Annotating Archival Recordings of Hocank (Winnebago)

We describe the annotation of an existing audio corpus of Hocank, recorded in 1974-5 by Kenneth Miner. We are conducting phonetic transcription and morphological analysis of over 8000 word tokens, making these recordings more accessible for research

Metabarcoding unsorted kick‐samples facilitates macroinvertebrate‐based biomonitoring with increased taxonomic resolution, while outperforming environmental DNA

Pereira‐da‐Conceicoa, L, Elbrecht, V, Hall, A, Briscoe, A, Barber‐James, H, Price, B. Metabarcoding unsorted kick‐samples facilitates macroinvertebrate‐based biomonitoring with increased taxonomic resolution, while outperforming environmental DNA. Environmental DNA. 2020; 00: 1– 19. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.116© 2020 The Authors. Environmental DNA published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The attached file is the published pdf

Concert recording 2013-11-16b

[Track 01]. Brushstrokes on a simple field / Jeff Payne ; edited by Jacob Lee -- [Track 02]. Song among hills ; [Track 03]. Mythos unbound ; [Track 04]. Sketches on an autumn day / Jeff Payne

Diversity and Phylogeny of Novel Cord-Forming Fungi from Borneo

Cord-forming (CF) fungi are found worldwide; however, tropical CF fungi are poorly documented. They play an essential role in forest ecosystems by interconnecting nutrient resources and aiding in the decomposition of plant matter and woody litter. CF fungi samples were collected from two forest conservation sites in the Sabah region of Malaysian Borneo. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the ribosomal rRNA gene array 18S to 28S region from cords collected placed all of the collected specimens in Agaricomycetes (Basidiomycetes), specifically within the orders Trechisporales, Phallales, Hymenochaetales, Polyporales, and Agaricales. Comparison of the cord-derived sequences against GenBank and UNITE sequence databases, as well as phylogenetic analyses, revealed they were all novel sequences types. Many of these novel lineages were found to be closely related to other basidiomycetes commonly found in tropical forests, suggesting a large undiscovered tropical fungal diversity in Borneo that has been detected independently of sampling fruiting bodies. We show how these sequence types relate to the morphologies of the cords from which they were sampled. We also highlight how rapid, small-scale sampling can be a useful tool as an easy and relatively unbiased way of collecting data on cord-forming fungi in difficult-to-access, complex forest environments, independently of locating and sampling sporophores.Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor

Replacing the first-generation dentition in pufferfish with a unique beak

Teleost fishes comprise approximately half of all living vertebrates. The extreme range of diversity in teleosts is remarkable, especially, extensive morphological variation in their jaws and dentition. Some of the most unusual dentitions are found among members of the highly derived teleost order Tetraodontiformes, which includes triggerfishes, boxfishes, ocean sunfishes, and pufferfishes. Adult pufferfishes (Tetraodontidae) exhibit a distinctive parrot-like beaked jaw, forming a cutting edge, unlike in any other group of teleosts. Here we show that despite novelty in the structure and development of this “beak,” it is initiated by formation of separate first-generation teeth that line the embryonic pufferfish jaw, with timing of development and gene expression patterns conserved from the last common ancestor of osteichthyans. Most of these first-generation larval teeth are lost in development. Continuous tooth replacement proceeds in only four parasymphyseal teeth, as sequentially stacked, multigenerational, jaw-length dentine bands, before development of the functional beak. These data suggest that dental novelties, such as the pufferfish beak, can develop later in ontogeny through modified continuous tooth addition and replacement. We conclude that even highly derived morphological structures like the pufferfish beak form via a conserved developmental bauplan capable of modification during ontogeny by subtle respecification of the developmental module

Two new sympatric species of the pirate spider genus Ero C.L. Koch, 1836 from the cloud forest of Saint Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean (Araneae: Mimetidae)

A remarkable morphologically and genetically distinct species of the genus Ero C.L. Koch, 1836 is described based on both sexes from the cloud forest of the island of Saint Helena: Ero lizae sp. nov. Another new species, Ero natashae sp. nov., is also described on the basis of morphological differences in the male and female genitalia. Both species were initially reported a single species, Ero aphana (Walckenaer, 1802), from the island by Unzicker (1977)

Singing from the Grave: DNA from a 180 Year Old Type Specimen Confirms the Identity of <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> (Stephens)

<div><p>Historically serving as repositories for morphologically-based taxonomic research, natural history collections are now increasingly being targeted in studies utilizing DNA data. The development of advanced molecular techniques has facilitated extraction of useable DNA from old specimens, including type material. Sequencing diagnostic molecular markers from type material enables accurate species designation, especially where modern taxonomic hypotheses confirm morphologically cryptic species complexes. One such example is <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> (Stephens), which belongs to a complex of about 20 cryptic species, most of which can only be reliably distinguished by their pre-mating courtship songs or by DNA analysis. The subtle morphological variation in the group has led to disagreement over the previous designation of the lectotype for <i>C</i>. <i>carnea</i>, an issue that has been further compounded because <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> is a highly valued biological control agent in arable crops. Archival DNA extraction and sequencing from the 180 year old lectotype specimen, combined with Bayesian and Likelihood based phylogenetic analyses of modern specimens from the entire complex, were used to establish unambiguously the true identity of <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i>.</p></div

Lectotype of <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> (Stephens).

<p>Mounted female specimen (voucher: BMNH(E) 1239048) is shown before dissection and abdomen extraction.</p

Maximum Likelihood phylogram of the cryptic species of the <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i>-group.

<p>Phylogram is based on analysis of 1226 bp of COI sequence. Numbers at the branch points are bootstrap support (above) and Bayesian posterior probabilities (below); branch lengths are proportional to the number of substitutions per site except where indicated. Positions of the test and lectotype specimens in the phylogram are shown in red.</p

Air pollution induces Staphylococcus aureus USA300 respiratory tract colonization mediated by specific bacterial genetic responses involving the global virulence gene regulators Agr and Sae.

Funder: MRC DTP IMPACT studentshipFunder: National Centre for Atmospheric Science Air Pollution Science Training Studentship ProgrammeExposure to particulate matter (PM), a major component of air pollution, is associated with exacerbation of chronic respiratory disease, and infectious diseases such as community-acquired pneumonia. Although PM can cause adverse health effects through direct damage to host cells, our previous study showed that PM can also impact bacterial behaviour by promoting in vivo colonization. In this study we describe the genetic mechanisms involved in the bacterial response to exposure to black carbon (BC), a constituent of PM found in most sources of air pollution. We show that Staphylococcus aureus strain USA300 LAC grown in BC prior to inoculation showed increased murine respiratory tract colonization and pulmonary invasion in vivo, as well as adhesion and invasion of human epithelial cells in vitro. Global transcriptional analysis showed that BC has a widespread effect on S. aureus transcriptional responses, altering the regulation of the major virulence gene regulators Sae and Agr and causing increased expression of genes encoding toxins, proteases and immune evasion factors. Together these data describe a previously unrecognized causative mechanism of air pollution-associated infection, in that exposure to BC can increase bacterial colonization and virulence factor expression by acting directly on the bacterium rather than via the host