Paleodiversity of the Superfamily Ursoidea (Carnivora, Mammalia) in the Spanish Neogene, related to environmental changes

In the present study we analyse the diversity of the Superfamily Ursoidea during the Neogene of the Iberian Peninsula to further compare it with that of the Neogene of Western Europe to find the different associations of this group. The results indicate that both the diversity and the taxonomy amongst these two regions show important variations, thus letting their interpretation in terms of climatic differentiation. We might relate variations in the abundance of the Ursoidea to the environmental fluctuations taking place during the Miocene and Pliocene. Therefore, they could enable us to reach the assessment of these biogeographical distributions in order to deduce the preferential niches of each different group of Ursoidea.En este trabajo se analiza la diversidad de la Superfamilia Ursoidea durante el Neógeno de la Península Ibérica, comparándola con la de Europa Occidental de la misma época, con el objetivo de localizar las diferentes asociaciones de los miembros de este grupo. Los resultados indican que tanto la diversidad como la taxonomía varían considerablemente entre las dos regiones estudiadas pudiendo interpretarse en tér­minos de diferenciación climática. Estas variaciones en la abundancia de Ursoidea se pueden relacionar con las fluctuaciones ambientales que tuvieron lugar durante el Mioceno y el Plioceno. Por tanto, nos ayudarán a evaluar las causas de estas distribuciones biogeográficas y a encontrar los nichos preferentes de cada uno de los diferentes grupos de Ursoidea

Musteloidea (Carnivora, Mammalia) del Mioceno Superior de Venta del Moro (Valencia, España)

The purpose of the present work is to describe the Musteloidea from the Late Miocene locality of Venta del Moro (Valencia, Spain). We have identified the following species: Martes ginsburgi nov. sp., Lutra affinis Gervais, 1859, Plesiogulo monspessulanus Viret, 1939 and Promephitis alexejewi Schlosser, 1924. Besides Plesiogulo monspessulanus which was already described in this locality and in Las Casiones (MN 13, Teruel Basin), we are approaching an unedited Musteloidea assemblage from the Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula. The m1 of Martes ginsburgi nov. sp. is similar in size and morphology to the Asian species of the genus, M. anderssoni and M. zdanskyi, but it differs in having a very wide M1 with a developed lingual platform. The presence of Lutra affinis is the third register of this species in the fossil record, since it was only previously known from the Pliocene of Montpellier (France) and the terminal Miocene of Maramena (Greece). Promephitis alexejewi is the first appearance of this species in Europe, which has been only registered until now in several localities of Mongolia and China. It differs from the rest of Promephitis species in the possession of a narrower m1, with a very sectorial trigonid.Se describen los Musteloidea procedentes del Mioceno terminal (MN13) de Venta del Moro (Valencia, España). Se han determinado los siguientes taxones: Martes ginsburgi nov. sp., Lutra affinis Gervais, 1859, Plesiogulo monspessulanus Viret, 1939 y Promephitis alexejewi Schlosser, 1924. Exceptuando a P. monspessulanus, que ya se ha citado también en la MN13 de Las Casiones (Teruel), se trata de una asociación inédita en el Mioceno de la Península Ibérica. Martes ginsburgi nov. sp. se asemeja en talla y morfología del m1 a las especies asiáticas del mismo género M. anderssoni y M. zdanskyi, pero se diferencia de ellas por la posesión del un M1 muy ancho, con una plataforma lingual muy desarrollada. La presencia de Lutra affinis supone la tercera cita de esta especie en el registro fósil, ya que sólo se conocía en el Plioceno de Montpellier (Francia) y en el Mioceno terminal de Maramena (Grecia). Promephitis alexejewi supone la primera cita para Europa de esta especie registrada hasta ahora sólo en dos yacimientos de Mongolia y China. Se diferencia del resto de especies afines por la posesión de un m1 más estrecho, con trigónido muy sectorial

Phylogeny of the order Zoantharia (Anthozoa, Hexacorallia) based on the mitochondrial ribosomal genes

Zoantharia (or Zoanthidea) is the third largest order of Hexacorallia, characterised by two rows of tentacles, one siphonoglyph and a colonial way of life. Current systematics of Zoantharia is based exclusively on morphology and follows the traditional division of the group into the two suborders Brachycnemina and Macrocnemina, each comprising several poorly defined genera and species. To resolve the phylogenetic relationships among Zoantharia, we have analysed the sequences of mitochondrial 16S and 12S rRNA genes obtained from 24 specimens, representing two suborders and eight genera. In view of our data, Brachycnemina appears as a monophyletic group diverging within the paraphyletic Macrocnemina. The macrocnemic genus Epizoanthus branches as the sister group to all other Zoantharia that are sampled. All examined genera are monophyletic, except Parazoanthus, which comprises several independently branching clades and individual sequences. Among Parazoanthus, some groups of species can be defined by particular insertion/deletion patterns in the DNA sequences. All these clades show specificity to a particular type of substrate such as sponges or hydrozoans. Substrate specificity is also observed in zoantharians living on gorgonians or anthipatharians, as in the genus Savalia (Gerardia). If confirmed by further studies, the substrate specificity could be used as reliable character for taxonomic identification of some Macrocnemin

Seria Anastrepha obliqua hospedeiro natural dos parasitoides nativos Doryctobracon crawfordi e Opius hirtus?

Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a preferência de oviposição e desenvolvimento dos parasitoides D. crawfordi e O. hirtus sobre larvas de 3º instar de Anastrepha obliqua (Mcquart) e Anastrepha ludens (Loew)

Fibrosarcoma esplénico primario en un perro

Se describe un caso de fibrosarcoma esplénico primario, con metástasis múltiples, en un perro mestizo macho, de ocho años de edad. Clínicamente el animal presentaba un cuadro de insuficiencia hepática. Mediante la necropsia y el estudio histológico se llegó al diagnóstico definitivo.A case of primary splenic fibrosarcoma, with multiple metastasis, in a male eight-year old mixed-breed dog is described. The animal showed clinical signs corresponding with an hepatic failure. Necropsy and a subsequent histopathologic study lead to the final diagnosis

Geophysical and geochemical signatures of Gulf of Mexico seafloor brines

International audienceGeophysical, temperature, and discrete depth-stratified geochemical data illustrate differences between an actively venting mud volcano and a relatively quiescent brine pool in the Gulf of Mexico along the continental slope. Geophysical data, including laser-line scan mosaics and sub-bottom profiles, document the dynamic nature of both environments. Temperature profiles, obtained by lowering a CTD into the brine fluid, show that the venting brine was at least 10°C warmer than the bottom water. At the brine pool, thermal stratification was observed and only small differences in stratification were documented between three sampling times (1991, 1997 and 1998). In contrast, at the mud volcano, substantial temperature variability was observed, with the core brine temperature being slightly higher than bottom water (by 2°C) in 1997 but substantially higher than bottom water (by 19°C) in 1998. Detailed geochemical samples were obtained in 2002 using a device called the "brine trapper" and concentrations of dissolved gases, major ions and nutrients were determined. Both brines contained about four times as much salt as seawater and steep concentration gradients of dissolved ions and nutrients versus brine depth were apparent. Differences in the concentrations of calcium, magnesium and potassium between the two brine fluids suggest that the fluids are derived from different sources, have different dilution/mixing histories, or that brine-sediment reactions are more important at the mud volcano. Substantial concentrations of methane, ammonium, and silicate were observed in both brines, suggesting that fluids expelled from deep ocean brines are important sources of these constituents to the surrounding environment

No Drama: Key Elements to the Success of an HIV/STI-Prevention Mass-Media Campaign

We qualitatively examined gay men’s reactions to the national “Drama Downunder” HIV/STI social marketing campaign targeting gay men in Australia to identify key campaign elements that underpinned the demonstrated effectiveness of the campaign. We present findings from six qualitative focus groups held with 49 participants as part of the evaluation of the sexual-health-promotion campaign over 2008–2009. Participants identified attention-grabbing images, a humorous approach, positive and simple tailored messaging, and the use of mainstream media as campaign features crucial in normalizing sexual health testing, driving campaign engagement, and ensuring high message exposure. Our results suggest that designers of future campaigns should strive to balance positive and negative campaign images and messages, and find new ways to engage men with sexual health topics, particularly younger gay men. We discuss the implications of our findings about campaign effectiveness for future health-promotion campaigns and message design

Global relationship between phytoplankton diversity and productivity in the ocean

The shape of the productivity–diversity relationship (PDR) for marine phytoplankton has been suggested to be unimodal, that is, diversity peaking at intermediate levels of productivity. However, there are few observations and there has been little attempt to understand the mechanisms that would lead to such a shape for planktonic organisms. Here we use a marine ecosystem model together with the community assembly theory to explain the shape of the unimodal PDR we obtain at the global scale. The positive slope from low to intermediate productivity is due to grazer control with selective feeding, which leads to the predator-mediated coexistence of prey. The negative slope at high productivity is due to seasonal blooms of opportunist species that occur before they are regulated by grazers. The negative side is only unveiled when the temporal scale of the observation captures the transient dynamics, which are especially relevant at highly seasonal latitudes. Thus selective predation explains the positive side while transient competitive exclusion explains the negative side of the unimodal PDR curve. The phytoplankton community composition of the positive and negative sides is mostly dominated by slow-growing nutrient specialists and fast-growing nutrient opportunist species, respectively.Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (FP7)Gordon and Betty Moore FoundationSpain. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Ramon y Cajal Contracts

Evaluación de las condiciones de mezcla y su influencia sobre el cloro residual entanques de compensación de un sistema de distribución de agua potable

We performed a real scale evaluation of mixing conditions and its influence on water quality in a compensation tank of drinking-water distribution system located in the city of Cali, Colombia. The hydrodynamic study with continuous injection of tracer, and temperature and free chlorine measurements for identifying the mixing regime in the tank’s interior, residence time, thermal stratification, and chlorine variations in the stored water showed the typical characteristics of a compensation tank. We concluded that water recirculation, inadequate water exchange, low moment fluxes associated with low velocity flows, and punctual thermal stratification could lead to high water age, high residence times in the tank, inadequate mixing, and important loss of free residual chlorine. The methodology developed is suitable for evaluation and optimization of compensation tanks of drinking water distribution systems.Realizamos una evaluación a escala real de las condiciones de mezcla y su influencia en la calidad del agua en un tanque de compensación del sistema de distribución de agua potable ubicado en la ciudad de Cali, Colombia. El estudio hidrodinámico con inyección continua de marcador y mediciones de temperatura y cloro libre para identificar el régimen de mezcla en el interior del tanque, el tiempo de residencia, la estratificación térmica y las variaciones de cloro en el agua almacenada mostraron las características típicas de un tanque de compensación. Llegamos a la conclusión de que la recirculación de agua, el intercambio de agua inadecuado, los flujos de momento bajos asociados con los flujos de baja velocidad y la estratificación térmica puntual podrían conducir a una alta edad del agua, tiempos de residencia elevados en el tanque, mezcla inadecuada y pérdida importante de cloro residual libre. La metodología desarrollada es adecuada para la evaluación y optimización de tanques de compensación de sistemas de distribución de agua potable