlos a disposición de los alumnos. Este proyecto se basa en tres Competencias transversales instrumentales del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES): Comunicación oral y escrita en la/s lengua/s materna/s, Comunicación en lengua extranjera, y Utilización de las Tecnologías de la información y la Comunicación (TIC) en el ámbito de estudio y contexto profesional. Estas competencias son clave para el desarrollo académico y profesional de los alumnos/as, especialmente para alumnos/as con algún tipo de discapacidad. Creemos que, mediante este proyecto, se realiza un esfuerzo para mejorar la inclusión de estos alumnos/as tanto en un contexto online como presencial en un laboratorio de Química. Por las razones anteriormente expuestas, un grupo de profesores de los Departamentos de Química en Ciencias Farmacéuticas y el de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular se propone elaborar un material didáctico que permita el autoaprendizaje del alumno en la parte experimental de la asignatura optativa de Química Bioinorgánica y Biomateriales del Grado en Farmacia, si bien, este material también será de utilidad para complementar otras asignaturas presentes en los Grados de Biología o de Ingeniería de Materiales e, incluso en el Máster en Biomateriales de la UCM.The main objective of the project is the development of audiovisual material to improve the practices of the Bioinorganic Chemistry and Biomaterials subject in the fourth year of the degree in Pharmacy for its satisfactory development both in a fully online and on-site scenario. For the good development of the laboratory practicals it is necessary that the student has adequate information that allows him/her to know the different aspects of the experimental process to be carried out through the development of a web page available on the virtual campus. To this end, the usual practice is to use a laboratory practice manual which provides information on basic concepts, materials to be used, experimental procedure, safety, etc., for each practice. There are three aspects of great importance from the training point of view: 1) to consolidate the basic concepts on which the subsequent experimental work is based, 2) the use of software that allows the processing of the results and interpretation of the data using e-learning tools and 3) to facilitate the understanding of the two previous objectives for people with hearing and/or language disabilities by including subtitles in Spanish and English in the videos produced. The inclusion of students with diversity will be taken into account in the elaboration of the videos by presenting the information in a visual, structured, sequential and orderly manner. These learning tools will initially be aimed at students in the upper years of the Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacy, Chemistry, Materials Engineering and the Master's Degree in Biomaterials, so in order to check their impact and effectiveness we will select students from the departments involved before making them available to students. This project is based on three transversal instrumental competences of the European Higher Education Area: Oral and written communication in the mother tongue(s), Communication in a foreign language, and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the field of study and professional context. These competences are key for the academic and professional development of students, especially for students with disabilities. We believe that, through this project, an effort is being made to improve the inclusion of these students both in an online and face-to-face context in a chemistry laboratory. For the above reasons, a group of lecturers from the Departments of Chemistry in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology propose to develop a teaching material that allows students to learn by themselves in the experimental part of the optional subject of Bioinorganic Chemistry and Biomaterials of the Degree in Pharmacy, although this material will also be useful to complement other subjects in the Degrees in Biology or Materials Engineering and even in the Master's Degree in Biomaterials of the University of Valencia, where it will also be useful to complement other subjects in the Degrees in Biology or Materials Engineering and even in the Master's Degree in Biomaterials of the Universidad Complutense.Depto. de Química en Ciencias FarmacéuticasFac. de FarmaciaFALSEunpu

High levels of population genetic differentiation in the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

Abstract The American crocodile ( Crocodylus acutus ) is a widely distributed species across coastal and brackish areas of the Neotropical region of the Americas and the Greater Antilles. Available information on patterns of genetic differentiation in C. acutus shows a complex structuring influenced by interspecific interactions (mainly hybridization) and anthropogenic actions (mostly historical hunting, recent poaching and unintentional translocation of individuals). Moreover, recent work suggests C. acutus as a complex of cryptic species with preliminary proposals for taxonomic reassignment. Until recently, most population genetics research has primarily focused on present hybrid zones with other new world crocodilians . In this study, we used data on mitochondrial DNA control region and 11 nuclear polymorphic microsatellite loci to assess the degree of population structure of C. acutus in South America, North America, Central America and the Greater Antilles. We used traditional genetic differentiation indices, Bayesian clustering and multivariate methods to create a more comprehensive picture of the genetic relationships within the species across its range. Analyses of mtDNA and microsatellite loci show evidence of strong population genetic structure in the American crocodile, with unique populations in each sampling locality. Our results support previous findings showing large degrees of genetic differentiation between the continental and the Greater Antillean C. acutus. We report three new haplotypes unique to Venezuela, which are considerably less distant from the Central and North American haplotypes than to the Greater Antillean ones. Our findings reveal genetic population differentiation between Cuban and Jamaican C. acutus and offer the first evidence of strong genetic differentiation among the populations of Greater Antillean C. acutus. The information generated here is crucial for local and regional planning and conservation of the species, and contributes to the ongoing discussion on potential taxonomic revision for C. acutus .</jats:p

Spatial heterogeneity in the mediterranean biodiversity hotspot affects barcoding accuracy of its freshwater fishes

Incomplete knowledge of biodiversity remains a stumbling block for conservation planning and even occurs within globally important Biodiversity Hotspots (BH). Although technical advances have boosted the power of molecular biodiversity assessments, the link between DNA sequences and species and the analytics to discriminate entities remain crucial. Here, we present an analysis of the first DNA barcode library for the freshwater fish fauna of the Mediterranean BH (526 spp.), with virtually complete species coverage (498 spp., 98percent extant species). In order to build an identification system supporting conservation, we compared species determination by taxonomists to multiple clustering analyses of DNA barcodes for 3165 specimens. The congruence of barcode clusters with morphological determination was strongly dependent on the method of cluster delineation, but was highest with the general mixed Yule-coalescent (GMYC) model-based approach (83percent of all species recovered as GMYC entity). Overall, genetic morphological discontinuities suggest the existence of up to 64 previously unrecognized candidate species. We found reduced identification accuracy when using the entire DNA-barcode database, compared with analyses on databases for individual river catchments. This scale effect has important implications for barcoding assessments and suggests that fairly simple identification pipelines provide sufficient resolution in local applications. We calculated Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered scores in order to identify candidate species for conservation priority and argue that the evolutionary content of barcode data can be used to detect priority species for future IUCN assessments. 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