Predicting Invasion Risk Using Measures of Introduction Effort and Environmental Niche Models

The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is native to east Asia, is established throughout Europe, and is introduced but geographically restricted in North America. We developed and compared two separate environmental niche models using genetic algorithm for rule set prediction (GARP) and mitten crab occurrences in Asia and Europe to predict the species\u27 potential distribution in North America. Since mitten crabs must reproduce in water with ≥15‰ salinity, we limited the potential North American range to freshwater habitats within the highest documented dispersal distance (1260 km) and a more restricted dispersal limit (354 km) from the sea. Applying the higher dispersal distance, both models predicted the lower Great Lakes, most of the eastern seaboard, the Gulf of Mexico and southern extent of the Mississippi River watershed, and the Pacific northwest as suitable environment for mitten crabs, but environmental match for southern states (below 35° N) was much lower for the European model. Use of the lower range with both models reduced the expected range, especially in the Great Lakes, Mississippi drainage, and inland areas of the Pacific Northwest. To estimate the risk of introduction of mitten crabs, the amount of reported ballast water discharge into major United States ports from regions in Asia and Europe with established mitten crab populations was used as an index of introduction effort. Relative risk of invasion was estimated based on a combination of environmental match and volume of unexchanged ballast water received (July 1999–December 2003) for major ports. The ports of Norfolk and Baltimore were most vulnerable to invasion and establishment, making Chesapeake Bay the most likely location to be invaded by mitten crabs in the United States. The next highest risk was predicted for Portland, Oregon. Interestingly, the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, which has a large shipping volume, had a low risk of invasion. Ports such as Jacksonville, Florida, had a medium risk owing to small shipping volume but high environmental match. This study illustrates that the combination of environmental niche- and vector-based models can provide managers with more precise estimates of invasion risk than can either of these approaches alone

Randomised evaluation of the Italian medicines use review provided by community pharmacists using asthma as a model (RE I-MUR)

Background The Italian Ministry of Health decided to introduce community professional services in 2010. This trial provides an opportunity to evaluate the outcomes of a new professional pharmacy service: Italian Medicines Use Review (I-MUR) aimed at reducing the severity of asthma and its associated costs. Methods/Design This is a cluster randomised controlled trial of the I-MUR service. Data will be collected over time before, during and after pharmacists’ intervention. Fifteen Italian regions will be involved and it is aimed to recruit 360 community pharmacists and 1800 patients. Each pharmacist will receive training in medicines use review, recruit five patients, administer the Asthma Control Test and provide the I-MUR service. Pharmacists will be allocated to different groups, one group will be trained in and provide the I-MUR service immediately after completion of the baseline ACT score, the other group will receive training in the I-MUR and provide this service three months later. Group allocation will be random, after stratification by region of Italy. The I-MUR service will involve gathering data following each patient consultation including demographic details, patients regular medications, including those used for asthma, their attitude towards their medications and self-reported adherence to treatments. In addition, pharmacists will identify and record pharmaceutical care issues and any advice given to patients during the I-MUR, or recommendations given to doctors. Pharmacists will upload trial data onto a web platform for analysis. The primary outcome measure is the severity of asthma before, during and after the I-MUR assessed using the Asthma Control Test score. Secondary measures: number of all active ingredients used by patients during and after the I-MUR, number of pharmaceutical care issues identified during the I-MUR, patients’ self-reported adherence to asthma medication during and after the I-MUR, healthcare costs based on the severity of asthma, before, during and after the I-MUR service provision. Discussion This study has been developed because of the need for a new way of working for pharmacists and pharmacies; it is the first trial of any community pharmacy-based pharmaceutical care intervention in Italy. The results will inform future policy and practice in Italian community pharmacy. Trial registration number ISRCTN72438848. Keywords Asthma – Medicines use review – Cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) – Community pharmac

Flexible prey handling, preference and a novel capture technique in invasive, sub-adult Chinese mitten crabs

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Ecoregional Analysis of Nearshore Sea-Surface Temperature in the North Pacific

The quantification and description of sea surface temperature (SST) is critically important because it can influence the distribution, migration, and invasion of marine species; furthermore, SSTs are expected to be affected by climate change. To better understand present temperature regimes, we assembled a 29-year nearshore time series of mean monthly SSTs along the North Pacific coastline using remotely-sensed satellite data collected with the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument. We then used the dataset to describe nearshore (<20 km offshore) SST patterns of 16 North Pacific ecoregions delineated by the Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW) hierarchical schema. Annual mean temperature varied from 3.8°C along the Kamchatka ecoregion to 24.8°C in the Cortezian ecoregion. There are smaller annual ranges and less variability in SST in the Northeast Pacific relative to the Northwest Pacific. Within the 16 ecoregions, 31–94% of the variance in SST is explained by the annual cycle, with the annual cycle explaining the least variation in the Northern California ecoregion and the most variation in the Yellow Sea ecoregion. Clustering on mean monthly SSTs of each ecoregion showed a clear break between the ecoregions within the Warm and Cold Temperate provinces of the MEOW schema, though several of the ecoregions contained within the provinces did not show a significant difference in mean seasonal temperature patterns. Comparison of these temperature patterns shared some similarities and differences with previous biogeographic classifications and the Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs). Finally, we provide a web link to the processed data for use by other researchers

Fine-Scale Genetic Structure Arises during Range Expansion of an Invasive Gecko

Processes of range expansion are increasingly important in light of current concerns about invasive species and range shifts due to climate change. Theoretical studies suggest that genetic structuring may occur during range expansion. Ephemeral genetic structure can have important evolutionary implications, such as propagating genetic changes along the wave front of expansion, yet few studies have shown evidence of such structure. We tested the hypothesis that genetic structure arises during range expansion in Hemidactylus mabouia, a nocturnal African gecko recently introduced to Florida, USA. Twelve highly variable microsatellite loci were used to screen 418 individuals collected from 43 locations from four sampling sites across Florida, representing a gradient from earlier (∼1990s) to very recent colonization. We found earlier colonized locations had little detectable genetic structure and higher allelic richness than more recently colonized locations. Genetic structuring was pronounced among locations at spatial scales of tens to hundreds of meters near the leading edge of range expansion. Despite the rapid pace of range expansion in this introduced gecko, dispersal is limited among many suitable habitat patches. Fine-scale genetic structure is likely the result of founder effects during colonization of suitable habitat patches. It may be obscured over time and by scale-dependent modes of dispersal. Further studies are needed to determine if such genetic structure affects adaptation and trait evolution in range expansions and range shifts

Identifying metabolic pathways for production of extracellular polymeric substances by the diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus inhabiting sea ice

Diatoms are significant primary producers in sea ice, an ephemeral habitat with steep vertical gradients of temperature and salinity characterizing the ice matrix environment. To cope with the variable and challenging conditions, sea ice diatoms produce polysaccharide-rich extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that play important roles in adhesion, cell protection, ligand binding and as organic carbon sources. Significant differences in EPS concentrations and chemical composition corresponding to temperature and salinity gradients were present in sea ice from the Weddell Sea and Eastern Antarctic regions of the Southern Ocean. To reconstruct the first metabolic pathway for EPS production in diatoms, we exposed Fragilariopsis cylindrus, a key bi-polar diatom species, to simulated sea ice formation. Transcriptome profiling under varying conditions of EPS production identified a significant number of genes and divergent alleles. Their complex differential expression patterns under simulated sea ice formation was aligned with physiological and biochemical properties of the cells, and with field measurements of sea ice EPS characteristics. Thus, the molecular complexity of the EPS pathway suggests metabolic plasticity in F. cylindrus is required to cope with the challenging conditions of the highly variable and extreme sea ice habitat

Transcriptome Profiling of Testis during Sexual Maturation Stages in Eriocheir sinensis Using Illumina Sequencing

The testis is a highly specialized tissue that plays dual roles in ensuring fertility by producing spermatozoa and hormones. Spermatogenesis is a complex process, resulting in the production of mature sperm from primordial germ cells. Significant structural and biochemical changes take place in the seminiferous epithelium of the adult testis during spermatogenesis. The gene expression pattern of testis in Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) has not been extensively studied, and limited genetic research has been performed on this species. The advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies enables the generation of genomic resources within a short period of time and at minimal cost. In the present study, we performed de novo transcriptome sequencing to produce a comprehensive transcript dataset for testis of E. sinensis. In two runs, we produced 25,698,778 sequencing reads corresponding with 2.31 Gb total nucleotides. These reads were assembled into 342,753 contigs or 141,861 scaffold sequences, which identified 96,311 unigenes. Based on similarity searches with known proteins, 39,995 unigenes were annotated based on having a Blast hit in the non-redundant database or ESTscan results with a cut-off E-value above 10−5. This is the first report of a mitten crab transcriptome using high-throughput sequencing technology, and all these testes transcripts can help us understand the molecular mechanisms involved in spermatogenesis and testis maturation

New Introductions, Spread of Existing Matrilines, and High Rates of Pyrethroid Resistance Result in Chronic Infestations of Bed Bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) in Lower-Income Housing

Infestations of the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) have increased substantially in the United States in the past 10-15 years. The housing authority in Harrisonburg, Virginia, conducts heat-treatments after bed bugs are detected in a lower-income housing complex, by treating each infested unit at 60°C for 4-6 hours. However, a high frequency of recurrent infestations called into question the efficacy of this strategy. Genetic analysis using Bayesian clustering of polymorphic microsatellite loci from 123 bed bugs collected from 23 units from May 2012 to April 2013 in one building indicated that (a) 16/21 (73%) infestations were genetically similar, suggesting ineffective heat-treatments or reintroductions from within the building or from a common external source, followed by local spread of existing populations; and (b) up to 5 of the infestations represented new genotypes, indicating that 5 new populations were introduced into this building in one year, assuming they were not missed in earlier screens. There was little to no gene flow among the 8 genetic clusters identified in the building. Bed bugs in the U.S. often possess one or both point mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel, termed knockdown resistance (kdr), from valine to leucine (V419L) and leucine to isoleucine (L925I) that confer target-site resistance against pyrethroid insecticides. We found that 48/121 (40%) bed bugs were homozygous for both kdr mutations (L419/I925), and a further 59% possessed at least one of the kdr mutations. We conclude that ineffective heat treatments, new introductions, reintroductions and local spread, and an exceptionally high frequency of pyrethroid resistance are responsible for chronic infestations in lower-income housing. Because heat treatments fail to protect from reintroductions, and pesticide use has not decreased the frequency of infestations, preventing new introductions and early detection are the most effective strategies to avoid bed bug infestations in multistory apartment buildings

Evaluating the potential of ecological niche modelling as a component in marine non-indigenous species risk assessments

Marine biological invasions have increased with the development of global trading, causing the homogenization of communities and the decline of biodiversity. A main vector is ballast water exchange from shipping. This study evaluates the use of ecological niche modelling (ENM) to predict the spread of 18 non-indigenous species (NIS) along shipping routes and their potential habitat suitability (hot/cold spots) in the Baltic Sea and Northeast Atlantic. Results show that, contrary to current risk assessment methods, temperature and sea ice concentration determine habitat suitability for 61% of species, rather than salinity (11%). We show high habitat suitability for NIS in the Skagerrak and Kattegat, a transitional area for NIS entering or leaving the Baltic Sea. As many cases of NIS introduction in the marine environment are associated with shipping pathways, we explore how ENM can be used to provide valuable information on the potential spread of NIS for ballast water risk assessment

Organic matter from Artic sea ice loss alters bacterial community structure and function

Continuing losses of multi-year sea ice (MYI) across the Arctic are resulting in first-year ice (FYI) dominating the Arctic ice pack. Melting FYI provides a strong seasonal pulse of dissolved organic matter (DOM) into surface waters; however, the biological impact of this DOM input is unknown. Here we show that DOM additions cause significant and contrasting changes in under-ice bacterioplankton abundance, production and species composition. Utilization of DOM was influenced by molecular size, with 10-100 kDa and >100 kDa DOM fractions promoting rapid growth of particular taxa, while uptake of sulfur and nitrogen-rich low molecular weight organic compounds shifted bacterial community composition. These results demonstrate the ecological impacts of DOM released from melting FYI, with wideranging consequences for the cycling of organic matter across regions of the Arctic Ocean transitioning from multi-year to seasonal sea ice as the climate continues to warm