The present paper reviews the Heteroclinus heptaeolus complex known only from temperate regions of Australia. Five species are recognised, with three of the species described as new, H. colemani, a deep bodied species often found around red algae, H.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEstuaries provide critical ecosystem services, and yet are increasingly under threat from urbanization. Non-invasive approaches to monitor biodiversity resident to or migrating through estuaries is critical to evaluate the holistic health of these ecosystems, often based entirely on water quality. In this study we compared tree of life metabarcoding (ToL-metabarcoding) biodiversity detections with measurements of physico-chemical variables (chlorophyll a, turbidity, total nitrogen, total phosphorous, dissolved oxygen) at eight sites of varying degrees of water quality in the Gold Coast Broadwater Estuary (Queensland, Australia).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrbanization of estuaries drastically changed existing shorelines and bathymetric contours, in turn modifying habitat for marine foundational species that host critical biodiversity. And yet we lack approaches to characterize a significant fraction of the biota that inhabit these ecosystems on time scales that align with rates of urbanization. Environmental DNA (or eDNA) metabarcoding that combines multiple assays targeting a broad range of taxonomic groups can provide a solution, but we need to determine whether the biological communities it detects ally with different habitats in these changing aquatic environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChylous ascites is a rare manifestation of decompensated cirrhosis that is associated with increased short-term mortality. Exclusion of other etiologies must be performed to allow for appropriate management, which itself can be a challenge in the setting of decompensated cirrhosis. We report a case of chylous ascites in a patient with decompensated cirrhosis that was successfully managed with octreotide before liver transplantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith over 600 valid species, the wrasses (family Labridae) are among the largest and most successful families of the marine teleosts. They feature prominently on coral reefs where they are known not only for their impressive diversity in colouration and form but also for their functional specialisation and ability to occupy a wide variety of trophic guilds. Among the wrasses, the parrotfishes (tribe Scarini) display some of the most dramatic examples of trophic specialisation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn tropical marine ecosystems, the coral-based diet of benthic-feeding reef fishes provides a window into the composition and health of coral reefs. In this study, for the first time, we compare multi-assay metabarcoding sequences of environmental DNA (eDNA) isolated from seawater and partially digested gut items from an obligate corallivore butterflyfish () resident to coral reef sites in the South China Sea. We specifically tested the proportional and statistical overlap of the different approaches (seawater gut content metabarcoding) in characterizing eukaryotic community composition on coral reefs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: NAFLD is increasingly common among young people. Whether NAFLD carries a more benign course in younger adults is not known. We aimed to characterize genetic and metabolic risk factors for NAFLD and their effects on disease progression across age groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHybridisation and introgression of eukaryotic genomes can generate new species or subsume existing ones, with direct and indirect consequences for biodiversity. An understudied component of these evolutionary forces is their potentially rapid effect on host gut microbiomes, and whether these pliable microcosms may serve as early biological indicators of speciation. We address this hypothesis in a field study of angelfishes (genus Centropyge), which have one of the highest prevalence of hybridisation within coral reef fish.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Weight loss is the mainstay of treatment of NAFLD, but longitudinal data on weight changes and their impact on liver disease are limited. We aimed to characterize weight trajectory up to 5 years of follow-up, effects of weight loss on liver enzyme levels, and predictors of weight loss in NAFLD.
Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study of consecutive patients with hepatic steatosis diagnosed on imaging, liver biopsy, or transient elastography between 2010 and 2020.
A new species of deep-water epinephelid fish is described from the west coast of Australia based on 14 specimens, 99-595 mm standard length. Hyporthodus griseofasciatus sp. nov.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany coral reef fishes display remarkable genetic and phenotypic variation across their geographic ranges. Understanding how historical and contemporary processes have shaped these patterns remains a focal question in evolutionary biology since they reveal how diversity is generated and how it may respond to future environmental change. Here, we compare the population genomics and demographic histories of a commercially and ecologically important coral reef fish, the common coral grouper ( [Lacépède 1802]), across two adjoining regions (the Great Barrier Reef; GBR, and the Coral Sea, Australia) spanning approximately 14 degrees of latitude and 9 degrees of longitude.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnvironmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is increasingly being used to assess community composition in coastal ecosystems. In this study, we chose to examine temporal and spatial changes in the aquatic community of Manly Lagoon - one of the most heavily developed and polluted estuaries in eastern Australia. Based on metabarcoding of the 16S mitochondrial gene (for fish) and the 18S nuclear gene (for macroinvertebrates), we identified seasonal differences in fish and macroinvertebrate community composition as well as species richness, which correlated, in some cases, with the environmental parameters of sea surface temperature and freshwater input.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is caused by mutations in , most commonly homozygosity for the Pi∗Z variant, and can present as liver disease. While heterozygosity for Pi∗Z (Pi∗MZ) is linked to increased risk of cirrhosis, whether the Pi∗MZ genotype is associated with an increased rate of decompensation among patients who already have compensated cirrhosis is not known.
Methods: This was a retrospective study of Michigan Genomics Initiative participants with baseline compensated cirrhosis.
Global warming is modifying the phenology, life-history traits and biogeography of species around the world. Evidence of these effects have increased over recent decades; however, we still have a poor understanding of the possible outcomes of their interplay across global climatic gradients, hindering our ability to accurately predict the consequences of climate change in populations and ecosystems. We examined the effect that changes in biogeography can have on the life-history traits of two of the most successful range-extending fish species in the world: the tropical rabbitfishes Siganus fuscescens and Siganus rivulatus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is common and under-diagnosed. This study evaluated the accuracy of several previously reported indices, including hepatic steatosis index, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) method, Framingham steatosis index, and Dallas steatosis index, to diagnose hepatic steatosis in a real-world cohort.
Methods: This study included 701 randomly selected adult patients seen in our integrated healthcare system between 2015 and 2020 with appropriate abdominal imaging and routine outpatient laboratory studies.
Rising temperatures and extreme climate events are propelling tropical species into temperate marine ecosystems, but not all species can persist. Here, we used the heatwave-driven expatriation of tropical Black Rabbitfish (Siganus fuscescens) to the temperate environments of Western Australia to assess the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that may entail their persistence. Population genomic assays for this rabbitfish indicated little genetic differentiation between tropical residents and vagrants to temperate environments due to high migration rates, which were likely enhanced by the marine heatwave.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes may correspond to cirrhosis diagnosis. However, these codes have not been as well studied as ICD-9 codes. We aimed to evaluate the positive predictive value (PPV) and specificity of ICD-10 codes for cirrhosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreasing fishing effort, including bycatch and discard practices, are impacting marine biodiversity, particularly among slow-to-reproduce taxa such as elasmobranchs, and specifically sharks. While some fisheries involving sharks are sustainably managed, collateral mortalities continue, contributing towards > 35% of species being threatened with extinction. To effectively manage shark stocks, life-history information, including resource use and feeding ecologies is pivotal, especially among those species with wide-ranging distributions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Data suggest hospitalists are less adherent to quality indicators for decompensated cirrhosis, and gastroenterology consultation may improve adherence. We sought to evaluate the impact of inpatient attending specialty and gastroenterology consultation on quality of care for decompensated cirrhosis.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with decompensated cirrhosis admitted to gastroenterology or hospitalist service at the University of Michigan between 2016-2020.
The fairy wrasses (genus Cirrhilabrus) are among the most successful of the extant wrasse lineages (Teleostei: Labridae), with their 61 species accounting for nearly 10$\%$ of the family. Although species complexes within the genus have been diagnosed on the basis of coloration patterns and synapomorphies, attempts to resolve evolutionary relationships among these groups using molecular and morphological data have largely been unsuccessful. Here, we use a phylogenomic approach with a data set comprising 991 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and mitochondrial COI to uncover the evolutionary history and patterns of temporal and spatial diversification of the fairy wrasses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-sex-linked color polymorphism is common in animals and can be maintained in populations via balancing selection or, when under diversifying selection, can promote divergence. Despite their potential importance in ecological interactions and the evolution of biodiversity, their function and the mechanisms by which these polymorphisms are maintained are still poorly understood. Here, we combine field observations with life history and molecular data to compare four sympatric color morphs of the coral reef fish (family Cirrhitidae) in the central Red Sea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHybridization events are not uncommon in marine environments where physical barriers are attenuated. Studies of coral reef taxa have suggested that hybridization predominantly occurs between parapatric species distributed along biogeographic suture zones. By contrast, little is known about the extent of sympatric hybridization on coral reefs, despite the large amount of biogeographic overlap shared by many coral reef species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnvironmental DNA (eDNA) is increasingly being used to document species distributions and habitat use in marine systems, with much of the recent effort focused on leveraging advances in next-generation DNA sequencing to assess and track biodiversity across taxonomic groups. Environmental DNA offers a number of important advantages over traditional survey techniques, including non-invasive sampling, sampling where traditional approaches are impractical or inefficient (e.g.
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