Fauna of Paklenica National Park

Nacionalni park Paklenica proglašen je 19. listopada 1949. godine. Ovo područje karakterizira niz iznimnih prirodnih obilježja: geoloških, geomorfoloških, vegetacijskih i faunističkih. U Parku su brojniji beskralješnjaci, no istovremeno su i slabije istraženi i većina poznatih vrsta pripada skupinama koje su atraktivne za posjetitelje, kao što su leptiri, dok druge skupine beskralješnjaka nisu toliko istražene. Od kralješnjaka koji su mnogo bolje istraženi, u Parku su pronađene 31 vrsta vodozemaca i gmazova, 225 vrsta ptica od kojih su 102 vrste ptice gnjezdarice. Od sisavaca su zabilježene 53 vrste, od toga 16 vrsta su šišmiši. Na prostoru Parka živi i nekoliko velikih zvijeri kao što su vuk, smeđi medvjed, divlja mačka i povremeno ris. Na ovom relativno malom području postoji iznimna bioraznolikost koju vrijedi sačuvati za budućnost.National park Paklenica was declared on the October 19th 1949. This area is characterized by a series of exceptional natural features: geological, geomorphological, vegetation and fauna. Park is rich with invertebrates, but they are not researched and most of the known species belong to groups that are attractive to visitors, such as butterflies, while other groups of invertebrates are not explored. From vertebrates, who are much better explored, in the Park we can encounter 31 species of amphibians and reptiles, 225 species of birds, of which 102 species are nesting birds. In Park lives 53 species of mammals, of which 16 species of bats. In the area of Park live several large carnivores such as the wolf, bear, wildcat and occasionally bobcat. In this relatively small area there is great biodiversity worth to preserve for the future

Common Presence of Phototrophic Gemmatimonadota in Temperate Freshwater Lakes

Members of the bacterial phylum Gemmatimonadota are ubiquitous in most natural environments and represent one of the top 10 most abundant bacterial phyla in soil. Sequences affiliated with Gemmatimonadota were also reported from diverse aquatic habitats; however, it remains unknown whether they are native organisms or represent bacteria passively transported from sediment or soil. To address this question, we analyzed metagenomes constructed from five freshwater lakes in central Europe. Based on the 16S rRNA gene frequency, Gemmatimonadota represented from 0.02 to 0.6% of all bacteria in the epilimnion and between 0.1 and 1% in the hypolimnion. These proportions were independently confirmed using catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH). Some cells in the epilimnion were attached to diatoms (Fragilaria sp.) or cyanobacteria (Microcystis sp.), which suggests a close association with phytoplankton. In addition, we reconstructed 45 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) related to Gemmatimonadota. They represent several novel lineages, which persist in the studied lakes during the seasons. Three lineages contained photosynthesis gene clusters. One of these lineages was related to Gemmatimonas phototrophica and represented the majority of Gemmatimonadota retrieved from the lakes’ epilimnion. The other two lineages came from hypolimnion and probably represented novel photoheterotrophic genera. None of these phototrophic MAGs contained genes for carbon fixation. Since most of the identified MAGs were present during the whole year and cells associated with phytoplankton were observed, we conclude that they represent truly limnic Gemmatimonadota distinct from the previously described species isolated from soils or sediments

Molecular characterisation of intestinal parasites (Acanthocephala) in gut of freshwater fishes

Koljeno kukaša (Acanthocephala) čine crijevni nametnici koji parazitiraju uglavnom na ribama te imaju složeni životni ciklus koji uključuje međudomadare, pripadnike faune dna (Ostracoda, Malacostraca i druge). Kod težih invazija mogu uzrokovati bolesti riba – akantocefaloze, a zahvaljujući sposobnosti akumulacije teških metala u visokim koncentracijama imaju ulogu bioindikatora u vodenim ekosustavima. Glavni ciljevi istraživanja bili su: istražiti rasprostranjenost i determinirati kukaše u ribama iz rijeka Matice, Gacke, Like-Novčica i Une. Uzorkovanje je provedeno tijekom tri godine (2010., 2011., 2012.) Određeni su osnovni biometrijski parametri riba-domadara te osnovni kvantitativni parametri invadiranosti kukašima: učestalost, medijan intenziteta invadiranosti te minimalan i maksimalan broj nametnika. Determinacija kukaša izvršena je morfološkom analizom i određivanjem sljedova nukleotida molekularnih biljega (18S rRNA, ITS i COI) umnoženih u lančanoj reakciji polimerazom (PCR). Determinirano je sedam vrsta kukaša: Echinorhynchus salmonis i Neoechinorhynchus rutili u rijekama Gackoj i Matici, Acanthocephalus lucii i Acanthocephalus anguillae u rijeci Novčici, Pomphorhynchus laevis, Pomphorhynchus tereticollis i Dentitruncus truttae u rijeci Uni. Velika bioraznolikost kukaša u ovim rijekama vjerojatno je posljedica kvalitetne i čiste vode, neophodne za naseljavanje različitih vrsta rakova koji su kukašima međudomadari.Phylum of spiny-headed worms (Acanthocephala) are constituted of the parasites that attack mainly fish and have a complex life cycle that includes intermediate hosts, members of bottom fauna (Ostracoda, Malacostraca and others). With high rates of infestation they can cause fish disease - acanthocephalosis, and thanks to their ability to accumulate heavy metals in high concentrations, they have a role as bioindicators in aquatic ecosystems. The main objectives of the research were: to investigate the distribution and determine spiny headed worms in fish from rivers: Matica, Gacka Like-Novčića and Una. Sampling was conducted over three years (2010, 2011, and 2012.) The basic biometric parameters of fish hosts and basic quantitative parameters of spiny-headed worms infestation were determined: frequency, median intensity of infestation and the minimum and maximum number of parasites. Determination of spiny headed worms was performed with morphological analysis and sequencing of molecular markers (18S rRNA, ITS and COI) amplified in polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Seven species of spiny-headed worms were determined: Echinorhynchus salmonis and Neoechinorhynchus rutili in the rivers Gacka and Matica, Acanthocephalus lucii and Acanthocephalus anguillae in river Novčica, Pomphorhynchus laevis, Pomphorhynchus tereticollis i Dentitruncus truttae in river Una. Great biodiversity of spiny headed worms in these rivers is likely the result of high quality and clean water, necessary for the settlement of different types of crustaceans that are intermediate hosts for spiny headed worms

Ecology of Gemmatimonadota

Phylum Gemmatimonadota is a common group present in many natural environments. Yet, this interesting bacterial group is rarely studied. Since its discovery 20 years ago, only six cultured species have been described. Abundances of Gemmatimonadota in various environments are usually low (<1%), with the exception of soils, where they are one of the more abundant phyla. Probably for this reason, at the onset of this work, most of the knowledge about Gemmatimonadota came from studies of soil environments, while information about their ecology in freshwater lakes was missing. An interesting discovery relating to the unexplored diversity of Gemmatimonadota in freshwaters was the isolation of the first phototrophic member of this group, Gemmatimonas phototrophica, which was cultured from a shallow freshwater lake. To learn more about the ecology of Gemmatimonadota in freshwaters, the main focus of this thesis was the analysis of their distribution and diversity in several freshwater lakes, with emphasis on presence of photoheterotrophic Gemmatimonadota. The potential ecological roles of this group, metabolic capabilities and general genomic characteristics have also been addressed, thereby allowing a broader scope comparison with Gemmatimonadota from other environments such as soil, marine waters, or wastewaters

Phylum Gemmatimonadota and Its Role in the Environment

Bacteria are an important part of every ecosystem that they inhabit on Earth. Environmental microbiologists usually focus on a few dominant bacterial groups, neglecting less abundant ones, which collectively make up most of the microbial diversity. One of such less-studied phyla is Gemmatimonadota. Currently, the phylum contains only six cultured species. However, data from culture-independent studies indicate that members of Gemmatimonadota are common in diverse habitats. They are abundant in soils, where they seem to be frequently associated with plants and the rhizosphere. Moreover, Gemmatimonadota were found in aquatic environments, such as freshwaters, wastewater treatment plants, biofilms, and sediments. An important discovery was the identification of purple bacterial reaction centers and anoxygenic photosynthesis in this phylum, genes for which were likely acquired via horizontal gene transfer. So far, the capacity for anoxygenic photosynthesis has been described for two cultured species: Gemmatimonas phototrophica and Gemmatimonas groenlandica. Moreover, analyses of metagenome-assembled genomes indicate that it is also common in uncultured lineages of Gemmatimonadota. This review summarizes the current knowledge about this understudied bacterial phylum with an emphasis on its environmental distribution

Multi-environment ecogenomics analysis of the cosmopolitan phylum Gemmatimonadota

Gemmatimonadota is a diverse bacterial phylum commonly found in environments such as soils, rhizospheres, fresh waters, and sediments. So far, the phylum contains just six cultured species (five of them sequenced), which limits our understanding of their diversity and metabolism. Therefore, we analyzed over 400 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) and 5 culture-derived genomes representing Gemmatimonadota from various aquatic environments, hydrothermal vents, sediments, soils, and host-associated (with marine sponges and coral) species. The principal coordinate analysis based on the presence/absence of genes in Gemmatimonadota genomes and phylogenomic analysis documented that marine and host-associated Gemmatimonadota were the most distant from freshwater and wastewater species. A smaller genome size and coding sequences (CDS) number reduction were observed in marine MAGs, pointing to an oligotrophic environmental adaptation. Several metabolic pathways are restricted to specific environments. For example, genes for anoxygenic phototrophy were found only in freshwater, wastewater, and soda lake sediment genomes. There were several genomes from soda lake sediments and wastewater containing type IC/ID ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). Various genomes from wastewater harbored bacterial type II RuBisCO, whereas RuBisCO-like protein was found in genomes from fresh waters, soil, host-associated, and marine sediments. Gemmatimonadota does not contain nitrogen fixation genes; however, the nosZ gene, involved in the reduction of N 2 O, was present in genomes from most environments, missing only in marine water and host-associated Gemmatimonadota. The presented data suggest that Gemmatimonadota evolved as an organotrophic species relying on aerobic respiration and then remodeled its genome inventory when adapting to particular environments. IMPORTANCE Gemmatimonadota is a rarely studied bacterial phylum consisting of a handful of cultured species. Recent culture-independent studies documented that these organisms are distributed in many environments, including soil, marine, fresh, and waste waters. However, due to the lack of cultured species, information about their metabolic potential and environmental role is scarce. Therefore, we collected Gemmatimonadota metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from different habitats and performed a systematic analysis of their genomic characteristics and metabolic potential. Our results show how Gemmatimonadota have adapted their genomes to different environments

Phenology and ecological role of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs in freshwaters

Background: Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria are heterotrophic bacteria that supply their metabolism with light energy harvested by bacteriochlorophyll-a-containing reaction centers. Despite their substantial contribution to bacterial biomass, microbial food webs, and carbon cycle, their phenology in freshwater lakes remains unknown. Hence, we investigated seasonal variations of AAP abundance and community composition biweekly across 3 years in a temperate, meso-oligotrophic freshwater lake. Results: AAP bacteria displayed a clear seasonal trend with a spring maximum following the bloom of phytoplankton and a secondary maximum in autumn. As the AAP bacteria represent a highly diverse assemblage of species, we followed their seasonal succession using the amplicon sequencing of the pufM marker gene. To enhance the accuracy of the taxonomic assignment, we developed new pufM primers that generate longer amplicons and compiled the currently largest database of pufM genes, comprising 3633 reference sequences spanning all phyla known to contain AAP species. With this novel resource, we demonstrated that the majority of the species appeared during specific phases of the seasonal cycle, with less than 2% of AAP species detected during the whole year. AAP community presented an indigenous freshwater nature characterized by high resilience and heterogenic adaptations to varying conditions of the freshwater environment. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the substantial contribution of AAP bacteria to the carbon flow and ecological dynamics of lakes and unveil a recurrent and dynamic seasonal succession of the AAP community. By integrating this information with the indicator of primary production (Chlorophyll-a) and existing ecological models, we show that AAP bacteria play a pivotal role in the recycling of dissolved organic matter released during spring phytoplankton bloom. We suggest a potential role of AAP bacteria within the context of the PEG model and their consideration in further ecological models.ISSN:2049-261

Parsing the Emotional Brain: Investigating the Neural Correlates of Appraisal Processes

The present research project attempts to address a pressing question in field of affective sciences: can neuroscience offer insights into emotional responding in the human brain? To address this central question, we first adopt a theoretical position of appraisal theory of emotion. This theory postulates that an emotional response arises subsequent to a series of evaluative processes, which appraise the respective information, be it internal or external, in terms of the overall well-being and concerns of the individual. A critical process, according to appraisal theory, is relevance, which refers to the appraisal of the degree to which the information corresponds to the organism’s concerns and overall well-being. Within this process, however, there are several sub-processes, which evaluate the information or stimulus for specific areas of relevance. These are novelty, intrinsic pleasantness and concern-relevance. Here, we investigate novelty and concern-relevance. To investigate the neural correlates associated with novelty processing, we first employ coordinate-based meta-analytic techniques to previously published fMRI papers contrasting novel information against non-novel information. This research thus provides insight into the substrates underlying a critical appraisal process likely occurring prior to concern-relevance. To examine concern-relevance in more depth, we employ functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how the brain responds to individual concern-relevance. Given the amygdala’s theorized role in novelty and relevance, we further assessed amygdala processing via intracerebral encephalographic (iEEG) studies within the amygdala to better delineate the amygdala’s role in the two processes of novelty and relevance detection. Finally, we apply the tenets of appraisal theory, with respect to goal-relevance processing, a component of concern-relevance, to social anxiety disorder as a theoretical case study, wherein we highlight social anxiety to be attributed to faulty goal-relevance processing and poor self-structure, in addition to other maladaptive appraisals, such as coping potential.Le projet de recherche actuel tente de répondre à une question cruciale dans le domaine des sciences affectives: les neurosciences peuvent-elles offrir un aperçu de la réaction émotionnelle dans le cerveau humain ? Pour aborder cette question centrale, nous adoptons d'abord la position théorique de la théorie de l’évaluation (« appraisal » en anglais) de l'émotion (appraisal theory). Cette théorie postule qu'une réponse émotionnelle se produit à la suite d’une série de processus d'évaluation, qui évaluent les informations, qu'elles soient internes ou externes, en termes de bien-être général et de préoccupations (« concerns » en anglais) de l'individu. Un des processus critiques de la théorie de l’appraisal, est la pertinence, celle-ci fait référence à l'évaluation de la mesure dans laquelle l'information correspond aux préoccupations de l'organisme et au bien-être général. Dans ce processus, cependant, il existe plusieurs sous-processus, qui évaluent l'information ou le stimulus dans des domaines spécifiques de pertinence. Il s’agit de la nouveauté, l’agréabilité intrinsèque et la pertinence envers les préoccupations de l’individu (« concern-relevance » en anglais). Dans ce projet de recherche, nous nous sommes focalisés sur la nouveauté et le concern-relevance. Pour étudier les corrélations neurales associées au traitement de la nouveauté, nous avons d’abord utilisé des techniques de méta-analyse basées sur des coordonnées d’articles en IRMf publiés par le passé, contrastant des informations ou stimuli nouveaux contre des familières. Cette recherche a ainsi permet de révéler un aperçu des substrats neuronaux sous-jacents à un processus d'évaluation crucial qui se produit probablement avant l’évaluation de la pertinence. Pour examiner plus en profondeur la pertinence des préoccupations ou « concerns », nous avons utilisé l'imagerie par résonance magnétique fonctionnelle (IRMf) pour étudier la façon dont le cerveau répond au « concern-relevance » individuelle. Étant donné le rôle théorisé de l'amygdale dans la nouveauté et la pertinence, nous avons continué à évaluer le rôle de l'amygdale via l’électroencéphalographie intracrâniene (iEEG) dans l'amygdale pour mieux délimiter le rôle de l'amygdale dans les deux processus de nouveauté et de détection de la pertinence. Enfin, nous avons appliqué les principes de la théorie de l’appraisal en ce qui concerne le traitement de la pertinence aux buts, un élément du processus de la concern-relevance, au trouble de l'anxiété sociale avec une étude de cas théorique, dans laquelle nous soulignons que l'anxiété sociale peut être attribuée à un déficit du traitement de la pertinence aux préoccupations ainsi qu’à une mauvaise structure du soi (« self-structure » en anglais), en plus d'autres évaluations inadaptées, tel que le potentiel de maîtrise (« coping potential » en anglais)