DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy of dark-footed forest shrew Myosorex cafer in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

CITATION: Matamba, Emmanuel et al. 2020. DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy of dark-footed forest shrew Myosorex cafer in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Vertebrate Zoology, 70(4):667, doi:10.26049/VZ70-4-2020-08.The original article is available at: https://www.researchgate.netThere is a paucity of molecular DNA barcoding informatics on the South African fauna, particularly on terrestrial small mammals. This study tested the utility of DNA barcoding in the dark-footed forest shrew (Myosorex cafer) from forested regions of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Sampled forests included coastal scarp, dune forests and inland Afromontane mistbelt forests. Sequences of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI, 623 bp), were generated for a total of 78 specimens representing Myosorex cafer (n = 72), Myosorex varius (n = 2), Crocidura cyanea (n = 2) and C. mariquensis (n = 2). Due to the fragmented nature of these forests, we also investigated the cranial morphology of Myosorex cafer, which is strictly confined to forests. Analyses of sequence data produced phylogenetic trees that were consistent with morphological identifications. Genetic data suggest that the movement of these animals between other forest types and the Amatole mistbelt forests has been restricted, as they are too far west of scarp forests to have been recolonized by them. This is the first study that supplies COI sequences of a South African Myosorex species, thus increasing the availability of DNA barcodes of South African small mammals on BOLD.Publisher's versio

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF WELL PRODUCTION BY POETTMANN AND CARPENTER CORRELATION AND CHOICE OF AN ACTIVATION MODE. CASE OF THE KINKASI-C1 WELL IN THE KINKASI FIELD

With a strong focus on optimizing the performance of a producing well, our work performs a nodal analysis of the subsurface production subsystem. Using data from the Kinkasi-C1 well on the Kinkasi field, producing in the Vermelha, it analyses the elements of this subsystem, focusing on the analysis of head losses in the production tubing. Knowing the daily production rate and having determined the inflow performance relationship (reservoir pressure and physical properties of the fluids), the wellhead pressure that was lacking was determined. Starting from the pressure node at the bottom of the well, the Poettmann & Carpenter correlation provided us with the head losses along the tubing and, in turn, the wellhead pressure for the company's daily flow rate. Given that this correlation requires tedious calculations, we used Java programming to develop software to support its calculation algorithm. After this stage, the possibility of producing more with or without activation was studied. By prioritizing oil production, activation by pumping, more specifically using an ESP, was the appropriate means of optimizing KK-C1's performance

The role of bats in the biological control of pests from macadamia orchards in Limpopo Province, South Africa

MSc (Zoology)Department of ZoologySee the attached abstract belo

DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy of dark-footed forest shrew Myosorex cafer in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

There is a paucity of molecular DNA barcoding informatics on the South African fauna, particularly on terrestrial small mammals. This study tested the utility of DNA barcoding in the dark-footed forest shrew (Myosorex cafer) from forested regions of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Sampled forests included coastal scarp, dune forests and inland Afromontane mistbelt forests.  Sequences of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI, 623 bp), were generated for a total of 78 specimens representing Myosorex cafer (n  = 72), Myosorex varius (n  = 2), Crocidura cyanea (n  = 2) and C . mariquensis (n  = 2).  Due to the fragmented nature of these forests, we also investigated the cranial morphology of Myosorex cafer, which is strictly confined to forests. Analyses of sequence data produced phylogenetic trees that were consistent with morphological identifications. Genetic data suggest that the movement of these animals between other forest types and the Amatole mistbelt forests has been restricted, as they are too far west of scarp forests to have been recolonized by them. This is the first study that supplies COI sequences of a South African Myosorex species, thus increasing the availability of DNA barcodes of South African small mammals on BOLD

DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy of dark-footed forest shrew Myosorex cafer in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

There is a paucity of molecular DNA barcoding informatics on the South African fauna, particularly on terrestrial small mammals. This study tested the utility of DNA barcoding in the dark-footed forest shrew (Myosorex cafer) from forested regions of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. Sampled forests included coastal scarp, dune forests and inland Afromontane mistbelt forests.  Sequences of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI, 623 bp), were generated for a total of 78 specimens representing Myosorex cafer (n  = 72), Myosorex varius (n  = 2), Crocidura cyanea (n  = 2) and C . mariquensis (n  = 2).  Due to the fragmented nature of these forests, we also investigated the cranial morphology of Myosorex cafer, which is strictly confined to forests. Analyses of sequence data produced phylogenetic trees that were consistent with morphological identifications. Genetic data suggest that the movement of these animals between other forest types and the Amatole mistbelt forests has been restricted, as they are too far west of scarp forests to have been recolonized by them. This is the first study that supplies COI sequences of a South African Myosorex species, thus increasing the availability of DNA barcodes of South African small mammals on BOLD

DNA barcoding of the mesic adapted striped mouse, Rhabdomys dilectus in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa

Abstract South African small mammals are under-represented in DNA barcoding efforts, particularly from the eastern forested regions of the country. This study reports DNA barcoding of Rhabdomys taxa from previously unsampled parts of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. The complete mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene was sequenced for 101 Rhabdomys sp. individuals from 16 localities from all three main forest groups (coastal, mistbelt, and scarp forests). Molecular data were supplemented with external morphological measurements, including those deemed potential taxonomically diagnostic characters. Findings indicate the area to be inhabited solely by Rhabdomys dilectus chakae. Haplotypes distributed across the three forest groups were separated by shallow sequence divergences ranging from 0.001–0.015 (Kimura 2-parameter model) and displayed very little population genetic structure (FST= 0.071787). Morphological data revealed some regional metric differences in external morphology, but all the head-and-body to tail (HB: tail) ratios match that of R. d. chakae, and consequently, molecular and morphological data are congruent. These data confirm a range extension of R. d. chakae, supporting the utility of COI barcodes in the identification of small mammalian species