Validity, Identification, and Distribution of the Roundscale Spearfish, Tetrapturus georgii (Teleostei: Istiophoridae): Morphological and Molecular Evidence

The roundscale spearfish, Tetrapturus georgii Lowe, 1840, is known only from four specimens from the Mediterranean and eastern North Atlantic. Additional specimens have not been identified since 1961, making the validity and distribution of this species unclear. Analysis of 16 billfish specimens from the western North Atlantic on the basis of scale morphology, anus position, and mitochondrial DNA confirms the validity of this species and extends its distribution. Mid-lateral scales are soft, notably rounded anteriorly, and bear 2–3 points distinct from those of the sympatric longbill spearfish (Tetrapturus pfluegeri Robins and de Sylva, 1963) and white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus Poey, 1860). Position of anus relative to first anal fin and a related morphometric ratio (distance from anus to first anal fin origin: height of first anal fin) are intermediate between T. pfluegeri and T. albidus. These characteristics match those described by Robins (1974) from the four eastern North Atlantic specimens of T. georgii. The mitochondrial ND4L, ND4, and cyt b gene sequences strongly support reciprocal monophyly of the western North Atlantic specimens relative to other Atlantic istiophorids. The difficulty in distinguishing between morphologically similar T. georgii and T. albidus in the field and the previously unrecognized presence of T. georgii in the western North Atlantic has implications for stock assessments of T. albidus, a species that is severely overfished

The use of airborne laser scanning to develop a pixel-based stratification for a verified carbon offset project

Background The voluntary carbon market is a new and growing market that is increasingly important to consider in managing forestland. Monitoring, reporting, and verifying carbon stocks and fluxes at a project level is the single largest direct cost of a forest carbon offset project. There are now many methods for estimating forest stocks with high accuracy that use both Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) and high-resolution optical remote sensing data. However, many of these methods are not appropriate for use under existing carbon offset standards and most have not been field tested. Results This paper presents a pixel-based forest stratification method that uses both ALS and optical remote sensing data to optimally partition the variability across an ~10,000 ha forest ownership in Mendocino County, CA, USA. This new stratification approach improved the accuracy of the forest inventory, reduced the cost of field-based inventory, and provides a powerful tool for future management planning. This approach also details a method of determining the optimum pixel size to best partition a forest. Conclusions The use of ALS and optical remote sensing data can help reduce the cost of field inventory and can help to locate areas that need the most intensive inventory effort. This pixel-based stratification method may provide a cost-effective approach to reducing inventory costs over larger areas when the remote sensing data acquisition costs can be kept low on a per acre basis

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

DNA Diagnostics for Internationally Protected and Commercially Traded Shark Species

Industrial scale exploitation of sharks globally to satisfy demands of the international shark fin market have resulted in trade in a few species considered particularly sensitive being restricted or controlled by national legislation or international accord (e.g. CITES). Despite these conservation efforts, trade in these species continues because law enforcement monitoring and surveillance is hindered by substantial difficulties with identifying species of origin of detached shark body parts. Additionally, attempts to assess the impacts of the fin trade on global shark populations generally have been thwarted by the almost complete absence of reliable species specific catch and trade data, the collection of which has proven immensely problematic due to species identification problems. To improve management and conservation efforts for protected species, we present the development and application of a highly streamlined, robust, multiplex PCR assay for identification of basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus; CITES Appendix II) and sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus; protected in the U.S. and Australia) body parts in trade (Chapters 1 and 2, respectively). Furthermore, given the spatially “patchy” nature of national protective efforts for some species, identifying the geographic origin of traded products will be needed for legal enforcement and will be informative for assessing geographic trends in exploitation pressure. To this end, I present a novel, bi-organelle multiplex PCR approach that simultaneously distinguishes species and ocean-basin of origin for the sand tiger shark, and demonstrate its utility for identifying law-enforcement confiscated fins (Chapter 2). Finally, as part of a larger collaborative study with S. Clarke (National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, Japan) aimed at characterizing the impacts of the international shark fin trade on shark populations, the multi-species genetic forensic markers developed in the M. Shivji laboratory (Guy Harvey Research Institute, NSU Oceanographic Center) were used to investigate the species composition of the Hong Kong shark fin market, and report the first genetically confirmed relationship between Chinese market categories and shark species (Chapter 3)

Efficient Genetic Identification of Species and Geographic Origin of Body Parts From CITES and/or Legislatively Protected Shark Species

Heavy exploitation of sharks globally to satisfy the demands of the international fin market have resulted in trade in a few species considered particularly sensitive being restricted or controlled by national legislation or international accord (e.g. CITES). Despite these conservation efforts, however, trade in these species continues because law enforcement monitoring and surveillance is hindered by species identification problems. We present the development and application of a highly streamlined, robust, multiplex PCR assay for identification of basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus; CITES Appendix II) and sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus; protected in the U.S. and Australia) body parts in trade. Given the spatially patchy nature of national protective efforts for some species, identifying the geographic origin of the traded products will be needed for legal enforcement, and will be informative for assessing geographic trends in exploitation pressure. To this end, we will present preliminary data on development of a combined nuclear and mitochondrial locus, multiplex PCR assay that simultaneously distinguishes species and ocean-basin of origin for the sand tiger shark. The reslts suggest that if appropriate levels of population genetic structure exist, it should be possible to simultaneously determine species and population of origin of shark body parts with a single tube PCR

An Efficient Multiplex PCR Approach to Identification of Species and Geographic Origin of Body Parts from CITES Listed and / or Legislatively Protected Shark Species

Heavy exploitation of sharks globally to satisfy the demands of the international fin market have resulted in trade in a few species considered particularly sensitive being restricted or controlled by national legislation or international accord (e.g., CITES). Despite these conservation efforts, however, trade in these species continues because law enforcement monitoring and surveillance is hindered by species identification problems. We present the development and application of a highly streamlined, robust, multiplex PCR assay for identification of basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus; CITES Appendix II) and sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus; protected in the U.S. and Australia) body parts in the trade. Given the spatially “patchy” nature of national protective efforts for some species, identifying the geographic origin of the traded products will be needed for legal enforcement, and will be informative for assessing geographic trends in exploitation pressure. To this end, we will present preliminary data on development of a multiplex PCR assay that simultaneously distinguishes species and ocean-basin of origin for the sand tiger shark. (Keywords: Shark trade, DNA identification, shark fins

Applying Streamlined Genetic Identification of Shark Body Parts in U.S. Fisheries Enforcement and Monitoring Global-Scale Trade

Large declines in commercially fished shark stocks in the face of burgeoning demand for shark products, especially fins, has resulted in international concerns about sustainability and an expanded list of limited and prohibited (from fishing) shark species in the territorial waters of several countries. Additionally, because individual shark species respond differently to exploitation, there is a strong need for management and conservation efforts on a species-specific basis. Monitoring shark catch and trade and assessing population impacts by species is essentially non-existent, however, due to substantial difficulties in identification of landed shark carcasses and detached fins. Although DNA-based forensics for marine wildlife are being developed, the procedures available thus far (mainly RFLP and phylogenetic approaches) are too time-consuming and expensive for routine management, law enforcement and conservation applications. To address this issue, we have developed a highly streamlined, multiplex PCR-based approach that can discriminate between multiple (up to nine) shark species simultaneously with a single-tube PCR. We report on the diagnostic assay, and demonstrate its use in U.S. NOAA fisheries law enforcement, global scale identification of products from CITES and/or IUCN shark species of concern, and characterization of the Hong Kong shark fin trade. (Keywords: Sharks, fins, law enforcement, CITES, DNA