Improvement of the probiotic growth-stimulating capacity of microalgae extracts by pulsed electric fields treatment

This study aimed to investigate the nutritional character (carbohydrates, proteins, pigments, and phycocyanin), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the capability of simulating the growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus of different extracts from C. vulgaris and A. platensis by means of the application of conventional aqueous extraction procedure and pulsed electric field (PEF) extraction technology. It was confirmed a significantly improved nutritional profile of Chlorella and Spirulina extracts obtained by PEF technology pre-treatment (3 kV/cm, 100 kJ/kg), with specifically higher values in total carbohydrate, Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, and carotenoids content, and TAC. Additionally, Spirulina PEF extract showed a probiotic's growth-stimulating capability of 1 log10 cycle when fermented by Lactobacillus rhamnosus, with a metabolomic profile specifically rich in bioactive short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and organic acids (3-phenyl lactic acid). The present study points out the applicability of PEF extraction technology under optimized conditions to improve the nutritional and functional character of microalgae and cyanobacterial-derived ingredients

DarkCideS 1.0, a global database for bats in karsts and caves

Tanalgo, Krizler C., Tabora, John Aries G., de Oliveira, Hernani Fernandes Magalhães, Haelewaters, Danny, Beranek, Chad T., Otálora-Ardila, Aída, Bernard, Enrico, Gonçalves, Fernando, Eriksson, Alan, Donnelly, Melissa, González, Joel Monzón, Ramos, Humberto Fernández, Rivas, Alberto Clark, Webala, Paul W., Deleva, Stanimira, Dalhoumi, Ridha, Maula, Jaycelle, Lizarro, Dennis, Aguirre, Luis F., Bouillard, Nils, Quibod, Ma. Niña Regina M., Barros, Jennifer, Turcios-Casco, Manfredo Alejandro, Martínez, Marcio, Ordoñez-Mazier, Diego Iván, Orellana, José Alejandro Soler, Ordoñez-Trejo, Eduardo J., Ordoñez, Danny, Chornelia, Ada, Lu, Jian Mei, Xing, Chen, Baniya, Sanjeev, Muylaert, Renata L., Dias-Silva, Leonardo Henrique, Ruadreo, Nittaya, Hughes, Alice Catherine (2022): DarkCideS 1.0, a global database for bats in karsts and caves. Scientific Data 9 (1): 155, DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01234-4, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01234-

Rediscovery of Vampyressa thyone (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in Honduras: updated distribution and notes on its conservation

In Central America, Vampyressa is represented by two species, Vampyressa elisabethae and V. thyone. The latter is the only representative of the genus in Honduras and the most recent record was in 2007. Six surveys were carried out in the Departments of Cortés, Atlántida and Gracias a Dios. Only seven individuals of V. thyone were recorded between March 2016 and September 2017. The low abundance of V. thyone supports the fact that it is an uncommon species in the country; however, these records update the distribution in northern Honduras. We recommend systematic bat assessments on the three protected areas in which we recorded V. thyone for a better comprehension of the local populations on this species in the country

A systematic revision of the bats (Chiroptera) of Honduras: an updated checklist with corroboration of historical specimens and new records

During the last century, survey efforts for mammals in Honduras have been few and most distributional and conservation assessments of bats have been based on historical records. Taxonomy of many records has changed. Moreover, a number of supposed Honduran occurrences are based on records from bordering countries without confirmation by a Honduran voucher. Therefore, the list of bats of Honduras lacks precision. Here, we update the number of species in the country, including taxonomic changes not reflected in recent works and new records based on museum specimens. The known number of species for Honduras is 113 with seven expected (Cormura brevirostris, Lampronycteris brachyotis, Mesophylla macconnelli, Molossus coibensis, M. pretiosus, Thyroptera discifera and Trinycteris nicefori), based on records in adjoining countries. We provide a new record for Honduras of Natalus lanatus. We confirm the presence of Cynomops greenhalli and Diaemus youngii and clarify the taxonomic status of Artibeus intermedius, Chiroderma gorgasi, Eumops ferox, Gardnerycteris keenani, Lasiurus frantzii, Myotis pilosatibialis, Molossus and Pteronotus species, and Tonatia bakeri. We recommend a reassessment of the conservation status of the bats of Honduras considering recent changes and that a number of species (e.g. Choeronycteris mexicana) have not been observed since their reports in historical records. This requires an update of the taxonomic identification keys for Honduras. The updated checklist below demonstrates the high biodiversity of Honduran bats but is also an example of how poorly many groups have been studied since they were first recorded in the country

DarkCideS 1.0, a global database for bats in karsts and caves.

Understanding biodiversity patterns as well as drivers of population declines, and range losses provides crucial baselines for monitoring and conservation. However, the information needed to evaluate such trends remains unstandardised and sparsely available for many taxonomic groups and habitats, including the cave-dwelling bats and cave ecosystems. We developed the DarkCideS 1.0 ( https://darkcides.org/ ), a global database of bat caves and species synthesised from publicly available information and datasets. The DarkCideS 1.0 is by far the largest database for cave-dwelling bats, which contains information for geographical location, ecological status, species traits, and parasites and hyperparasites for 679 bat species are known to occur in caves or use caves in part of their life histories. The database currently contains 6746 georeferenced occurrences for 402 cave-dwelling bat species from 2002 cave sites in 46 countries and 12 terrestrial biomes. The database has been developed to be collaborative and open-access, allowing continuous data-sharing among the community of bat researchers and conservation biologists to advance bat research and comparative monitoring and prioritisation for conservation