DNA footprints of European hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus and E-concolor. Pleistocene refugia, postglacial expansion and colonization routes

European hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus and E. concolor, are among the many European plant and animal taxa that have been subjected to cyclical restriction to glacial refugia and interglacial expansion. An analysis of 95 mitotypes, comprising partial cytochrome b and control region sequences, shows deep divergence between the two hedgehog species. Three europaeus and two concolor clades are clearly identified and are consistent with previously identified refugia for Europe: the Iberian peninsula, Italy, and the Balkans. The degree of mitochondrial divergence among these clades suggests pre-Pleistocene separation of the refugial populations. In contrast, analysis of two nuclear introns clearly separates the two concolor clades, as in the mitochondrial data, but cannot discriminate the three europaeus clades. This discrepancy between nuclear and mitochondrial data is attributed to historical differences in the refugial population size of europaeus and concolor. The geographical distribution of mitotypes is analysed using nested clade analysis. This method, by including unobserved ('missing') mitotypes, can identify mitotype groupings that remain undetected in conventional analyses. However, the application of nested clade analysis to the study of refugial populations may be hampered by such factors as the loss of haplotypes from the refugial areas by repeated contractions of the population and the recent time scale of colonization relative to mutation rate

Feral pig populations are structured at fine spatial scales in tropical Queensland, Australia

Feral pigs occur throughout tropical far north Queensland, Australia and are a significant threat to biodiversity and World Heritage values, agriculture and are a vector of infectious diseases. One of the constraints on long-lasting, local eradication of feral pigs is the process of reinvasion into recently controlled areas. This study examined the population genetic structure of feral pigs in far north Queensland to identify the extent of movement and the scale at which demographically independent management units exist. Genetic analysis of 328 feral pigs from the Innisfail to Tully region of tropical Queensland was undertaken. Seven microsatellite loci were screened and Bayesian clustering methods used to infer population clusters. Sequence variation at the mitochondrial DNA control region was examined to identify pig breed. Significant population structure was identified in the study area at a scale of 25 to 35 km, corresponding to three demographically independent management units (MUs). Distinct natural or anthropogenic barriers were not found, but environmental features such as topography and land use appear to influence patterns of gene flow. Despite the strong, overall pattern of structure, some feral pigs clearly exhibited ancestry from a MU outside of that from which they were sampled indicating isolated long distance dispersal or translocation events. Furthermore, our results suggest that gene flow is restricted among pigs of domestic Asian and European origin and non-random mating influences management unit boundaries. We conclude that the three MUs identified in this study should be considered as operational units for feral pig control in far north Queensland. Within a MU, coordinated and simultaneous control is required across farms, rainforest areas and National Park Estates to prevent recolonisation from adjacent localities

Population structure in the freshwater shrimp (Paratya australiensis) inferred from allozymes and mitochondrial DNA

In 1995, an allozyme study was conducted on the genetic structure of a population of the common atyid shrimp, Paratya australiensis, in the Conondale Range, south-eastern Queensland with two subcatchments each within two river drainages sampled. The allozyme study revealed a high degree of population structure, with the data interpreted as reflecting a pattern of restricted contemporary gene flow, primarily between streams within subcatchments. High levels of differentiation occurred between all subcatchments. In this study, we analysed a partial fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene in order to further test and verify these results. The mtDNA data largely conflicted with the hypothesis of restricted gene flow indicating that contemporary dispersal was highly unlikely, even between streams within subcatchments, with many sites fixed for unique mtDNA haplotypes. Additionally, the level of divergence between the Stony Creek subcatchment and all other sampling sites indicated that it had been isolated for approximately 2-3 million years, while low levels of divergence were detected across the Conondale Range between the Kilcoy and Booloumba Creek subcatchments. The sharing of alleles at certain allozyme loci between all subcatchments is, therefore, likely to be the result of ancestral retention and possibly because of the effects of balancing selection.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EnvironmentNo Full Tex

Análisis de soportes mixtos sometidos a flexocompresión esviada

Esta investigación aborda el estudio de los soportes mixtos formados por un perfil metálico recubierto de hormigón con armaduras, sometidos a flexocompresión esviada, aplicando un procedimiento de cálculo incluido en el denominado "Método General" del Eurocódigo 4. El interés del tema de la presente tesis consiste en el acercamiento a un elemento estructural con un comportamiento de complejo análisis y a la vez de creciente aplicación en las estructuras de edificación, especialmente en los edificios en altura. La identificación de la multitud de variables que les afecta se ha realizado a partir de una exhaustiva revisión bibliográfica y el planteamiento de las hipótesis y métodos de cálculo se plantea y desarrolla a la vista de la normativa específica. En cuanto al procedimiento, el trabajo sobre soportes mixtos se inicia con el estudio del comportamiento de su sección, continúa con la barra como elemento aislado, y finaliza con el análisis del conjunto de la estructura. En la evaluación de la capacidad resistente de la sección se han tenido en cuenta las características de los materiales que los componen mediante la consideración de las relaciones constitutivas del hormigón y del acero. A efectos de barra se ha analizado la influencia de su longitud, de las imperfecciones iniciales o de las excentricidades en la aplicación de la carga. En cuanto a la estructura, se ha estudiado, fundamentalmente, la influencia de la ausencia de arriostramientos. En el cálculo de la barra y de la estructura se han tenido en cuenta los efectos de segundo orden tanto geométricos como mecánicos. Tras el estudio teórico y dada la elevada complejidad de cálculo derivada de la existencia de materiales con distintos comportamientos y de las numerosas variables contempladas, se ha optado por el desarrollo de un programa informático que permite el estudio de la sección mixta sometida a flexocompresión esviada. Este módulo se ha integrado en un programa de análisis no lineal de estructuras.Fenollosa Forner, EJ. (2011). Análisis de soportes mixtos sometidos a flexocompresión esviada [Tesis doctoral]. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/1107

Novel mitochondrial gene content and gene arrangement indicate illegitimate inter-mtDNA recombination in the chigger mite, Leptotrombidium pallidum

To better understand the evolution of mitochondrial (mt) genomes in the Acari (mites and ticks), we sequenced the mt genome of the chigger mite, Leptotrombidium pallidum (Arthropoda: Acari: Acariformes). This genome is highly rearranged relative to that of the hypothetical ancestor of the arthropods and the other species of Acari studied. The mt genome of L. pallidum has two genes for large subunit rRNA, a pseudogene for small subunit rRNA, and four nearly identical large noncoding regions. Nineteen of the 22 tRNAs encoded by this genome apparently lack either a T-arm or a D-arm. Further, the mt genome of L. pallidum has two distantly separated sections with identical sequences but opposite orientations of transcription. This arrangement cannot be accounted for by homologous recombination or by previously known mechanisms of mt gene rearrangement. The most plausible explanation for the origin of this arrangement is illegitimate inter-mtDNA recombination, which has not been reported previously in animals. In light of the evidence from previous experiments on recombination in nuclear and mt genomes of animals, we propose a model of illegitimate inter-mtDNA recombination to account for the novel gene content and gene arrangement in the mt genome of L. pallidum