Remote detection of invasive alien species

The spread of invasive alien species (IAS) is recognized as the most severe threat to biodiversity outside of climate change and anthropogenic habitat destruction. IAS negatively impact ecosystems, local economies, and residents. They are especially problematic because once established, they give rise to positive feedbacks, increasing the likelihood of further invasions and spread. The integration of remote sensing (RS) to the study of invasion, in addition to contributing to our understanding of invasion processes and impacts to biodiversity, has enabled managers to monitor invasions and predict the spread of IAS, thus supporting biodiversity conservation and management action. This chapter focuses on RS capabilities to detect and monitor invasive plant species across terrestrial, riparian, aquatic, and human-modified ecosystems. All of these environments have unique species assemblages and their own optimal methodology for effective detection and mapping, which we discuss in detail

Aflatoxin determination using in-line immunoaffinity chromatopgraphy in foods

Short throughput times with high precision and sensitivity are of interest of any laboratory. An in-line immunoaffinity chromatographic cleanup procedure coupled to High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and fluorescence detection was developed for the purpose of quantification of the aflatoxin content in food (peanuts, dried figs, and paprika powder). The analysis of the aflatoxin content was performed by HPLC equipped with an in-line immunoaffinity column and a Kobra cell for enhanced detection. Detection limits ranging from 0.14 to 0.32 ng/mL and quantification limits from 0.29 to 0.64 ng/mL were obtained. The trueness was evaluated by analyzing certified reference material and through spiking of aflatoxin reference solutions to food products. The recovery ranged from 75.7 to 92.9% for AFB1, 72.1 to 103.0 % for AFB2, 76.0 to 107.9 % for AFG1 and 82.1 to 103.3% for AFG2. The intra-day (RSDr) repeatability and inter-day (RSDR) reproducibility of measurements were calculated. Both were within the maximum values obtained from the Horwitz equation. The interference experiment showed no interference from other mycotoxins